Home to a treasure trove of hawker stalls which attract hungry crowds, ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre is one of the oldest hawker centres in Singapore, with must-try stalls like Wow Wow West, Ah Er Soup, and more.

If you frequent ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre, then you have probably heard of this famous dessert stall. Well-known for its Gangster Ice and Power Chendol, Jin Jin Dessert 津津甜品 is tucked away within the maze of hawker gems.

Even though the popular desserts now are Korean bingsu, boba soft serve, burnt cheesecake and other “hipster” dishes, a good bowl of chendol or ice kacang really hits the spot for me. Lucky for me, Jin Jin Dessert serves up a mean bowl of chendol.

The Power Chendol (S$2) is a must-try. The usual shaved ice mountain is topped with red bean, green chendol noodles, plenty of attap seeds and drenched with condensed milk.

But the best and most drool-worthy part of this dessert has got to be the gula melaka. Thick and gooey with the consistency of fudge, this gula melaka sauce was a lovely golden-brown. And the flavour was magnificent—toffee-like sweetness, with a light edge of salt and an almost burnt caramel finish.

While Jin Jin Dessert is quite generous with the chendol portion and ingredients, it can get a little cloying halfway through the bowl. My advice? Share it with a friend or two, because that much gula melaka and condensed milk can’t be good for your health!

If you love durian, then you’ll have to try their signature Gangster Ice (S$3). This simple dessert consists of durian puree, mango chunks and shaved ice. Certainly, one for the durian lovers!

Wondering why it’s called “gangster” ice? Well, “gangster” in Chinese is 流氓, which sounds phonetically the same as 榴芒, short for “durian (榴莲) mango (芒果)”. And that’s literally what this dessert is!

The fine mango shaved ice piled high in a bowl is topped with a generous scoop of pure durian ice cream. The thick consistency and strong smell was a good indication that it’s pure D24 durian.

What I really liked about this dessert was the fresh mango chunks—the sweet, tangy bursts of flavour actually went quite well with the rich and creamy durian.

Fans of durian can also try the Durian Ice Kachang (S$2.50), which is a zhng-ed version of our familiar ice kacang. Aside from the customary mountain of shaved ice drenched in condensed milk and rose syrup, this icy-cold dessert also came with generous servings of corn, red bean, red translucent jelly cubes, and—my favourite—attap seeds.

And the crowning glory: a scoop of pureed D24 durian ice cream. Most of us know ice kacang as a rather refreshing dessert, perfect for the sweltering heat in Singapore. The addition of the durian, however, made this a far more decadent dessert that was a tad too rich for me. Of course, this could be because I had already wolfed down two desserts, but to each their own.

Finally, if you prefer simple, traditional hot desserts, then you should order the Tau Suan (S$1.50).

Growing up, this was one of the traditional desserts I remember enjoying at hawker centres with my family. If you don’t know what tau suan is, it’s a starchy, gooey mung bean dessert that’s often served with you tiao.

At Jin Jin Dessert, they only make one batch of tau suan each day, so you need to be quick and snap up a bowl. When I reached around lunchtime, it was almost sold out—I think I snagged one of the last few bowls.

Thick, gooey and comforting, this bowl of tau suan had the slightest tinge of caramel and smoke from the gula melaka. It’s just a simple dessert, but it’s a great way to round off your meal.

With so many good stalls to choose from in ABC Brickworks, it’s always hard to settle for just one. The good news is, you can always enjoy your meal and drop by Jin Jin Dessert afterwards.

Expected Damage: S$1.50 – S$3.50 per pax

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