Thai desserts. How I love them. Asian desserts often seem to confuse Westerners as whatever sweetness involved is quite subtle. They might even have a savoury hint to them. On numerous business trips to Bangkok, I discovered different Thai desserts, at times from food stalls on the streets or in shopping malls, or set out as conference snacks.
The most glorious of all, of course, is Mango Sticky Rice, which, when the mangoes are ripe and sweet, are superb. I also like the weird sweet bean paste, covered in a shiny coating and made to look like tiny fruit. And then there are tiny little puffy disks, not unlike the Dutch or Danish desserts with griddles with round indentations: cook one side, and flip them over, and the dessert is oval or round. The Thais put corn and coconut milk in one version that I particularly like.
I don’t know anywhere else but Thanon Khaosan, a stone’s throw from World Square, that produces this variety of Thai sweets, and then lays them out at the front of their shop to tempt people. It works on me. This is a go-to place if I’m in the neighbourhood: a perfect sweet but not too sweet treat, with the tropical flavours of mango and coconut and banana, and somewhat unfamiliar textures of sticky rice or jellies or pancakes.
The reviews of the savoury food here are pretty good; I’ll have to try it some time. But it’s hard for me to go past those sweets!