Ice chendol with red bean $2.80 It’s slightly smaller size compare to other hawkers. He press shaved ice so the ice was hard. My liking is more on soft ice snowy texture so wasn’t my kind.. It’s the only shave ice dessert in the afternoon at Maxwell.

Cendol Coconut Dessert is a small dessert stall at Maxwell Food Centre that appears to specialise in one of Southeast Asia’s most familiar cold sweets: cendol, also written as chendol. From the stall name alone, one may wonder why the word “coconut” has been added. After all, is coconut not already part of ordinary cendol? The answer is yes: coconut milk is one of the defining ingredients of traditional cendol. The name “Cendol Coconut Dessert” probably emphasises that creamy coconut character for tourists and visitors who may not know what cendol contains. It does not ordinarily mean that coconut oil is poured into the bowl. Coconut oil would feel greasy and would harden slightly against cold ice, so it is not a normal cendol ingredient. The word “coconut” in its name does not mean that coconut oil is poured over the cendol. It refers principally to coconut milk or possibly a richer coconut cream. This white coconut liquid is mixed with green pandan jelly, shaved ice and dark gula melaka syrup to create the dessert’s central contrast. Cendol looks simple, but it depends upon balance. Too much syrup makes it cloying. Too much coconut makes it heavy. Too much ice leaves it watery. The jelly must remain soft and lightly chewy, while the gula melaka should offer a deeper caramel fragrance rather than sweetness alone. At a crowded and increasingly international Maxwell Food Centre, a descriptive name such as “Cendol Coconut Dessert” is useful. Local diners already understand cendol, but the added word “coconut” tells visitors immediately what kind of flavour to expect. It is a modest stall selling a modest-looking bowl, yet the dessert contains an entire tropical vocabulary: rice, pandan, coconut, palm sugar and ice. Together, these ingredients express the shared food history of Southeast Asia in one cooling conclusion to a meal at Maxwell.

February 2026 visit: A very kind uncle served me my #1 original chendol. This was my first time trying cendol (chendol) dessert with shaved ice drizzled with coconut cream, a caramelized brown sugar syrup and Pandan jelly worms! It was very fun and delicious - esp on a warm afternoon when I simply could not figure out how to cool down. The sugar syrup wanted to stick to my spoon, which made it even more fun to get to lick it afterwards. Next time, I would want to try #2 with red beans.

Located in Maxwell Food Centre at the edgd of Chinatown, “Chendol Coconut Desserts” as its name says specializes in cendol. The base consists of shaved ice drizzled in coconut milk, and loaded with pandan jelly and sweet corn. On top of that is a drizzling of brown sugar syrup made from gula melaka. Further to that you can then add further ingredients. I chose to add red beans because I like red bean anything. The verdict? Very good. I’d be happy to have it again. I went to Maxwell Food Centre at dinner time when many of the hawker stalls had already closed for the day. Cendol Coconut Desserts was only one of two dessert stalls still open at 7pm. That combined with the fact that they were the only stsll open selling cendol swung my vote their way. That was rather fortuitous. The ice helped cool a still very warm evening and overall, the cendol at this stall was not too sweet making it very suitable to my tastes. The sugar syrup was suitably smoky and toffee like in flavour. Lastly the sweetness and texture of the corn and soft red beans added depth to the taste and mouth feel. Never tried a cendol before? You don’t know what you are missing. Try one on a hot day and you’ll be wondering where this dessert has been all your life.

Selected the all-in 🙌🏼 chendol (yes! Durian, attap seeds, red beans, sweet corn 😋). I liked the fragrance from gula Melaka and coconut cream. I enjoyed the attap seeds, sweet corn and red beans combo. The durian topping was average, not so fragrant. I wish the shaved ice wasn’t packed down like ice kacang; too much work to scrap it with a plastic spoon. Other than that, for the price, it was worth the try.