Chendol in Melaka – Donald & Lily, Makko, Jeta Groves, Nancy’s Kitchen & Justberrys

Becky’s 1 minute summary:
1. Justberrys
2. Jeta Grove then Donald’s & Lily followed by Nancy’s Kitchen and Makko.

This list is based on the chendol(s) that I have personally sampled so far. Do feel free to recommend more by leaving your suggestions in the comment section of this post ! 🙂
My advice? Ignore all of them and just head over to Justberrys.

For the long story, read on.

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I had wanted “Nyonya food” for lunch on this 2 days trip.
So the 1st day was at Makko; just because David, my partner for the trip insisted that Makko’s chendol is good.

But we were too early so we headed to Jeta Groves for a quick snack before lunch.

I have been here before years back and one of the dishes I enjoyed here was the Lontong. It didn’t disappoint; still as creamy and tasty. Served piping hot with a dollop of chilli if you’re looking for spice, it was a fulfilling plate with soft yet firm rice cubes and generous amount of vegetables and half an egg.

But it was the chendol that I had wanted David to try.

Verdict?
It wasn’t too bad. It’s difficult to beat the fine shaven ice from Justberrys and the gula melaka lacked the caramelized depth but still, it was good for its price (RM4 or thereabouts).
I love the small beans though on this day, the beans were still a bit hard inside as it wasn’t cooked through. A shame really.
The green chendol strips were a nice emerald green, translucent, smooth and fresh, not the mushy, dull green types which I abhor. Even the coconut milk was rich enough.

When Makko was finally open for business we shifted our widening asses over to the large air conditioned comfort of the spacious corner lot.

We ordered lunch for 3 pax and of course, a bowl of David’s chendol.

Lunch was bad, and the same can be said for the chendol.

Perhaps Makko thought thicker is better? This mould of coarsely shaven ice was drizzled with very, very thick gula melaka and coconut milk.
If you’re of opinion that thick gula melaka can’t go wrong, you’re very much mistaken. Besides having good ratio of creaminess from the coconut milk to the sweetness of the gula melaka, an ideal (for me at least) bowl of chendol should be rained with quality gula melaka; one that has a deep caramelized flavour, a tad smoky even and the unmistakable aroma of rich, dark molasses.
The gula melaka in this chendol was way diabetic-ally sweet, which was made me suspect that it was mixed with plenty of white sugar.

Well, if it’s of any consolation, the kidney beans were soft and the chendol strips were alright.

The next day we had lunch at Nancy’s Kitchen on Jonker Street. It is pretty difficult to find pork Nyonya dishes as more and more outlets converted to being pork-free to cater to the commercial crowd. I thought that is rather silly, considering the fact that most Muslim (I think, correct me if I’m wrong) don’t patronize Nyonya food outlets as frequently anyways.

Anyhow since we are at a Nyonya food outlet we ordered a chendol to go with our meal.

I will always like my ice fine so you will be hearing that complaint a lot from me. But out of all the chendol(s) we have sampled on this trip, this was the worst.
Other than that, the coconut milk was rich and creamy, the gula melaka fragrant and the green chendol strips nice and fresh. They used small red beans which was cooked til soft so that’s a plus point.

Last stop before we left Melaka was Donald and Lily’s.
After all, since we are on a gluttony run, might as well go all the way right? 😀

Donald & Lily’s chendol was actually pretty good.
The ice is still pretty coarse, but at least the gula melaka was thick, smoky and fragrant rather than just saccharin sweet. The chendol has a good consistency with both the coconut milk and gula melaka in balanced ratio. In addition to that, small sago shared the bowl with green chendol strips and small red beans.

So that’s it for now.
I shall be heading to Melaka again soon. Meanwhile, leave a suggestion here if you have any food/place that you think I should try!
Also, does anyone know where to have a good authentic Nyonya meal? 

RESTORAN NYONYA MAKKO
123, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka
Tel.: 06 – 284 0737
Lunch : 11.30am – 2.45pm
Dinner : 6.00pm – 9.30pm
Closed: Tuesday

Donald and Lily Restaurant
No 16 (Ground Floor),
Jalan KSB 1,
Taman Kota Shahbandar,
75200, Malacca

Jeta Groves
115, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000, Melaka, Malaysia

Justberrys Dessert House
No. 89, Jalan KL 3/8, Taman Kota Laksamana Sekysen 3,
75200 Melaka.