Driving near the Maybank Branch off Jalan Tebrau in Johor Bahru, I got a sudden craving for an ice cold cendol. Happens all the time 😂 So, I pulled over at Yan @ Md Zain cendol which is the JB townsfolk's favourite.
A few things have changed at Yan @ Md Zain chendol since I blogged about the stall back in 2012. From a rickety side car stall pulled by a well worn motorcycle, Yan @ Md Zain is now a full fledged food truck.
From a no name mobile stall, the food truck rather ostentatiously shouted Cendol King! Traditional Dessert on the Go - not that any Johorean would dispute that though 😄 Yan @ Md Zain is the king of JB cendol for over thirty years even with no signboard, everyone in Johor Bahru knows that 😄
Yan was not at the stall as he was busy making cendol for the stalls run by his brother at Maybank Taman Pelangi, his father at Giant Taman Suria and his mum in Tampoi. Yan runs this flagship stall at Maybank Taman Melody with helpers. Many people simply call this the "cendol at Maybank".
Other than a loud new brand name and a more fancy ride, nothing has changed (thankfully) about Yan @ Md Zain cendol for over thirty years (I shall call it Cendol King!, henceforth).
A ball of shaved ice is set in a bowl - yes, they compact the shaved ice into a ball like the way it was during my childhood. The ice ball is splashed with syrupy Gula Melaka (caramelised palm sugar). A generous heap of green worms made of aromatic pandan leaf puree and rice flour is piled on the ice. Then, the green heap is crowned with big scoops of mashed boiled red beans. The bowl is then filled with snowy white fresh coconut milk.
The ice ball quickly melts and collapses in Malaysia's tropical heat, leaving fragments that melts in the mouth along with layers of sweetness from the pandan worms, soft mashed red beans, and Gula Melaka. So many different types of sweetness together and yet the whole dessert was not overly sweet.
Double confirmed that this is the best cendol of JB, in my humble opinion.
The rich coconut milk now with a shade of brown after blending with the Gula Melaka, had a smooth syrupy slightly slick texture. Its coconut milk sweetness was layered with Gula Melaka sweetness. A pinch of salt added a subtle hint of saltiness for balance.
The green pandan worms were so.... soft and bursted subtle sweet pandan aroma and taste when we squished it between the top of our tongue and the roof of our mouth.
Love it.
I love it that Cendol King uses the traditional recipe of boiled mashed red beans rather than kidney beans. Mashed red beans are softer and sweeter than kidney beans which are slightly nutty and less sweet (I don't like 😛 ).
👍 The undisputed Cendol King! of Johor Bahru rules for over 30 years simply by staying faithful to the traditional recipe. Must Try this simple and delicious cold dessert when you visit JB. It's the best thing you can spend your last RM2 on in JB.
Please recommend me other excellent cendol places in Malaysia and Singapore 😋
Restaurant name: Cendol King! (formerly Yan @ Md Zain Cendol)
Address: Jalan Meranti Merah, off the Tebrau Highway, just outside the Maybank Branch Tebrau in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°29'38.5"N 103°45'58.3"E 🌐 1.494013, 103.766184
Waze: Cendol King (Taman Melodies)
Tel: 017 785 5040
Hours: 10:30am to 6:30pm (no fixed day off)
Halal
Date visited: 14 Dec 2018
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Yan was not at the stall as he was busy making cendol for the stalls run by his brother at Maybank Taman Pelangi, his father at Giant Taman Suria and his mum in Tampoi. Yan runs this flagship stall at Maybank Taman Melody with helpers. Many people simply call this the "cendol at Maybank".
Other than a loud new brand name and a more fancy ride, nothing has changed (thankfully) about Yan @ Md Zain cendol for over thirty years (I shall call it Cendol King!, henceforth).
A ball of shaved ice is set in a bowl - yes, they compact the shaved ice into a ball like the way it was during my childhood. The ice ball is splashed with syrupy Gula Melaka (caramelised palm sugar). A generous heap of green worms made of aromatic pandan leaf puree and rice flour is piled on the ice. Then, the green heap is crowned with big scoops of mashed boiled red beans. The bowl is then filled with snowy white fresh coconut milk.
The ice ball quickly melts and collapses in Malaysia's tropical heat, leaving fragments that melts in the mouth along with layers of sweetness from the pandan worms, soft mashed red beans, and Gula Melaka. So many different types of sweetness together and yet the whole dessert was not overly sweet.
Double confirmed that this is the best cendol of JB, in my humble opinion.
The rich coconut milk now with a shade of brown after blending with the Gula Melaka, had a smooth syrupy slightly slick texture. Its coconut milk sweetness was layered with Gula Melaka sweetness. A pinch of salt added a subtle hint of saltiness for balance.
The green pandan worms were so.... soft and bursted subtle sweet pandan aroma and taste when we squished it between the top of our tongue and the roof of our mouth.
Love it.
I love it that Cendol King uses the traditional recipe of boiled mashed red beans rather than kidney beans. Mashed red beans are softer and sweeter than kidney beans which are slightly nutty and less sweet (I don't like 😛 ).
👍 The undisputed Cendol King! of Johor Bahru rules for over 30 years simply by staying faithful to the traditional recipe. Must Try this simple and delicious cold dessert when you visit JB. It's the best thing you can spend your last RM2 on in JB.
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Restaurant name: Cendol King! (formerly Yan @ Md Zain Cendol)
Address: Jalan Meranti Merah, off the Tebrau Highway, just outside the Maybank Branch Tebrau in Taman Melodies, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°29'38.5"N 103°45'58.3"E 🌐 1.494013, 103.766184
Waze: Cendol King (Taman Melodies)
Tel: 017 785 5040
Hours: 10:30am to 6:30pm (no fixed day off)
Halal
Date visited: 14 Dec 2018
Few things can beat the relief from the stifling heat on a typical sunny day in Johor than a good cendol.
Shaving ice
Adding gula Melaka
Adding the pandan jelly "worms"
And, the cendol of Yan @ Md Zain on a typical mobile cendol stall just outside the Maybank Branch along Jalan Tebrau in Taman Melody is a hot local favourite. Everyone who lives or works around here knows about Yan @ Md Zain cendol.
This cendol made of pandan jelly "worms", mashed boiled red beans, sweet corn, gula Melaka (palm sugar) and shaved ice in creamy coconut milk is smooth and delicious. Despite all the sweet ingredients, it was actually not overly sugary, hence its attraction.
Enjoying ice cold cendol, sitting on a row of plastic stools along a five foot way together with friends, taking cover from the blazing sun behind that narrow strip of shadow is a kind of blissful bonding, did you realise, my friends?
Restaurant name: Yan @ Md Zain Cendol
Address: Jalan Meranti Merah, off the Tebrau Highway, just outside the Maybank Branch Tebrau
GPS: 1.494003,103.766159
Hours: 10:00am to 6:00pm (closed on public holidays)
Halal
Date visited: 23 Oct 2012
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It's heartwarming to see these enterprising n industrious cousins hard at work. They even advice if I'm taking away in a plastic bag [instead of a bowl w lid], 2 people can share. And they also asked if I was going to be taking a longer time to reach home to consume the yummilicious dessert, they will make the Chendol more concentrated and thus I've to add my own ice when I am ready to have it. Service at it's best..2 thumbs up!!!
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