Informative Essay: The Ice Kachang Ball

The Ice Kachang Ball, also spelt as Ice Kacang Ball, or simply, Ice Ball, is a cold, affordable, and mouth-watering Singaporean and Malaysian dessert. It has evolved from just a simple Ice Ball to many sophisticated versions over the years into the forms we are familiar with today.

“The Ice Ball used to be just red, green and brown. Sometimes instead of brown, the uncle used yellow coloured syrup. I liked the brown flavour best, though, because that’s Gula Melaka,” Chandru Rajwani, 56, a local businessman who grew up in Singapore.

Ice Kachang, literally translated from Malay means ice and nuts. Ice Kachang means ice and nuts when directly translated from Malay language. This name was given to this sweet and luscious dessert because in olden

I got interested in it because my parents used to sell drinks and made Ice Kachang Balls to bring in more business.”

However, even this passionate vendor admits that the Ice Kachang Ball is outdated. Sadly, the demand for Ice Kachang Balls has seen a stark dip as modern desserts like the Ice Kachang found today that is served in a bowl replaces this traditional treat. The once ubiquitous Ice Kachang Ball that could be found on every other road or street corner is no more.

Nowadays, because of the changing palates of consumers, Ice Kachang is served with red beans, palm seeds (attap chee), sweet corn, a variety of jellies and other novelty toppings such as durian and mango, as it’s base. Besides the modern Ice Kachang, premium ice cream like that of Häagen Dazs, and tiramisu, have also helped in the

Back then, a lot of parents didn’t like their children eating cold desserts, so it was a treat when we got to eat them,” he says.

Singapore’s hot weather was not the only reason people indulged in Ice Kachang Balls. This activity was also an opportunity for children to socialise with their peers, as recalled by Bernadine Samuel, 58, a local Singaporean.

According to Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, a Singaporean newspaper columnist and homour writer, the best Ice Kachang in the 1960s and 1970s was made by the Hainanese in a kopitiam along the now-defunct Koek Lane, between the present Centrepoint and Orchard Point. It cost 40 cents a plate, and for a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on top, another 20 cents.

Ms. Toh says: "The shaved ice was particularly smooth, not harsh like most are today. The red beans were slightly mashy, damp and moist, and attap chees full and hard.”

Although the Ice Kachang Ball was a “poor man’s food”, it is a delectable dessert nonetheless, that brings back some of the greatest memories of childhood for the children who were around during the 1960s and