Petaling Street Lohanguo Longan Drink Copycat- KL Sel MFF #3

Those who frequent Petaling Street would've seen this busy stall at the junction with a lot of people standing all around waiting for a small stainless steel bow (how it looked like in the olden days). What is in that bowl that could make people stand and wait for their turn with no complains.... it's just a herbal drink. Read here

What's so special about this herbal drink? It seems common to have wintermelon, longan and lohanguo as a drink, so?

It's because it can give you the oohs and the ahhs. Before you oooh and ahhh, and if it's your first time to have it, you may squint a bit at your first spoonful. It's utterly sweet! But as you drink on.... it feels smooth and satisfying, doesn't taste like the norm. It just doesn't! It totally shouts "KAW!" that means concentrated in local lingo.

Usually dried longan after being boiled in a drink will taste bland...but the one at Petaling Street is still as sweet as ever. And the amount of ice in the drink can give you brain freeze! Shiok!

The ingredients are no secret. They are all displayed there at the stall as it's common stuff, but the secret lies in the ratio of ingredients. I didn't dig them for this recipe, but I happened to recreate something similar by accident 10 years ago. I thought of making some herbal drink sugar cubes and gave up on reducing it to a paste. And left it in the watery but concentrated state. And then I found that it tasted like the one in Petaling Street. Talk about hitting jackpot!

But I think current years they have changed the type of longan used. Back in those days, it was black and flatten out, but now they are pale and plump. I still prefer the dark and flat ones.

You can opt and make it with less rock sugar, but then you will lose the essence of this drink. That is the longans won't be as sweet and tasty. Use the ice to dilute the drink at the end, not dilute the drink in the beginning. Use it like how you would use cordial. That's how concentrated it should be. 

Petaling Street Longan Drink Copycat Recipe
by WendyinKK 
Servings: 10-12 rice bowls, when prepared with ice

300gm wintermelon
300gm rock sugar
3 lohanguo
100gm dark longan flesh
2L water

1. Scrub the skin of the wintermelon and discard the seeds. Cut the wintermelon into large chunks, skin on.
2. Bring to a boil with water and lower to a simmer for 2 hours, lid on.
3. Place lohanguo in between your palms and crack them. Put them into the pot together with rock sugar and simmer for another hour.
4. Strain the infusion, you should have around 1L, not too much. Put in dark longan flesh and simmer for 10 minutes, turn off the heat.
5. Let it cool totally. (no need to chill, if it's on the same day)
6. Take a FULL bowl of ice cubes, then spoon some of the cooled longan infusion over, let it melt for 5 minutes and slowly savour it. Enjoy!

*You can place the strained remnants back into a empty pot, put in 1 or 2 L of water and bring it back to a boil., It still has a lot of flavour, just not as concentrated. Waste not :)

melted at the end of the shooting.... just right for me to drink right now

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish