Claim to cendol fame

Adding gula melaka to the homemade cendol. — Photos: ART CHEN/The Star

Always order your cendol quickly as it runs out fast at Makan Time; it’s the best I’ve had in a long while. Owner Daniel Chong makes his own cendol, colouring and flavouring the luscious rice strands with fresh pandan juice, served with santan and fragrant gula melaka. I crave for a bowl each time I’m there.

You can’t fault the Beef Noodles at Makan Time either, whether it’s with beef shank or beef tendon balls. I like the smooth kway teow which comes from Ipoh; the fragrant spiced and beefy flavours of the soup had a tinge of sweetness, with some Chinese parsley in it. The beef tendon balls were gelatinous, a little resistant to the bite, with a strong, welcome aroma of ginger.

The delectable Kai Si Hor Fun in sweet stock soup.

Then, there’s the Ipoh Kai See Hor Fun (kway teow with shredded chicken) that is available only once a week, usually on a Saturday. I revel in the deep flavours of the prawny chicken stock which had been simmered for more than eight hours with chicken bones, chicken feet, dried fish, prawn shells and chicken pieces. It’s a naturally sweet stock, embracing the silky noodles and topped with chicken meat, prawns, chives and fried shallots.

Sambal petai rice comes with a sizeable piece of fried chicken.

Asam Laksa here is thick with fish in a well-balanced spicy and sour broth, fragrant with Vietnamese coriander, lemongrass and bunga kantan (torch ginger flower). The condiments of mint, pineapple, cucumber and chillies come in a separate bowl, together with the unusual addition of crispy fu chuk (dried beancurd sheets).

The Sambal Petai with crispy Chicken Chop Rice stood out for its delicious hot, sweet sambal cooked with petai (stinky bean), long beans and lots of onions. Hainanese Chicken Balls mimicked the classic Hainanese Chicken Chop, except that the chicken is in the form of deep-fried meatballs finished with a light sweet sauce of tomato, onions, peas, mixed vegetables and baked beans. The large minced chicken balls made juicy and tasty bites, with a fried egg completing the dish.

Nasi Kerabu comes with all the condiments.

One of the top draws was the Nasi Kerabu Ayam Kerutuk. The rice is coloured blue using butterfly pea flower, and the Kelantan-style chicken drumstick was cooked with rempah (spices) and santan (coconut milk) so it’s sweet and spicy. It comes with shredded raw cabbage and long beans, kerisik (toasted grated coconut), fish crackers and salted egg. Everything eaten together makes for a satisfying meal.

Beef noodles with beef shank and beefballs.

Make a beeline for the Nyonya kuih as they disappear in a flash on busy Saturday mornings. My favourites are the onde onde and kuih ketayap that’s bursting with gula melaka coconut filling as well as the pandan ban chang kuih (Chinese peanut pancake) which I had on a previous visit. The kuih variety varies daily.

Sour and spicy Asam Laksa.

The daily specials are on the restaurant’s Facebook. You can do a little shopping here too, whether it’s for a bottle of duck egg kaya, asam sambal tumis, sambal belacan or Burmese dried prawn sambal. There are durian in the freezer (when in season), mango and ginger pickles, and gula melaka available.

Chong’s kitchen team includes a Muslim head chef.