Cendol

Several cups of cendol

Cendol (Sundanese) [pronounced 'chen-doll'] is a traditional dessert originating from Sunda land including Jakarta, Indonesia, but is also popular in Singapore, Malaysia, and Southern Thailand (where it is called lortchorng singapore ลอดช่องสิงคโปร์). The dessert's basic ingredients consist of coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring (usually sourced 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 among the multi-racial population in Southeast Asia and is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centres and food courts.

Cendol vendors are a common sight in Indonesian cities. 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 being sold usually on the roadside by vendors. It is common dessert fare in Singapore popularly found in dessert stalls, food centres, coffee shops and food courts, and served by vendors of various ethnic backgrounds. 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.

Gallery

• Cendol in its simplest form: shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles and palm sugar.
  Cendol in its simplest form: shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles and palm sugar.
• 
  Cendol is always served in dessert stalls in food courts or hawker centres in Malaysia.
• 
  Chendol stall in Penang, Malaysia.
• 
  A fancier version of cendol from Malaysia

See also

• Chè
• Cuisine of Indonesia
• Cuisine of Malaysia
• Cuisine of Singapore