Do you know that Malaysia is the birthplace of popular dessert ais kacang, or shaved ice with peanuts? Ewe Paik Leong goes hunting for the best in the Klang Valley
1. FATTY LOONG ICE KACANG, JALAN ANTOI KIRI, KEPONG BARU, KL
This stall operator is not fat — he’s a pepper-haired man who’s happy to pose for photographs. He takes pride in his desserts and his workers wear uniforms. The ais kacang ingredients consist of red beans, grass jelly, corn, cendol, longan, nuts and nata de coco. Palm sugar syrup is drenched over a mound of shaved ice. The play of the different textures of the ingredients against a veil of aromatic caramel-like flavour makes this dessert a winner.
Rating ****1/2
2. ONDE ONDE, WATERFRONT @ PARKCITY, KL
This place specialises in local fare such as assam laksa, duck egg char kway teow, curry laksa and Hainanese chicken chop. But it also serves ais kacang gula Melaka (with and without ice-cream), cendol and sago gula Melaka. My heart sinks when my ais kacang gula Melaka arrives at my table. Cendol and basil seeds sit atop a hillock of shaved ice and I don’t see any gula Melaka. Sheesh, this stuff is 70 per cent shaved ice. I’ve no choice but to discard chunks of the ice. The overall taste of this dessert is just acceptable. Rating: ***
3. LORONG SERATUS TAHUN, JALAN SS 2 /66, PJ
This restaurant began as a curry mee stall in Penang. Today, its outlets in Klang Valley are also highly regarded for char kway teow, nasi lemak and prawn mee. The desserts are ais kacang, snow fungus with papaya, ginseng root with sea cucumber, sago gula Melaka and snow fungus with pear and dates. Great balls of fire! The ratio of ingredients to shaved ice in is 6:4, which is an utter delight. And there are pineapple cubes too. Typical of Penang-style ais kacang, nipah palm seeds and candied nutmeg strips are included. The smorgasbord of sensations is amazing. Rating: *****
4. UNCLE CENDOL CAFE, BREM MALL, KL
I arrive here expecting cendol and Mamak rojak, but instead its menu offers sandwiches, fried rice, nasi lemak and noodles like char kway teow and wanton mee. Its cendol is available plain or with pulut, durian, nata de coco, black bean or ice cream. My ais kacang with ice cream looks appetising. All the standard ingredients are present, including colourful sago balls.
My first mouthful sans ice cream makes my tongue crinkle and curl at the edges with delight. Second spoonful with a dollop of ice cream makes me wince, however. Yam-flavoured ice cream does not gel with ice kacang. Rating **1/2
5. AH TUAN EE, JALAN SS 2/72, PJ
For dessert, this Nyonya restaurant serves wheat porridge, black glutinous rice, cendol, bubur cha-cha, ice kacang and black glutinous rice pudding. The building blocks of my ais kacang are corn, seaweed jelly, grass jelly, red beans and shaved ice drizzled with evaporated milk, rose syrup and ice cream. This recipe delivers old-school taste that neither wows nor disappoints, but I have to penalise it because of its hefty price (RM13.80++). Rating: **1/2
6. JONKER SWEETS DESSERTS, THE GARDENS MALL, KL
This kiosk is devoted to snacks and cold desserts from Malacca. They include red bean porridge, bubur cha-cha, wheat porridge, black glutinous rice, ice jelly fruit cocktail, durian cendol, yam and sweet corn. Reasonably priced. The adage “good things come in small packages” certainly applies to my rather small bowl of ais kacang. Its cold sweetness tingles my taste buds wonderfully. For the price of RM5.50, I can’t expect more. Rating: ****
7. BRILLIANT NASI LEMAK, JALN METRO PERDANA 8, KL
This restaurant serves nasi lemak topped with Nyonya curry or chicken rendang, sambal prawn or deep-fried chicken and sambal squid or curry chicken. Red bean with cashew nut, red bean with cendol, red bean and dumplings, ice kacang and bean curd-barley dumplings make up the list of desserts. My ais kacang is different from the eye-catching photo in the menu. The hillock of whitish shaved ice is crowned with cendol, corn and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Grass jelly slivers and red beans are scattered around the base of the icy hillock. The taste of this affordable dessert (RM5.50) is not memorable, though. Rating: ***
8. TEOCHEW CENDOL, PUBLIKA, KL
What started as a cendol stall in Penang has become several multi-snack kiosks in several shopping complexes. They serve assam laksa, rojak, chee cheong fun, curry mee and popiah. The cendol is available as original, white-coffee flavoured, with durian or with ice cream. My ais kacang a la Penang style contains nipah palm seeds and slivers of nutmeg. A generous sprinkling of crushed nuts delivers much-welcomed fresh earthy aromas. The sourish zing of the nutmeg provides an interesting counterpoint to the sweet cold syrupy flakes melting in my mouth.
Rating: ****
9. GRANDMAMA’S, PAVILION-KL, KL
A rather upmarket restaurant, Grandmama’s features a slick menu with its listings categorised into rice, noodles, curry, vegetables, beancurd and desserts. It’s love at first sight with this dessert. There are longan, cinchau slivers, red bean, corn, cendol, roasted nuts, ice cream and nipah palm seeds. Wait, there’s more. Palm sugar comes in a small creamer pot. The medley of textures and flavours almost send my tastebuds to seventh heaven, but there’s a single flaw. The nuts! They reek of stale oil, otherwise this would have earned full marks.
Rating: ****1/2
10. STALL 41, MEDAN SELERA SS2, JALAN SS2/63, PJ
Stall 41 serves mainly fruit juices like watermelon, lime, orange, assam boi and winter melon-longan. Its ais kacang is only RM3.30. Presentation fails as all the ingredients are hidden under a mountain of ice flakes. With only red bean, cinchau slivers and sweetened corn, this dessert errs on being too simple though everything is nicely balanced. Rating: ***