lot chong Singapore Thailand In parts of the
Indochinese region, local adaptations of the dessert emerged within the broader Southeast Asian culinary framework. In Thailand,
lot chong (Thai: ลอดช่อง), has long been embedded in cultural and social life. In the 15th century, it was included in the traditional “four-cup dessert set,” a selection of sweets commonly prepared in households alongside
puffed rice dessert,
basil seed dessert and
sticky rice. Historically, the dessert was called
Nok Ploy, a name thought to reference either the process of pressing the dough into strands, which resembled the
excretion of a bird, or symbolically, the freeing of the dough like a bird being released. The modern name
lot chong, meaning “passing through a hole,” reflects the preparation method of pressing dough through small holes into water to form the dessert’s characteristic strands.
Vietnam featuring beans,
bánh lọt strands, coconut milk and shaved ice, served in a container. In
southern Vietnam, particularly in the
Mekong Delta,
bánh lọt has long formed part of local food traditions, where it is believed to have originated as a simple countryside snack. Early preparations were typically sweet and served with coconut milk, reflecting the region’s abundance of
rice and
coconut. Over time, the dish spread to
urban centres, including
Ho Chi Minh City, where it became more widely consumed across different social and economic settings. A notable dessert application of
bánh lọt is chè ba màu (“three-colour dessert”), a layered sweet commonly sold by
street vendors and dessert stalls in southern Vietnam. It typically consists of green
bánh lọt strands, sweetened red beans, yellow mung bean paste, shaved ice and coconut milk. The dish is closely associated with urban food culture in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta and is commonly consumed as a cooling dessert during warm weather and festive or market occasions. As
bánh lọt entered urban food culture, it diversified into numerous forms. In addition to sweet versions, it was adapted into
savoury dishes, including
stir-fried preparations with eggs and vegetables, noodle soups served with
pork or
shrimp, and mixed dishes combining the strands with plain white noodles. This versatility allowed
bánh lọt to move beyond its original role as a dessert and become incorporated into everyday meals. From the south, it gradually reached central and northern Vietnam, although it remained less common in the north and was often regarded as a specialised or
regional sweet.
Mont let saung is strongly associated with
Thingyan, the Myanmar New Year
Water Festival, where it is often prepared and distributed by
satuditha donors to revellers.
Mont let saung also appears as an ingredient in the Burmese dessert
shwe yin aye, reflecting the integration of this rice jelly-based preparation into multi-ingredient sweet dishes and its role in festive and communal culinary traditions.
Cambodia In
Cambodia,
nom lut is a traditional
Cambodian dessert consisting of rice-flour dumplings, typically formed into small balls and served in sweetened coconut milk. It is usually consumed chilled and is characterised by a smooth, slightly chewy texture and subtly sweet flavour. Variations include the use of pandan juice for colouring, ice for additional cooling and fried or savoury forms incorporating aromatic ingredients such as
garlic leaves.
Nom Lut can also be served alongside other traditional snacks, including Kuih Koo Chhay and Mi Chha, and is prepared in both households and local shops, reflecting aspects of Cambodian culinary identity.
Indonesia In
Indonesia, a closely related variant known as
dawet developed primarily within
Javanese culinary traditions.
Dawet is typically prepared from rice flour jelly served with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. Early references to drinks resembling
dawet appear in
Javanese literary sources such as the Kresnayana, which reflects aspects of cultural life during the
Kediri period and suggests that
sweet, coconut-based
beverages were enjoyed both in courtly circles and among local communities. Local tradition records
dawet in
Ponorogo as early as the 10th century, with renewed prominence in the 15th century during the administration of Bupati Bathara Katong, who is said to have popularised the drink and introduced it to the
Demak Sultanate. Initially colourless,
dawet later adopted a distinctive green hue derived from suji leaves, a colour often associated with symbolic and spiritual meanings in
Javanese culture. Today,
dawet remains widely consumed across Indonesia, commonly sold in traditional markets and street stalls, with numerous regional adaptations that contribute to its continued cultural relevance. In
Java, the term
dawet generally refers to the complete beverage comprising green
cendol jellies, usually made from
aren (
Arenga pinnata) sago or rice flour, served with coconut milk and liquid gula jawa or palm sugar syrup. In Banjarnegara, Central Java, dawet has traditionally been served without
ice. However, the addition of
ice cubes or
shaved ice is now common. (fermented sweet cassava),
cendol without coconut milk, liquid palm sugar, and green
cendol jellies in coconut milk In
Indonesia,
cendol is frequently served with additional ingredients such as
tapai (fermented sweet cassava),
black grass jelly, diced jackfruit, durian flesh and sweetened or chocolate condensed milk. Serving styles vary by region, with
cendol typically presented in tall
glasses in Java, while in
West Sumatra it is more commonly served in bowls. Textural quality is considered an important characteristic of the dish, and achieving the desired chewiness depends on maintaining a balanced proportion of rice flour and sago flour in the jelly mixture. Numerous regional variations exist across Indonesia, reflecting local ingredients and culinary practices. In
Central Java, Javanese
es dawet ayu from
Banjarnegara is a well known regional style, while another variant,
es dawet ireng from
Purworejo, features black
cendol. Ireng is the
Javanese word for “black”, and unlike the green pandan coloured jelly, this variant derives its colour from merang, the ash of burned rice stalks mixed with water. In
Karanganyar Regency,
dawet ungu, a purple variant, is prepared using sweet potato, while
dawet beras from
Tegal is made from rice flour and is white in colour. In
Tegal, the drink is traditionally prepared by striking a
lime into a bowl before adding the
cendol and liquid palm sugar. A well known speciality from
Surakarta (Solo) is
dawet telasih, which combines
cendol with black sticky rice,
rice pudding, fermented sticky rice,
basil seeds, coconut milk, sweetened syrup, and ice. In West Sumatra,
cendol, locally known as cindua, commonly appears in two colours, green and red, reflecting local ingredient preferences and colouring practices, with the red variant prepared from a mixture of sago palm flour and rice flour and coloured using extract derived from gambier sap.
Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei , a Malaysian, Singaporean and Bruneian shaved ice dessert, topped in this version with cendol'', beans, peanuts, creamed coconut and jelly. In
Malaysia,
Singapore and
Brunei,
cendol developed within the broader context of urban
hawker culture, particularly in port and trading centres, where it adapted to local preferences while retaining its essential elements of rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. During the
colonial period, the increased availability of commercially produced ice, especially in major Malayan ports such as
Melaka and
Penang, contributed to the widespread emergence of iced versions of the dessert. Ice brought ashore from
refrigerated trading vessels was utilised by local vendors, who combined it with existing components such as coconut milk, palm sugar and various toppings, including
sweetened red beans. In regions such as Penang,
cendol became deeply embedded in local food culture, initially sold by itinerant street vendors before becoming a staple of permanent hawker stalls. Localisation occurred through the culinary practices and preferences of different communities, and the dessert has long been consumed by
Malay,
Peranakan,
Chinese and
Indian populations, while also being documented in colonial-era sources as a distinctive regional specialty. Over time, a range of variations developed with the addition of ingredients such as red beans,
creamed corn, glutinous rice, durian,
ice cream and additional shaved ice. In some areas, coconut milk is replaced with
santan sawit (
palm-kernel milk) in a variant commonly known as
cendol sawit. Drawing on this tradition,
ais kacang developed as a more elaborate shaved ice dessert, combining a variety of ingredients such as red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly, attap chee (
palm seed), and coloured syrups, often topped with a drizzle of condensed milk. In many Malaysian variations,
cendol continues to serve as a central component, linking ais kacang directly to its earlier forms and highlighting the continuity of the region’s hawker dessert culture. ==Cultural role==