Cendol VS Ice Kacang: What’s The Difference?

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There are 4 kinds of people in Malaysia. Those who like cendol, those who like ice kacang, those who like both and then those that we don’t associate with (kidding, we love everyone despite your odd choices in food). However, while those that eat them often know the difference and probably have their list of which is the superior shaved ice dessert, we are here to enlighten you about the difference between cendol and ice kacang. From there, you decide on your own which reigns supreme.

Let’s start with what they have in common. Apart from being refreshing on a sweltering day, these two have the same foundation which is shaved ice, plain and simple. However, even the shaved ice has some differences as well.

With cendol, the ice is slightly melted down but you still get a nice crunch with the sweet soup or sometimes you get a nice ball of shaved ice that is still intact. However, with ice kacang, you will see a mountain of shaved ice. Now, with cendol in the ingredients are simple. You have your red azuki beans, green rice flour jelly (which is actually called cendol), coconut milk and decadent gula melaka (palm sugar).

Moving on to the ice kacang, you will find yourself feeling rather stuffed as this dessert can really fill a person up. In here you will see red beans, sweet corn, roasted peanuts, grass jelly and cubes of agar agar as a staple ingredient. If it’s offered, you can see some sellers that have a myriad of options such as cendol (the green wormy jelly), aloe vera, chocolate syrup or even ice cream! Yum!

To top it all off, the common syrups that are drizzled over the mountain of ice is rose syrup or even sarsi syrup. However, there are some that use palm sugar, coconut milk, evaporated milk or even chocolate syrup. As you can already imagine, ice kacang is versatile and can be personalized according to your own taste.

So, now that you know all this, the next step is up to you, young foodie, to embark on a culinary adventure that nary a few dare traverse. Go forth and as always, Selamat Makan.