''Bandung'', ''sirap bandung'', ''air bandung'', ''iced bandung'' or ''rose syrup drink'' is a drink popular in

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

, notably in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It consists of

evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product for which approximately 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. French inventor, Nicolas Appert, the "father of ...

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

flavoured with rose syrup (

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

cordial), giving it a pink colour.

Regional names

The term ''bandung'' means "pairs", while ''sirap'' means "syrup" and ''air'' means "water". in the Malay and Indonesian languages, and the sirap refers to the rose-flavoured base syrup. More broadly, ''bandung'' refers to anything that is mixed from other ingredients or comes in pairs, such as the term ''rumah berbandung'' to refer to a

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

house, or " mee bandung" which refers to a noodle dish. The name has no connection to the city of

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

in Indonesia, but a variant of the drink can be found there as " soda gembira".

Details

Originating out of Singapore in the early 20th century during its time as an important British colonial ''

entrepôt An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...

'', ''Bandung'' is a favourite beverage especially among the Singaporean Malay community and subsequently the Malay communities of Southeast Asia. It is usually served during

Iftar ''Iftar'' () is the Fasting in Islam, fast-breaking Supper, evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan at the time of ' (call to prayer) of the Maghrib prayer. Iftar is the second meal of the day; during Ramadan, the daily fast begins immediately a ...

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

month or wedding receptions with other foods such as '' nasi beriani'' or '' rendang''. Modern innovations include adding

grass jelly Grass jelly, also known as leaf jelly or herbal jelly, is a Gelatin, jelly-like dessert originating in China. It is commonly consumed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is created by using Platostoma palustre, Chinese mesona (a member of the ...

soda water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quali ...

and are served as

street food Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

especially at night markets.

Variations

The soda water variant may be more commonly known as '' Soda gembira'' by Indonesians, although it has a distinct taste to ''Bandung'' due to the addition of a carbonated soft drink, such as

Fanta Fanta () is an American-owned brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are over 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as a Co ...

. It may be bought pre-mixed or made at home. In Malaysia, the drink is usually served with grass jelly (''bandung cincau'') which is sometimes mixed with

lychee Lychee ( , ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There are three distinct subspecies of lychee. The most common is the Indochinese lychee found in So ...

puree (''bandung cincau laici'') or

basil seed Basil seed (''Ocimum basilicum or Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ocimum tenuiflorum, aka Ocimum sanctum'') is the general term used to refer to the seeds of a few species of herb plants (basil). Generally, these seeds are small, black with a mild, nutty f ...

chia seed Chia seeds ( ) are the edible seeds of ''Salvia hispanica'', a flowering plant in the Mentha, mint family (Lamiaceae) native to central and southern Mexico, or of the related ''Salvia columbariae'', ''Salvia polystachia'', or ''Salvia tiliifolia' ...

(''bandung selasih''). Catering to local tastes and culinary traditions, Singapore's

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

often releases desserts inspired by the drink's taste in the country, including Bandung-flavoured McFlurry,

sundae A sundae (Sunday Ice) () is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocola ...

, and

soft serve Soft serve, also known as soft ice, is a frozen dessert and variety of ice cream, similar to conventional ice cream, but softer and less dense due to more air being introduced during freezing. Soft serve has been sold commercially since the lat ...

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Singaporean drinks Singaporean cuisine Bruneian cuisine Indonesian drinks Malaysian drinks Non-alcoholic drinks Non-alcoholic mixed drinks Street food

Regional names

Details

Variations

See also

References