Hello everyone! Today I would like to share a post with some details about some yummy cendol I had during a warm trip to Raub, Pahang, Malaysia. The weather in that location is very warm and the sun almost burns our skin and a good, chilling bowl of cendol helps us cope with the scorching weather.
This is the outside of the shop. It was set in a traditional way like a little decorative huts just like the olden days. Some tables and chairs were arranged both inside and outside the shop. I prefer dining inside as I wouldn't sit under the sun in such hot weather. On the hanging banner, it says there will be free coconut milk glutinous rice. It probably depends on terms and conditions.
The full name of the shop is Port Durian Saudagar. It means 'Durian Port Merchant'. The word 'Saudagar' is usually used in older books or history books. It is a classic word for someone who does business of selling a product.
This is me sitting in the shop while waiting for the dessert to arrive. We ordered a cendol each and an ABC. ABC is short for air batu campur. It means mixed ice cubes dessert. That's not the exact translation but it is close.
This yummy, refreshing dessert is made of pandan extract which gives the green colour, green bean stach flour, rice flour, salt, sugar, water, gula melaka which is palm sugar where it is the main sweetener and coconut milk which gives a thicker creamy textured base. Other ingredients added as toppings are red beans, corn, glutinous rice and of course ice shavings which keeps everything cold.
This is what my brother ordered. It is called ABC. It is similar to cendol but this is a mixed dessert made of more ingredients and has more colours too. ABC is also known as ais kacang. It is made of rose syrup, pandan syrup, grass jelly, palm sugar, basil seeds, creamed corn, roasted peanuts, red beans, canned lychee, condensed milk and shaved ice. Due to using more ingredients, ABC costs more than cendol.
This is the before and after pictures of the cendol. We need to mix everything well before consuming it. This combines the flavours well and the ingredients too will be all around and not just the top of the mixture.
This is how the ABC looks like after mixing and right before eating. The colour became lighter mixed with all the ice shavings as and scrumptious little ingredients as well. It was sweet. Such desserts are great occasionally but not too often due to their sugar content.
This is my cendol. It is best savoured in a spoonful of cendol that also has the green noodles, some corn and red beans.
I tasted a spoonful of icy cendol. It was so cold contrasting the weather which was so hot. If you have sensitive teeth then I suggest to take it slow because it might cause a sudden piercing pain. Perhaps try small amount at first. I myself have experienced that when I have consumed a large spoonful right in the beginning.
These are the sellers. They were weighing the durian picked to quote a price. Then they will cut and open the durian fruits up so we can see if the quality is good. These sellers are quite professionals and if the fruit seems bad or with worms, he himself will take it back and open up a new fruit.
This is a cool thing I saw. The seller put some cool and fun phrases on these long wooden structures. Makcik Bawang is a common phrase used online and now even in real life to describe people who like to gossip or are busy body about other people. Port Healing means a place to relax after long weeks of working.
The entire shop had the vibe of the older stalls where everything inside is wooden with village theme. The pricing of the dessert was standard price. While it was good, the ones I had in a famous cendol shop in Tanjung Malim, Perak were much more potent with ingredients and I think here they mixed more of condensed milk.
The owner was also selling durian as that's the main item and the dessert menu is just a side item so the buyers can relax before continuing their journey. So we got some durian from them. These are all village fruits and they were creamy and tasted great. The owner also told us that he is actually related to the owner of the other shop nearby who was selling a different type of durian called musang king. Apparently this is their family business.
Well it's not the same dessert but close with the icy feeling. Thank you for dropping by and I wish you a great day ahead!