Ranan Samanya Photography

A hot, humid and crowded Jonker Street, Malacca. While many will seek place to eat and buy souvenirs, I prefer to wet my throat and chill down my body temperature. After a few bottles of soft drinks and coconut juice, I spotted this unique popsicle seller.

For two Ringgits (Malaysian currency), we can enjoy this homemade ice. The uniqueness lies in the way they are being made. Freezing the different flavored syrup is done without any electricity. First the syrup is poured into stainless steel cone-shaped tubes. All the tubes are color coded: purple for grape, yellow for lemon, red for strawberry and green for a flavor I forgot.

Then the tubes are put inside a zinc container, with plenty of ice blocks beneath it. After stirring a few minutes, satay sticks are pushed into the half-ready ice to create the popsicle stick. When we mention the flavor we want, the seller will pick the corresponding tube, dip it a few seconds in water and POP, the tube will be separated from the popsicle. Isn’t this sweet?

Oh, and my favorite is the grape flavor.