Entree Kibbles: Bukit Panjang Dessert (武吉班让六味汤) - Cheng Tng and Ice Jelly with Sea Coconut @ Jalan Legundi (Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre) [Singapore]

Iced Cheng Tng is my favourite local dessert yet right where I stay, I couldn't find even one that meets my standard. Things somewhat changed when I chanced upon a small hole-in-wall eatery just about 10-15 minute bus ride away.

Bukit Panjang Dessert (武吉班让六味汤); though the store isn't housed in Yishun, I frequently visited the location due to the Giant Hypermarket and the Daiso outlet at the Sembawang Shopping Centre right across.

Bowls of Cheng Tng and Ice Kacang on my first visit; latter was for Alex who wasn't that impressed with what he had. His verdict was that the portion was big although I should point out that this cost S$2.00 which was slightly pricier than those you can get from neighbourhood stalls / hawker centres.

For my second visit, I brought along my mom and due to terribly hot and humid weather, she opted for a rare cold dessert; Ice Jelly with Sea Coconut.

Sauce used appeared to be a lighter, less sweet variant of gula melaka and the jelly, hidden beneath the bed of shaved ice, was pretty bland with a bitterness that's pretty interesting as we were expecting something way sweeter. Put it this way, my health conscious mom wasn't complaining.

My focus was obviously on the Cheng Tng and given that I had patronized twice in a span of about two weeks; I guess it's no secret that I feel that this was definitely one of the better ones around.

Pricing was steep at S$2.50 a bowl but as with the ice kacang, the serving size was bigger than elsewhere. Nevertheless, I was a lot more attracted to the soup's traditional flavour, which wasn't overladen with sweetness. Furthermore, it's shiok max to have cold dessert on a hot day.

Old school ingredients like barley, sago, ginkgo nuts, dried longan, dried persimmon, strips of candied melon etc, were added; the way I like it! Most stalls fail in serving good ginkgo nuts but the ones here were soft and full of flavour!