PETALING JAYA, Sept 14 — With the flip flop weather, it can be blistering hot just around noon but raining in the evening. It's at times like these I start craving for icy cold relief and that's usually ABC (air batu campur) or cendol, which hits the spot perfectly.
I'm a frequent visitor to Medan Selera Jalan Othman at PJ Old Town and usually after a satisfying meal of yong tau foo, chicken rice or even banana leaf rice, I tend to crave something sweet to end the meal.
If you love a fragrant ABC using thick gula Melaka syrup, try Jessie's Special ABC. Started in 2019, the stall is run by Jessie Lim and her son.
The menu is simple with photo guides for you to select which item you wish. There's their Special ABC, cendol with red beans and just cendol. Expect to fork out RM4 for your choice of dessert.
For the ABC, the ingredients like cendol, corn niblets, red beans, jelly, grass jelly or cincau and peanuts are at the bottom of the bowl. The shaved ice is packed on top and drizzled with coconut milk. It gets a final flourish of thick gula Melaka syrup that is sure to tickle your senses as it's incredibly fragrant.
For some who don't like it too sweet, you can ask for the syrup to be served separately. This lets you control how much you want to add to the icy concoction to fit your preferred level of sweetness. I usually don't order that way but spied them doing so for an old lady.
Eat the shaved ice mountain like an ice cream...scraping the ice with syrup with your spoon. I enjoy eating it like that first, until it threatens to collapse, then I mix it all with the goodies at the bottom.
For the cendol, the ingredients are placed on top of the shaved ice. Hence you get a little of the pandan jelly strands as you slowly savour the shaved ice. For the red beans, this was cooked till soft but with some beans remaining partially whole. What I like about the red beans is that they are not too sweet.
If you prefer a more refreshing end to your meal, they also offer honey jelly lime shaved ice (RM4). I reckon this would be great after a heavy banana leaf rice meal. There's jelly bits at the bottom and the shaved ice has a tangy taste. Just slow down and relish it spoon by spoon as eating this too fast can give you temporary brain freeze.
As the stalls tend to be territorial since a few of them serve the same items, sit nearer to the stall to ensure no disputes. During my visits here, what's interesting is when I ask other patrons why they prefer this particular shaved ice dessert, they emphasise how fragrant the gula Melaka is.
The stall also offers drinks, toast and kaya. Service is pleasant and efficient.
Jessie's Special ABC, Stall No. 48, Taman Selera Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya Old Town, Petaling Jaya. Open: 9am to 6pm (Monday to Wednesday, Friday), 9am to 8pm (Saturday and Sunday). Closed on Thursday. Tel:+6012-2506453. Facebook: @jessiespecialabc
