Green strands of pandan rice-flour jelly in coconut milk and gula melaka syrup, over shaved ice, often with red beans.
What makes it cendol
Soft green strands of rice flour and pandan juice, pressed through a sieve into cold water.
Coconut milk, lightly salted.
Gula melaka syrup.
Shaved ice, and often red beans.
Where it comes from
Cendol is eaten across South-East Asia — Indonesia has its own, and Malaysia and Singapore both claim it — so where it began is uncertain. In Malaysia it's a street-stall drink and dessert for hot afternoons, and Melaka's is known for its gula melaka, the dark palm sugar from the local coconut palms.