Cendolah History

Cendol [pronounced 'chen-doll'] is a traditional dessert originating from Malaysia. It is also popular in Indonesia , Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Southern Thailand (where it is called lortchorng singapore ลอดช่องสิงคโปร์). The dessert's basic ingredients consist of coconut milk, noodles with green food coloring (usually derived from the pandan leaf), and palm sugar. Red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly, creamed corn, and shaved ice are optional additions. Cendol has become a quintessential part of cuisine in Southeast Asia and is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centres and food courts. There is possible that each country developed its own recipes once ice became readily available, which would explain why in Malaysia, it most popular in port city such as Penang and Kuala Lumpur where British refrigerated ships technology would provide the required ices.

Cendol vendors are a common sight in Indonesian cities. In Sunda, Indonesia, cendol is dark green pulpy dish of rice (or sago) flour worms with coconut milk and syrup of areca sugar. It used to be served without ice. In the Javanese language, cendol refers to the jelly-like part of the beverage, while the combination of cendol, palm sugar and coconut milk is called dawet.

In Malaysia, cendol is commonly sold on the roadside by vendors. It is dessert fare in Singapore, found in dessert stalls, food centres, coffee shops and food courts. Cendol is also popular as a snack, particularly after Friday prayers among Muslims.

The affluence of Singapore, as well as Western influence, has given rise to different variations of cendol. One can occasionally come across variants such as cendol with vanilla ice-cream or cendol topped with durian.

In Vietnamese cuisine, a similar dish is called chè ba màu or chè thập cẩm.