Cendol Bakar – Just wanted to know what all the hype was about

I first heard of cendol bakar from a friend’s Facebook posting. My interest is piqued – I am a fan of bbq, anything bakar (burn/roast) sure tastes better, no?

Cendol bakar? Apa yang dibakar tu? Well … the ‘bakar’ part was the gula melaka (palm sugar) used for the cendol, which serves as a point of differentiation. The process adds depth to to the taste of the gula melaka. Besides that, coincidentally, the recipe is based on the owner’s granddad, Encik Abu Bakar Saidin. Cendol Bakar is such an appropriate name!

Using LATAR highway, enroute to Sekinchan, I saw Cendol Bakar signage. Of course I wanted to try it, so I made a pit stop on the way back to KL.

Turns out that it was heavily covered by the media .. such as TV3’s Jalan Jalan Cari Makan, 8TV’s Best Of The World, AstroRia’s Meletop, Kosmo, Berita Harian, etc.

Interesting menu .. I ordered Cendol VVIP (RM 3.00) and shared mom’s pisang goreng. Cendol VVIP – pulut (glutinous rice) + nata de coco + selasih (basil seeds, aka tadpole eggs-like) + jagung (corn) + kacang (peanuts).

If you are a fan of Tapai (fermented rice), there is also option of adding this ingredient. Durian oh durian,  Cendol durian pulut is the most popular item … didn’t want mom to suffer with the smell, so I didn’t order this.

Does it lives up to the hype? It is one of the better cendols, but my heart is with my No. 1 favorite, Aunty Koh cendol Melaka.

But I have high respect for them: their entrepreneurship and their marketing gimmicks – roasting the palm sugar, drive thru for cendol? Genius!, CSR programme – free cendol for the disabled and the poor.

I also applaud them for their Cendol Bakar trademark registration with The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia. Smart move. So folks, there is only one and only Cendol Bakar, with few official outlets:

• Kampung Sungai Buloh, Jeram, Kuala Selangor – original branch
• Kampung Assam Jawa, Kuala Selangor – second outlet
• Telok Kemang, Port Dickson
• Klebang, Melaka
• Simpang Ampat, Alor Gajah, Melaka

There are many copycats around, such as one at MRR2, and this was condemned on Cendol Bakar’s Facebook page.

Support the original Cendol Bakar yo!

 
Cendol Bakar 

Branch: Assam Jawa Kuala Selangor

1196, Batu 1, Kg. Assam Jawa

Jalan Bukit Rotan

Kuala Selangor, Selangor

Tel: 03-3281 1520

Business hours: 10.00am-7.00pm, daily

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CendolBakar