Bandung is a popular and well-loved beverage commonly found in Singapore and Malaysia. It consists of evaporated milk or condensed milk or condensed milk flavoured with rose cordial syrup, giving a distinctly bright pink in colour.
In the Malay language, the term bandung means "pairs", while sirap means syrup and air means "water". More broadly, bandung refers to anything that mixed from other ingredients or comes in pairs.
Bandung is a favourite beverage especially among Malay communities. It is usually served during Iftar in Ramadan month or wedding receptions with other foods such as nasi beriani or rendang.
THE ORIGIN
The origins of this drink—where it comes from, and why it is named 'Bandung', is pretty much a mystery up till today.
One story goes back to the British colonial days, centring on an Englishman in Singapore.
The character in discussion had come across an Indian drink made up of rose extracts, but found it to be 'foul-smelling'. He attempted adding black tea to the drink, but realised that the smell remained. He then tried the concoction of adding milk and sugar, and liked how the milk 'thickened' the drink and how the sugar masked the foul smell.
Upon prompts from fellow colleagues on how the drink was, he replied with 'Banned Dung', which his colleagues heard as 'Bandung'—having just listed the city in West Java.
The bright pink hue of the drink is rumoured to be a result of street vendors wanting to differentiate the drink from teh tahrik (a drink consisting of milk and tea), thus adding pink colouring to the beverage that was originally already slight pink in hue.
The stories behind the bandung drink are hitherto from lore and hearsay, and are yet to be officially verified.
Further research and inquiry by official experts with credible sources need to be made in tracing the origin of bandung drink.
Reference:
www.wikipedia.com
www.nlb.gov.sg
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