GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s legendary “ais tingkap” shop next to Chowrasta Market has celebrated 100 years of quenching the thirst of travellers with a distinctive sherbet of syrup and coconut water.
The seven brothers of the Seeni Rawther family marked the centenary today by giving away 1,000 drinks, to a long queue of people who stood in line up to Penang Road.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow joined the family for their the centenary celebration, and he tried his hand at mixing a glass of ais tingkap. It is a sherbet made from rose syrup, basil seeds, getah anggur (khatira gum), coconut flesh and coconut water, topped off with shaved ice.
Chow said the Rawther family were among the many heritage icons of the George Town World Heritage Site.
Ais tingkap, or “sherbet from the window” gained its name from being served to thirsty travellers through a window on the side of a shophouse at the corner of Tamil Street and Penang Road.
The business is carried on today by Mohamed Asri Seeni Mohamed and his six brothers following the footsteps of their great-great-grandfather Seeni Rawther, who began selling the drinks from a pushcart in 1919 for 5 cents a cup. It is RM2.50 a cup today.
Mohamed Asri said: “My grandpa Seeni was just like one of the nasi kandar guys, who sold food on the streets, bus stops and taxi stands those days. He first started at the port, where he became a hit among haj pilgrims returning from Mecca who were thirsty for a taste of Penang as soon as they arrived.
“On other days, he would take his pushcart around towns and schools. It became difficult for him when he got older. A trader then offered a small space at the back of his shop next to a window at Tamil Street.”
Today, the drinks are no longer served from the “tingkap” where the name originated but from a stall on the road shoulder about 10 feet (3 metres) away. In 2011, the shophouse changed hands and the new owner did not allow them to carry on.
The brothers also sell cendol and other Malaysian favourites at the stall from 11am to 7pm every day.
Asri’s uncle, Shahul Hameed Syed Mohamed, said there is a distinct difference between ais tingkap and the sherbet served during Ramadan.
The Ramadan drinks are typically Jigarthanda-type drinks made from water and syrup, which has its origins in Tamil Nadu, India.
“Ais tingkap, however, uses a lot of coconut water, which gives it a unique taste. And the coconut we use is also not too ripe or young,” said Shahul Hameed. Everyhting is home-made. The special rose syrup is made painstakingly by slow cooking rose petals and sugar syrup overnight.
“The recipe was passed down from Seeni Rawther since 1919. Hw learnt how to make it in his hometown in Tamil Nadu,” Shahul Hameed said.
Among those who queued in the searing heat for their ais tingkap today were two Sarawakians, Ismail Ojek, 63, of Kuching, and his friend Abang Shith Abang Joss, 62.
“It is something that you will never get in Kuching. I plan to ask the owner if we can market it in Sarawak,” he said.
Taiwanese graduate Matthew Wang, 22, here on his graduation holiday, said the drink could be a hit in Taiwan as much as bubble tea.
Kamisah Mazlan, 39, from Marang, Terengganu, is a frequent visitor. She said she would stop at the shop as soon as she arrives in Penang to get her fix. - FMT
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