We dropped by one of Taiping’s best-known dessert places - the 8-decade-old 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗹 on Barrack Road. Founded in 1950 by Indian-Muslim emigrant, Abdul Kader, this very popular cendol shaved ice dessert spot is now run by his grandson, Ansari Abdul Rahman.
Shaving the ice into a bowl of green pandan-flavored /green-hued noodles using one of the decades-old ice-shavers.
Fresh, creamy coconut milk will be ladled over the mound of green-hued, pandan-scented rice noodles and stewed red beans (a fairly “new” innovation), followed by generous lashings of liquidised “Gula Melaka” palm sugar.
Although popularised in Malaya by South Indians, cendol is of East Javanese origin - it was mentioned in 1104 in “The Epic of Kresnayana” during the Kediri kingdom in Java, which talked about green rice jellies served as a drink. It’s called “dawet”.
The term “cendol” is derived from the Sundanese word “jendol”, meaning “swollen” - a reference to the sun-dried pandan green noodles which swelled up when soaked in water.
“Cendol” was also first mentioned in 1932’s Malay Concordance Project initiated by the late Dr. Ian Proudfoot of the Australian National University. Dr Proudfoot developed the resource into a valuable online research tool for early Malay literature. Today, this shaved-ice dessert has become an indelible part of the Malaysian food scene.
Address
Ansari Famous Cendol
92, Jalan Barrack (Barrack Road), 34000 Taiping, Perak, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-562 9440
Opening hours: 10.30am-6.30pm Mon to Fri, 10am-6.30pm Sat & Sun.
