Monday, February 9, 2009

Es Cendol = Es Dawet

Who likes to drink Es Cendol? Please raise your hand ;)

I believe everyone who lives in Southeast Asia is familiar with this drink.

Well, I'd been wondering all the time where does Es Cendol originally come from, thus I searched in the internet and....

Ta daaaa...! I found it :)

So, according to Wikipedia, Cendol is a traditional dessert originating from Java, Indonesia, but is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Southern Thailand (where it is called "lorkchorng singapore" ลอดข่องสิงคโปร์). The dessert's basic ingredients consist of shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring (usually sourced from the pandan leaf), and palm sugar. Red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly, and creamed corn 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.

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.


A stall of Es Cendol on the street in Jakarta.

Some vendors will even add Jackfruit (Nangka) in their palm sugar syrup. I like if there's jackfruit in my cendol because it added a nice aroma and chrunciness :)

cendol 2

Rp. 3.500 per glass
(currency rate: 1 USD = Rp. 11. 700
1 RM = Rp. 3.400
1 SGD = Rp. 7.800
)

67 comments:

  1. morning!! ;p
    yes..cendol is a fav of mine too! here we hv options of addin glutinous rice, "tapai" - a type of fermented tuber or red beans, etc.. but the es cendol I had at Sari Ratu tasted different compared to our msia cendol. ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. thenomadgourmand: Good morning!!! :D
    Ah... here, if you add more stuff like tapai, red beans, cin cau, kolangkaling, etc, then we called it not es cendol anymore but es campur and I think the one that you had in Sari Ratu is es campur ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. so glad you found my blog, i love new readers, and your blog intrigues me. soynut butter is SOOO good. i hope you can manange to get your hands on some. its very different from peanut butter but has a very addicting flavor once you try it, you want to keep having it more and more. lately i like it more than peanut butter. anyways, hope you continue to read :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. elise: Hi Elise, welcome to my blog! I hope that I can find the soybutter here in Jakarta because it sounds interesting to give it a try, not only the taste but I guess also healtier than peanutbutter, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. My fav !!!! Es Cendol with nangka !!! I always had 2 whenever I am in Indo ....

    ReplyDelete
  6. email2me: Es cendol with nangka is the best, right? *high five*

    ReplyDelete
  7. i love cendol, but here most of the stalls go lazy by using packet coconut milk. it cost about S$1.50 to S$2 average from hawkers here. in hotels, it might cost S$6.80 and above, hahah.

    ReplyDelete
  8. mistipurple: Euwww... the taste of packet coconut milk is not nice at all, not fresh(contains preservative) and it got another aroma/flavour than the real fresh coconut milk.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yours served in glass whereas ours served in bowl.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It look so good......
    wau!
    cendol it actually from java.......
    all this time I thought from india.
    All this because in Malaysia cendol business most dominated by indian.

    keep up your good work.

    ReplyDelete
  11. cariso: Ah... true! I wasn't really aware of it, thanks for pointing it out :)

    pisang goreng: Hahaha... from India? seriously? Never crossed my mind... I was just confused whether it's from Malaysia or Indonesia.
    Thank you, pisang goreng! :)

    foodbin: Hi foodbin, welcome to my blog! Lemak and sweet... perfect, no? Hehehe...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the photos! Like the edit you did to make 3 shots look "polaroid" style.

    The Es Cendol looks great! (never tried it before) Thick and sweet, right? Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  13. eattraveleat: Thank you for your compliment *big grin*
    Make sure to try it when you are visiting any of the Southeast Asia country, coz' big chance that you'll love it! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can't find such cheap chendol here.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like cendol but I usually can't finish one on my own coz it's too sweet for me (I don't have a sweet tooth). But the one u had in the glass looks delicious :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. little inbox: Cendol is expensive in your area? It should not because the ingredients are quite cheap. You know what? In fact, you can make your own cendol because it's not difficult at all, long time ago my mom used to make cendol by her own :)

    noobcook: Ah.. actually the sweetness depends on how much the palm sugar is put into the glass since the cendol and coconut milk are not sweet at all, so you can ask to the vendor how sweet you want your cendol tasted :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like Cendol! But hard to find a good one here in Singapore.

    ReplyDelete
  18. tigerfish: Oh... not good but it's easy to find it in the hawker centre, right?

    ReplyDelete
  19. They only have cendol in Penang, no jackfruit. Sounds interesting adding some.

    ReplyDelete
  20. OH MY GOD, cendol is my favourite thing to drink in Indonesia... yumyumyum!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Penang is famous for its cendol too (but without the jackfruit). Hope I have a chance to try out Es Cendol in future. Btw what does "dawet" mean?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've never heard of that! What does it taste like??

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm pretty sure these are sold at some restaurants here but I haven't tried one yet.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I've never had this before but it looks good.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I have had the pleasure of trying this! So good!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mmmmmmm I love cendol. You're making me want to hop on a plane and head out there to get the real thing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Me me love es cendol. While I was in Sidoarjo, they had different style of es dawet. Slimmer shape and they used cocopandan syrup.

    ReplyDelete
  28. You have such an intriguing and interesting blog...love spending time here! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. ck lam: You gotta try the cendol with jackfruit, it’s really good :D

    jesse: Really? Yay! *high five*

    Jackson: Isn’t the brown sugar so perfect for cendol? ;)

    food for tots: The name of the green starch noodle is cendol, and the dawet is the term for the combination of cendol, palm sugar and coconut milk :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. how to eat a cupcake: It’s a sweet drink. The cendol (starch noodles with green food coloring – pandan leaves) has a little chewy texture without any taste, as for the coconut milk, usually it’s a bit salty then the palm sugar syrup gives the sweet taste to the drink.

    Jessica@foodmayhem: Yes, I think so too, or it probably can be found in Asian stores.

    pam: It’s a common drink in Southeast Asia :)

    mo diva: Hi Mo Diva, thanks for dropping by my blog! You tried this drink before? Cool! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. norecipes: hahaha… sounds great if you can make it ;)

    Indonesia-eats: Whoaaa… cendol with cocopandan syrup? That’s new to me… sounds kinda like es cincau ijo with cocopandan syrup :)

    andrea: Thank you so much for your compliments, Andrea. Hope that you enjoy reading my blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love your blog! Cendol reminds me of halo halo from the Philippines - it looks similar. So refreshing and delicious - and thanks for the really interesting information!

    ReplyDelete
  33. megan: Hi Megan, thanks for stopping by my blog and also for your compliment.
    Halo-halo? really? sounds cute. Probably it's the same thing as cendol but different name :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. This looks really good, I've never had it before but would like to try!

    ReplyDelete
  35. sara: Is there any Asian restaurant/stores near to your place? If yes, then you can give it a try and I hope you like it :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. that looks DELICIOUS! I've never heard of Es Cendol--I need to try and find something like this in Atlanta ;)

    ReplyDelete
  37. tavolini: It is DELICIOUS! Hehehe.. Hopefully, there's cendol in Atlanta *crossing fingers*

    ReplyDelete
  38. cendol with a straw? rare in malaysia..but looks nevertheless awesome on a hot day of sun!

    ReplyDelete
  39. here we call it gula melaka. so, there's gula jawa as well, eh? interesting. i wonder if they taste the same. palm sugar?

    ReplyDelete
  40. joe: Hahaha... Yes, here people drink es cendol with straw and spoon :D

    nic: I believe that gula jawa (gula merah) is the same as gula melaka since both of them are made from coconut water but then we also have another brown sugar similiar to gula jawa called gula aren which is made from various palms water.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Again this drink reminds me of an Indian dessert called Falooda, except that its nothing like our Falooda.

    http://food-forthought.blogspot.com/2006/05/weekend-treat-falooda.html

    http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-falooda-indian-dessert-drink

    ReplyDelete
  42. laveena: I just had a look at the sites that you gave. I guess the similiar part is the "noodle" jelly :)

    ReplyDelete
  43. I haven't heard of this before, Your certainly are broadening my horizons!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I love this blog because I always learn so many new and cool things everytime!

    ReplyDelete
  45. katherine aucoin: hehehe.. I'm glad that I'm broadening your horizons :)

    jeff: Oh.. thank you so much for your compliments *blushing*

    ReplyDelete
  46. Never heard of this - but it looks quite tempting!!
    You have quite a delicious blog.....we are devouring every word!!
    Thanks for stopping by!!
    Karla & Karrie

    ReplyDelete
  47. the summer kitchen interiors: Hi Karla and Karrie, welcome to my blog. Hope to see you around :)

    ReplyDelete
  48. I have never heard of this drink before but I must say it is very interesting. I love your site because it is very informative and exciting. Thanks for stopping by my site.

    ReplyDelete
  49. marybeth: Hi MaryBeth, welcome to my blog and thank you for your compliments :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Me me me! I love the drink but I'm not a big fan of those green things.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Me me me! I love the drink but I'm not a big fan of those green things.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Never tried this before!! Looks good though!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Yummy!all the flavors in the drink sound unique and very tasty:)

    ReplyDelete
  54. pigpigscorner: Hahaha... *hands in a glass of cendol without the cendol*

    maria: If you like coconut milk and sweet things then this would be a perfect drink for dessert :)

    yasmeen: Yes, you are right, it is very yummy :)

    ReplyDelete
  55. We have a friend who operates a chain of cendol stalls called Mr Cendol here in Lumut , Perak !selling around RM1.70 a bowl

    ReplyDelete
  56. Mmmmm, Interesting Info. Love Chendol!

    ReplyDelete
  57. I will always called for a cendol whenever the opportunity presents. Es Dawet. "Dawet" means ink too?

    ReplyDelete
  58. backstreetgluttons: That's great! Can indulge cendol and also with good price :)

    pete: Cendol is definitely yummy ;)

    worldwindows: In bahasa, ink is tinta. Uhmmm... I don't think dawet means ink, but for sure, it means the combinantion drink of cendol, coconut milk and gula jawa :)

    ReplyDelete
  59. **RAISES HER HAND!!**
    love the blog.. btw, let's exchange links:)

    ReplyDelete
  60. Selba, thanks for stopping by my kitchen.
    Your blog is very interesting and educational about a world of food of which I am not familiar. I am always fascinated with the different country's street food and you do an excellent job of showing us. I like your blog and I'll be back for more.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  61. cumi & ciki: You must be an es cendol lover! Hehehe.. Oh.. and welcome to my blog, cumi & ciki.
    Sure! I just added you in my blogroll list :)

    my carolina kitchen: Hello Sam, welcome to my humble blog :) Thank you for your compliments, it really makes my day.

    ReplyDelete
  62. I love cendol. It's one of my all-time favorite drinkable desserts. But, here in Ohio, many Americans do not like cendol. A cook with an Indonesian restaurant here once told me that their American patrons would only finish the palm sugary coconut milk. When asked by the waiters, they said they don't like the cendol pieces because they are tasteless, have an odd texture, and look like green worms.

    ReplyDelete
  63. pizza smizza: green worms?hahaha... but then it's true, cendol does look like small green worms :D Ah... to bad, that they don't like cendol because I think the best part of es cendol is the cendol itself :)

    ReplyDelete
  64. hi...it looks so yummy.

    i link it from my blog. is it ok?
    let me know if i dont allow to do that...

    here is the link to my blog. http://playfulsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/07/telok-ayer-green.html

    thanks a lot. gbu

    ReplyDelete
  65. ruth sophia novita: hi Ruth, thanks for stopping by my blog. Sure, you can link this post from your blog, it's my pleasure :)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs