This dish - or dessert - is none other than the well-loved cheng teng! Literally translated, cheng teng means "clear soup". But it is a sweet soup rather than a savoury one. Made with lots of goodies such as dried longan, crunchy white fungus and chewy glutinous flour balls just to name a few, cheng teng is a popular thrist quencher and light dessert perfect for those hot days (which is almost year round in Singapore if you ask me). Served either hot or cold (though personally, I always go for the cold version because it is SO refreshing), some say that cheng teng has "cooling" properties which will bring down body heat. So those who sense an oncoming sore throat or have taken too much "heaty" food (like deep fried stuff) should down a bowl of cheng teng pronto!
This clear, sweet liquid is a delight to glup down!
Anyway, Ye Lai Xiang cheng teng stall at Bedok Corner is quite famous with Easties (and some Westies). Next to it is a satay bee hoon stall also run by the same family with the same stall name. A little bird told me that because of the popularity of these two family-owned stalls, the owners have earned enough to buy landed property around the Bedok Corner vicinity! (Everybody say "wahhhh..." altogether!)
As for the cheng teng, I guess the owner must really be confident that his cheng teng is number one such that he can open a stall selling only that dessert. Well, I can't really put my finger on why it is so popular, but I can hazard a guess. Maybe it is the clear brown liquid that makes it so sweet and easy to drink, or because of the generous ingredients the owner puts in his cheng teng (dried persimmon, sweet potato cubes, dried winter melon strips, etc), or maybe because the owners are very very friendly people who always greet their customers with a smile (unlike the Hokkien Mee stall owner at Bedok Corner...)
At $2 or $3 per bowl, Ye Lai Xiang's cheng teng is chock full of ingredients...I like!
Well, my verdict is that this cheng teng tastes really delicious and makes for a fantastic thirst quencher on a hot day. I like how generous the owner is with his cheng teng ingredients. Every mouthful is a delight, really! I love how unpretentious this dessert is too (what's up with all the fanciful durian ice-kacang or multi hyphenate "modern" desserts you find in other dessert stalls?). This cheng teng tastes very home-made, and very comforting. 4.6/5
You must try this!
Address:
Ye Lai Xiang Hot and Cold Cheng Teng - Bedok Corner Food Centre, Upper East Coast Rd, Stall 31 (see this post on directions on how to get there)
Open from 4pm - 8pm (or when sold out), closed on Mondays
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