Be it hot or cold, there’s always room for dessert. Some places specialise mainly in desserts and some others include them as part of their menu. So, whether you love a bowl of good old hot red bean soup or ice-cold cendol, here are the 6 Places To Enjoy Traditional Hot & Cold Desserts in Klang Valley.
1) Rasa Sayang
Conveniently located just opposite The Starling mall, I first came across Rasa Sayang on a weekend. I was longing for a good old-fashioned tong sui around the Damansara Uptown area at the time. And I found one right here, where the restaurant serves hot and cold desserts. Choices are aplenty here, covering everything from the classic Red/Green Bean to Ginger Sweet Potato, Bubur Cha Cha and Cendol. I have tried their Peanut Cream and Pumpkin Cream on different occasions and enjoy both of them. They taste just nice — not overly sweet or too creamy. Prices, in the meantime, start from RM 5.50 onwards.
Address: 77G, Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
2) Let’s Joy Cafe
This family-run cafe has a few branches around KL and Selangor, namely Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, USJ Subang and Bandar Puchong Jaya. Their menu is diverse and that means you’ll be spoilt for choices here from local food to Taiwanese, Japanese and Western cuisines.
But let’s talk about their desserts instead. They have a wide selection available here such as Red Bean Soup & Tohua (tofu pudding), Almond Paste, assorted Glutinous Rice Ball series and Lotus Seed & White Fungus Stewed Hasma. Those who love shaved ice or more specifically, Taiwanese milky ice can look forward to assorted fruit versions like mango & strawberry and mango & kiwi. I have been to one of Let’s Joy Cafe branches twice, sampling their Sweet Potatoes in Ginger Juice Soup and Peanut Paste & Black Sesame. Both desserts taste as good as they look.
Address: Click here
3) Zhao Ji Chuan Cheng
Zhao Ji Chuan Cheng specialises in both Cantonese and Hong Kong-style desserts. And best of all, they have lots of choices here. You will find familiar favourites like red/green bean, black sesame and guiling jelly on the menu.
But what interests me the most is the Double-Layer Milk Custard and Ginger Milk, where the latter turns out to be their signature dessert. I managed to try the latter, where I ordered Signature Ginger Milk + Mango. Instead of serving straight, the staff would pour hot milk from a kettle into a bowl of ginger juice in front of me. The staff would then close the top of the bowl with a small plate, allowing the milk and ginger to react against each other. There’s even a tiny hourglass since the mixture needs to take around 3 minutes if I’m not mistaken or after the sand in the hourglass flows completely to the bottom. And that’s where the magic happens, as the mixture turns into a form of milk custard once I remove the small plate.
The custard is silky-soft and milky, even though I found the ginger a little too strong to my liking. The mango cubes, however, was served separately in another bowl but it’s meant to pair together with the ginger milk custard. They do complement well with each other and I’m glad the mango is sweet but not the sour type. You can find the dessert shop on the ground floor of 1 Utama Shopping Centre, which is located somewhere around Gong Cha and Lavender.
Address: G213, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
4) Nyonya Cendol
I have tasted a few cendol places around KL and Selangor areas and this is by far, my personal favourite. Their signature Nyonya cendol isn’t the diluted or watery type but rather rich and creamy, thanks to its fresh santan (coconut milk). The shaved ice itself has a fine texture and harmonises well with the santan, kidney beans and above all, the pandan-flavoured cendol strands. Not just any regular cendol strand but thicker and longer. Not to mention their cendol strands has a nice, chewy bite to them. You can choose to add topping at a fraction of the price, namely a scoop of ice cream and it sure tastes even better with the already-delicious Nyonya cendol.
The place serves classic hot desserts too such as red bean, barley fu chuk (bean curd) and bubur cha cha. Nyonya Cendol operates three branches so far including The Summit USJ, Main Place Mall and Tropicana Gardens Mall.
Address:
(The Summit USJ) LGX25, Lower Ground Floor, The Summit USJ, Persiaran Kewajipan, USJ 1, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
(Main Place Mall) LG-08, Lower Ground Floor, Main Place Mall, USJ 21, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
(Tropicana Gardens Mall) CC-32, Concourse Floor, Tropicana Gardens Mall, No. 2A, Persiaran Surian, Tropicana Indah, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
5) Dawa Dessert
Old but gold and one of my regular haunts when I used to work around the Pudu area. It was known as Kedai Makanan dan Minuman PMK back then before they subsequently renamed their shop, Dawa Dessert. Their speciality lies in comfort foods such as salted fish fried rice (among my favourite dishes here) and nasi lemak with curry chicken. Their affordably-priced tong sui dessert is equally recommended and the choices of availability depend on the menu seen on the wall. They have classic ones like red bean, sweet potato ginger, bubur cha cha, black sesame and peanut paste.
Address: 43, Jalan Kancil, Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
6) Yum Thong Sui
Literally meaning “drink sweet water” in Cantonese, Yum Thong Sui has several outlets around KL and Selangor, namely Sunway Velocity and Jaya One. As the name suggests, they sell assorted tong sui desserts such as Apple Jujube, Sea Coconut and Gui Ling Gao. Those who fancy all things longan can check out some of their delicious choices here. This includes Longan Milk Jelly and Longan Osmanthus.
Address: Click on the shop name above
