SINGAPORE – Warmer and drier weather may be ahead for Singapore, with the Meteorological Service Singapore forecasting El Nino conditions to develop from June to July.
For dessert sellers, that means more customers asking for cold desserts. At King Of Chendol at Circuit Road Hawker Centre, owner Yap Soon Kee, 64, estimates chendol sales to rise by 20 per cent to 30 per cent on hot days.
At Dove Desserts in Toa Payoh, owner Helen Lai, 63, says chendol is often the first dessert to sell out when the sun is out.
But the South-east Asian dessert’s lasting appeal is not just about relief from the heat. It also depends on the careful balance of fragrant gula melaka or gula jawa (Indonesian palm sugar), rich coconut milk, springy green jelly and slow-cooked red beans, served over finely shaved ice.
Get those basics wrong and the dessert turns watery, cloying or flat, say chendol sellers.
“Preparing a dessert doesn’t mean you can assemble different ingredients and it will turn out pleasing,” says Yap.
At his stall, the pandan jelly and red beans are made daily, the gula melaka is cooked with pandan leaves and the coconut milk from a supplier is freshly squeezed.
At Yat Ka Yan in Tan Quee Lan Street, owner Marcus Chang, 34, says the challenge starts with the jelly. His version is made with pandan juice, mung bean flour, water and a little salt to balance the sweetness of the gula jawa.
“The difficulty lies in getting the ratio right,” he says. “It cannot be too hard nor too mushy.”
Lai agrees, adding: “The ingredients are few and seem simple, but a lot of work goes into preparing each, from the red bean to the jelly, and proportions are very crucial to making a perfect bowl.”
Ice is another detail. Lai adjusts her machine blade to shave the ice finer for chendol.
At Kismet Dessert in Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, owner Aericurl Chng, 34, says: “Even in assembly, skill is needed after all. It is not just shaved ice, syrup and beans.”
For Jin Jin Dessert co-owner Ewan Tang, 48, palm sugar is the backbone. His Power Chendol uses gula jawa syrup made from raw Indonesian palm sugar, simmered and filtered at least 10 times.
“The palm sugar syrup is a pillar of the chendol,” he says.
Here are five spots for chendol worth seeking out when it is sweltering.
Where: 01-97 Circuit Road Hawker Centre, Block 79A Circuit Road
Open: 11am to 8.30pm daily
Tel: 9189-9636
When hawker Yap Soon Kee opened King Of Chendol in 2022, he made Chendol ($2.80) the main item. He sells only one other dessert, Gula Melaka Ice Kacang ($2.80).
For both desserts, customers can opt for add-ons such as attap seeds, red bean and sweet corn at 50 cents each, and durian at $1.
The stall’s name was a bold move as Yap, 64, wanted customers to try his chendol and decide if it lived up to his claim.
He learnt to prepare chendol at age 12 from his Nonya paternal grandmother, who ran a dessert stall at their former kampung in Geylang Lorong 29. She made chendol for festive occasions or weekends whenever the family gathered at home.
Yap later spent 30 years working at a dessert chain, refining his recipe. He went on to run his own dessert stall, New Generation Dessert, in Chinatown from 2000 to 2018, where chendol was the bestseller.
After a stint as a stall assistant selling bak kut teh and noodles, he returned to desserts with King Of Chendol.
Stall owner Yap Soon Kee wants customers to try his chendol and see if it lives up to his claim of being King of Chendol.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
At his Circuit Road stall, the chendol jelly and red beans are made daily. The gula melaka is cooked with pandan leaves, while the coconut milk is freshly squeezed.
His chendol jelly is made with mung bean flour, pandan juice, water and a little salt. He does not add alkaline, eschewing more chemicals, and avoids gelatin to keep his dessert suitable for vegetarians.
His version is inspired by the Penang-style chendol, with gula melaka that is fragrant but not cloying.
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