Just Desserts

The haze that has descended on the Valley has ignited in me a sudden desire for all things sweet, smooth and creamy. Since we happened to be at Lorong Seratus Tahun on another mission, I decided to make it a two-fer and sample some items from their dessert menu.

Foodie friends have often listed this chain as one of the best to go to for close to authentic Penang food. As such, scarred by my experience of Sarsi syrup in the ice kacang from the Teochew Chendul place in Paradigm Mall, I decided to opt for the Ice Kacang Special instead of the Penang Ice Kacang. I figured that the RM3 price difference would be my buffer against ever having sasparilla and red beans in the same bowl.

Lighting is awful at the restaurant! The Ice Kacang Special loses appeal in it!

For RM9.90, the Ice Kacang Special is a pricey dessert. About the most expensive on the dessert menu. To justify the cost, the serving comes in a bowl as large as that which holds their ala carte noodle dishes. To again prove that the money forked out was not in vain, the restaurant dollops on the ice kacang ingredients on top of the shaved ice, as opposed to at the bottom of the bowl. The dish included generous servings of good quality creamed sweet corn, sweet red beans, attap chee seeds, cincau cubes, canned lychees and pineapple cubes, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream dressed with a squirt of raspberry sauce and sprinkled with slices of dried, sugared nutmeg. The last ingredient always screams 'Penang' to me.

It was a good medley of flavours and textures, and although the ice was not the finest, the overall taste and feel was pleasant. It was a big helping and can easily be enjoyed by two. However, the economics of it still bugs me. Prawn mee, RM7.90, ice kacang, RM9.90....

Penang Cendol: could have been better if the 'worms' were all the same temperature.

The Penang Cendol did not raise as much guilt as the ice kacang. At RM6.90 it is about the amount one can expect to pay for a dessert at a cafe. It helped also that it was relatively good cendol. The green 'noodles' were thick and fragrant, with a good consistency. However, the experience was marred by some of the 'worms' being frozen. I dislike finding a hard piece in the midst of the slithering, silky mass in the mouth, and that really took marks off the dessert.

The coconut milk was passable, though I am almost sure they use the pasturized, boxed santan as opposed to a freshly pressed one. Still, the gula melaka was good enough to buoy the flavour profile, and the red beans were large, and well stewed, with just the right amount of sweetness.

Lorong 100 Tahun
56 Jalan SS2/66
77300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor.