Melaka Trip Part 2: Cendol @ Jonker88, Jonker Street, Melaka

After our Hoe Kee experience, we were looking for something sweet to end our lunch on a high note. Being located on the same street, Jonker88 for cendol seemed the logical choice. On our last visit to Melaka, business was so good that they had ran out of ingredients early and closed for the day. So this time around, I was determined to have some badass cendol.

An eventful journey to our dessert destination.

Hokkien Huay Kuan

The Royal Press

Jonker88 is easy to spot from afar with its red awning with the words www.jonker88.com. There is a steady stream of customers flocking to this shop. There are also various snacks and noodles such as Baba or Nyonya versions of laksa which looked rather good, but we were way too stuffed for that.

The laksa stall

Ah Mah Fish Cake stall

Busy busy busy

Food service here is self-service. You have to queue, place your order at the cendol station, pay and find your own table. Seats are almost always taken, and some patrons resort to eating their food standing as they(or their melting cendols) are unable to bear the wait.

Shaving the ice, ice baby

Topping it off with some thick gula melaka

No pay, no cendol

The shop interior is a mixture of cafe and antique museum, with the wooden chairs and tables blended in together with some antique accessories such as fans, iron and telephone. The walls are adorned with various photographs of years past and classic paintings. The building itself is a cultural entity and you can see the various influences from the British and Baba Nyonya cultures engraved into the building.

We all went for the basic Baba Chendol (RM2.00); no thrills and frills here as none of us were interested in the other flavours such as durian or eight treasures. The cendol was refreshing with the generous topping of gula melaka enveloping every bite of cendol we took. Definitely a relief from the sweltering hot weather we had been travelling in all day long.

Generous amount of gula melaka, cendol and red bean

Verdict: Cendol is one of my favourite refreshments and though the gula melaka provided a slightly different taste to the other chendols I am used to, there is nothing much to distinguish it from other chendols in other parts of Malaysia. It was an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

Opening hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Service: Self-service.

Price: Cheap as expected if you just go for the basic cendol like we did. Food is also cheap with a bowl of laksa costing around RM4.

Location: Jonker88, 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka.

Tel: 019-3975665 (Jason), 019-2517667(Jenny), or 019-6695959 (Johnson)

Website: http://www.jonker88.com/

GPS Coordinates: 2.19669, 102.246596