This pork lard cendol in KL may be the limit to disgusting combinations of M’sian delicacies

Sometimes, vendors and chefs will go above and beyond for the sake of shock value. We’re all a little too familiar with some seriously heinous creations in Malaysia, take the various Maggi variants for example. Milo and Maggi? Seriously?

But I digress. We found a Chinese eatery in KL that serves a severely twisted take on a beloved Malaysian dessert: Pork lard cendol.

Excuse me, did I read that right?

You did. Malaysia’s sweet answer to beating the heat has a near-sacrilegious version, tucked away in Sri Petaling, KL.

Traditionally a shaved ice dessert drenched in santan and gula melaka, the name Cendol comes from its topping of cendol noodles. Red beans, sweet corn, or grass jelly are usually included as toppings too.

However, at this particular Chinese restaurant, they serve cendol with an unusual ingredient: crispy pork lard fried to perfection in-house. But combined with cendol noodles that have been marinated in santan for hours? Hmm…

What kind of brain comes up with this stuff?

The owners of House of Fishball 漁鄉丸 came up with the idea with the help of their only son. A family recipe indeed. After coming up with the idea, they quickly set it to work, testing it on regular customers of the shop.

Following R&D, they finally got to a point where the strange dessert was more than just weird, it was… actually enjoyable? At least according to the customers they served it to for trial.

They quickly then started serving their creation to the public, garnering a great load of social media attention.

How much would you pay for porky cendol?

Most Malaysians are familiar with typical cendol prices. You can even spot roadside stalls serving the delicious treat for RM3. Would you, however, spend RM9.90 for pork lard cendol?

Because that’s how much House of Fishball 漁鄉丸 charges for it. If you feel like that’s too steep of a price, however, they also serve a standard, plain cendol that goes for RM7.90.

What netizens had to say

Of course, the internet is always judgemental. Opinions galore, and surprisingly, there are some supporters of the pork lard cendol!

Some even went as far as to compliment the restaurant for ‘pushing the boundaries’. Another commenter compared the savoury-sweet dessert to candied bacon in Western desserts. Many took a humorous approach to expressing their takes on this creation.

Unsurprisingly, for every funny and lighthearted comment, there were 10 negative ones. Which isn’t something you can fault them for. This cendol is a controversial one after all.

From cursing the creator of this twisted dish to rejecting the mere existence of it, netizens were infuriated.

MFT’s review

And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. What does it taste like? I can’t lie, I was extremely apprehensive about putting the spoon into my mouth.

First, the pork lard and cendol separately. The in-house fried pork lard has a lovely crunch and isn’t too hard either. It crushes between your teeth very easily, so the aroma of pork bursts in your mouth at the slightest bite.

And as for the cendol, the red beans in it are huge and fat, and not too sweet either. The santan marinated cendol is extremely fragrant with coconut and pandan aromas. Creating an indulgent mouthfeel and scent!

But together… I can confidently say that the first bite was not that good. An overwhelming slap of pork lard and that porky scent. It overpowered the cendol far too much.

But perhaps that was our fault, as after the dessert was thoroughly mixed, it actually tasted… good?

A slight saltiness and earthiness that lends a deep complexity to cendol that we know and love. We hate to say it, but this twisted dessert might actually be MFT-approved!

But will you feel the same? Maybe you should go and try it out for yourself.

Check out our video on this crazy pork lard cendol!