THERE IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING BETTER THAN MAPLE SYRUP : GULA MELAKA, PALM SUGAR OF MALACCA

Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm , the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). Now it is also made from the sap of the [[sago], arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as " arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".

While coconut sugar has long been a staple for South East Asian culinary heritage and herbal medicine, the evolution of this traditional sweetener into a practical and easy to use cane sugar alternative heralds an exciting moment for the food & beverage industry. Coconut Palm Sugar has an extremely low glycemic index, an extremely high nutrient content and an affordable price for manufacturers and consumers alike.

There has been a rapid increase in popularity with progressive manufactures in the United States who make products for the health conscious consumer. Because diabetes is becoming a global epidemic, consumers are becoming very aware of their sugar intake, in what form their sugar comes in and where it comes from. Coconut palm sugar, because of its low glycemic qualities and high nutrient profile, is gaining in popularity for a wide array of uses to cater to the sugar conscious consumer.
Companies are using coconut palm sugar in cookies, baked goods, protein powders, energy bar, beverages or anywhere cane sugar is used.

Palm sugar is often used to sweeten savory food to balance out the salty flavor of fish. Its primary use in Thai cuisine is in sweets and desserts, and somewhat less often in curries and sauces.

Gula melaka is made by first extracting the sap from the flower bud of the coconut tree. Several slits are cut into the bud and a pot is tied underneath the bud to collect the sap. Then the sap is boiled until it thickens after which, in the traditional way, it is also poured into bamboo tubes between 3-5 inches in length, and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Alternatively it can be poured into glass jars or plastic bags.

There is only one place to have the most fabulous cendol in Malacca and that is at Jonker 88 on Jonker Street of course.

Cendol is simple, just five ingredients in its most stripped-down form: shaved ice mounded over chewy pandan-flavored 'pasta', santan (coconut milk), a splash of condensed milk, and gula Melaka (coconut palm sugar named for the southern Malaysian city of Melaka, but produced all over Malaysia) syrup. Add-ins like sago pearls and red beans are optional.

Any dish this uncomplicated requires top-notch ingredients. There's not much variation in ice and condensed milk (some cendol fans will argue the latter point), but the pasta better be smooth, sturdy, and fragrant with pandan leaf, the coconut milk fresh, creamy, and undiluted with water, and the gula sourced from a producer who knows his or her way around a coconut palm patch.

 This is the cendol from Jonker 88. Thick, gooey gula melaka, creamy coconut and some pandan jelly and sweet red beans under all that ice.

This is a cendol from another stall down Jonker Street. Jonker 88 cendol rocks because of their gula melaka. You cannot second that. And it is only RM2 or S$0.80, or 40eurocents!