I was never a huge chendol fan previously until I tried what I thought was the best-chendol-ever at Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul in Georgetown, Penang last year. The one that I went to was a roadside cart in an alleyway which was also their first and original outlet. Today, it has expanded its business and is now a F&B chain with outlets all over Malaysia, mainly Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor.
In Johor, there are two Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul outlets which are located at City Square and AEON Tebrau City. We visited the latter as we really missed the chendol a lot since coming back from Penang.
Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul
Lot S30, AEON Mall Tebrau City
No.1, Jalan Desa Tebrau,
Taman Desa Tebrau,
81100 Johor Bahru, Johor
Malaysia
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/penangchendul
Website: http://www.chendul.my/
Opening hours: 10.00am to 10.00pm daily
For directions on how to get to AEON Tebrau City from JB Sentral/CIQ, check out my earlier post: How to get to AEON Tebrau City by bus? – Johor Bahru Shuttle Bus Guide.
Concept wise, it was pretty similar to that of Old Town White Coffee where local delights were also served up.
Expect to see savoury dishes like Assam Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Penang Prawn Mee and the like.
Place your order and make payment at the counter. You’ll be given a number stand like this. Find a seat and your food will be delivered right to your table.
We ordered the Penang Prawn Mee Set Meal (RM12.90) that came with a cup of lime juice. Regular prawn mee (or rather, rice vermicelli) with a decent broth. Would have tasted even better if the broth was more robust and concentrated with a richer flavour of prawns.
Lime juice was terrible though. Very artificial-tasting and very sweet.
The Original Chendul (RM6.50) was way more expensive than the one we had in Penang which was expected but it was very disappointing to see that the amount of ingredients used here was rather miserable. On the plus side, the gula melaka (coconut palm sugar) and coconut milk were fragrant. Flavours were nicely balanced and overall it wasn’t overly sweet.
Though the chendol did satisfy a bit of my craving, I guess nothing still beats the original ‘cos the auntie there completely nails it. I don’t think it’s possible to find another chendol concoction that will surpass hers. If you want the real thing, you would have to go Penang to get it. Worth the travel though. ?