HAIKOU: In an Indonesian-style restaurant decorated with special wood ceilings, jelly-like desserts with green layers lure many foodies visiting from across China.
“I definitely like the coconut rolls with pandan leaf juice,” said a tourist surnamed Zhang, from northeast China. “I have ordered some to take home for my friends.”
The snack shop is located in Xinglong Town of Wanning, a coastal city in the tropical island province of Hainan in south China. It offers a variety of products, such as coffee, herbal tea and cakes, all mixed with green pandan leaf juice. The snacks are captivating for customers eager to have a taste of the distinctive flavor of Southeast Asia, said shop owner Zhan Shumin, 38.
“My granny was born and raised in Indonesia, and since I was a little girl, I begged her to teach me how to make snacks with pandan leaf juice,” she said.
Pandan is a tropical plant with fragrant leaves frequently used in food as flavoring in both Southeast Asia and South Asia. In the 1950s, some Chinese returned from overseas and introduced the plant to Xinglong, and desserts made with pandan leaf juice gradually gained popularity in the area.
Wanning has agreeable weather, with an average annual temperature of around 23 degrees Celsius and average annual precipitation of 2,100 millimeters. Average humidity is 86 percent while average annual sunshine is up to 2,200 hours, making it a perfect place for pandan cultivation.
The introduction of pandan plants has translated into quite a business in Wanning, with locals currently growing more than 333 hectares of this fragrant herb in the city, according to the latest government figures. –Agencies
