Singapore's TidbiTs

Cheng teng is a uniquely sweet local dessert or comfort drink that has been around for generations. This icy cold dessert drinks are popular especially given our local weather that are hot and humid. You can also have your cheng teng (also spelled as cheng tng ) warm or hot. Bedok Corner cheng-teng Cheng teng can be served either hot or cold. It is a potpourri of ingredients that include longan, ginko nuts, lily bulbs, white fungus, red dates, lianzi, barley, etc. Cold cheng teng is added with shaved ice. It is a sweet ‘cooling’ tasting dessert, like most desserts here. Cheng teng is believed to be able to get rid of heatiness in the hot and humid Singapore weather due to the tonic effect of some of the ingredients, which are herbal in nature. Some ingredients are used as part of traditional Chinese medicine, which have been used for centuries. But with so many ingredients in a bowl, cheng teng tastes very refreshing and sweet. The hot or warm version is even sweeter without the added...

In hot and humid Singapore icy stuffs are popular. Green and red syrupy ais or ice kacang, with red beans has been in existence since long ago. It was first made popular by itinerant road-side stalls. Now you can find it at almost dessert stalls in hawker centres of food-courts. Kacang is a Malay word for nuts or beans. Under the mountain of shaved ice you can find more red beans, sweet corn, attap chee or palm seeds and jelly. Condensed milk is also poured on the sweet coloured syrups. Syrups drinks with milk. Yummy. Ice kacang In Malaysia ice kacang is more commonly known as ABC or air batu campur , which means mixed shaved ice. Ice kacang typically cost around $2. If you top it up with durian it will cost another 60 cents or so. A sweet, icy cool and wonderful dessert indeed. Chendol (or cendol) is made of coconut milk, sugar and greenish jelly-like rice flour filled with shaved ice similar to ice-kacang. The green jellies may look like wiggly worms to some. Other common ingred...