GoodyFoodies: Seremban Makan Trip, Part 1: Haji Shariff Cendol

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Seremban Makan Trip, Part 1: Haji Shariff Cendol

Last weekend, we had to make a trip back to Seremban for a cousin's wedding. Even before the day arrived, I have already made a long list of things I wanted to eat when we were there... however, the question was, would I be able to eat everything I wanted in 24 hours?

The first thing I wanted to eat and cross off my list when we arrived in Seremban was a bowl of cendol as the weather was sweltering that afternoon. Cendol is a cold dessert consisting of shaved ice, coconut milk, worm-like green jelly, and gula melaka (palm sugar). The best place for cendol in Seremban in my opinion is Haji Shariff Cendol.

Awesome cendol pulut

The cendol stall was once operated from a pushcart opposite the A&W's in Seremban near the Lake Gardens. I still remember frequenting the stall back then. Now, it occupies a corner restaurant on Jalan Yam Tuan. The building is pretty hard to miss since it is painted green, just like the colour of cendol! Not only is the building green, the floor tiles, wall tiles, tables, chairs, signage and even the worker's outfits are green. The restaurant is very clean, hygienic and airy, so that scores extra points from me as well.

There are 6 types of cendol served here; cendol biasa (normal), cendol pulut (glutinous rice), cendol kacang (red bean), cendol jagung (sweet corn), cendol campur (assorted), and cendol bandung. The cendol here is generously topped with the topping of your choice and served in a double layer stainless steel bowl to keep it cold.

The service here is very efficient, so you will get served in a matter of minutes after sitting down. It was immensely satisfying as I took my first sip of the cendol and greedily finished my first bowl. The cendol was refreshing and an excellent thirst quencher. It was so good that I had to order another bowl to satisfy my cendol cravings. My favourite here is the cendol pulut, I find the glutinous rice (pulut) very fragrant, wonderfully sticky and delicious. It has a very nice bite and adds texture to the cendol.

Cendol and pulut, a delightful combination

One thing to note about the cendol here is that it is all natural and no artificial colouring is added. The colour comes from the pandan leaves, which explains why the cendol here is very light green in colour.

My mum likes the cendol campur, which is a mixture of cendol, sweet corn, red bean and pulut. A little bit of everything!

Other than cendol, you can also get ABC, rojak and rojak mee. I have heard that the rojak here is pretty good, but I had to leave tummy space for the wedding banquet I was attending that evening.

This dude is the only guy (other than the owner) who works behind the counter. He churns out bowls and bowls of cendol at a very efficient speed.

This dude is the owner of the place. They have an automated ice shaver here to keep up with the cendol orders.

See what I mean about everything being green?

The price list

Parking is a breeze here, with an abundance of spaces adjacent to the building. This parking space (known as "Sam Kok Tei" or Triangle Square) is transformed into an open-air hawker centre in the evenings from 5pm onwards. There are quite a lot of interesting hawker fare here, so it is worth paying a visit if it's your cup of tea.