Xperiment

Discover Thai Desserts

Back to . . .  A Taste of Thai Food from the Capital

Sawa dee (Hello) and welcome back.  I trust you had an enjoyable lunch?  Shall we now continue our visit of Chatuchak Weekend Market by seeking out some Thai desserts?

A few doors away from our lunch spot, we come across a stall selling “Lod Chong Nam Ka Ti” or Thai Chendol.  This are short strips of green jelly-like noodles with coconut milk and liquid palm sugar, served in a bowl with crushed ice.  It tastes sweet and creamy; the ice also makes it cool and refreshing.

Walking along on one of the main pathways, we see an ice-cream push-cart parked on the side.  There are many large tall glass jars on the cart top containing local fruit and other toppings.  There is atap-seed fruit in thick syrup, sweet corn kernels, large red beans, pineapple chunks, mango strips, and more.  Just order a bowl and point to your choice of toppings . . . enjoy!

In the central courtyard, a lady stands by the clock tower next to a trolley carrying a big metal drum.  There are metal tubes and wooden sticks protruding from the top of the drum.  Along comes a little girl with her father in tow, and we about to discover what the drum contains. She gets a red Popsicle from the lady, and is all smiles.  The vendor immediately tops up the metal tube with syrup, drops in a stick, and places the tube back into the Popsicle making contraption.

As the mid-day crowd swells, and the heat sets in, we decide to head back to the hotel and cool off.  Heading towards the exits, we come across a couple of fruit vendors.  One has small orange colored fruits called “Ma Prang”.  The stall holder says that the English name is Plum Mango.  It seems that the whole fruit can be eaten, from the skin and juicy flesh to the single seed inside.  The flesh tastes sweet-sour and is deep orange in color.

The next stall is carrying large pink Guavas.  There are plastic bags of sliced guava, which you can eat as is, or you can ask for one of the homemade sauces to be added into your bag for a different taste.  The sauces are a complex blend of tastes.  One is a mix of salt, granulated sugar and crushed chilies.  The other has palm sugar, chilies and fish sauce cooked to a thick brown liquid.

We finish sampling the fruits and head for the SkyTrain back to town.

In the evening when temperatures are down to a more bearable level, we venture out to the shopping malls in the heart of Bangkok.  Emporium is one of the newer and trendier places to visit on Sukhumvit Road; there are many boutiques on the lower levels, a department store, and a supermarket & food outlets on the top floor.

There is a vegetable carving demonstration going on just as we enter the supermarket.  The crowd looks on in awe as vegetables are carved into leaves, flowers and other fanciful shapes.  And all that is used are three tools – a seeding knife, a carving knife, and a “miracle zig zag tool” that can cut grooves on the surface of fruits or vegetables, cut with a zig zag pattern, cut & peel the skin off fruits like an orange, and core apples, cucumbers or other items.  After a quick on the spot personal lesson, I decide to pick up the set of tools to start learning the skill of fruit & vegetable carving.

Inside the supermarket, there are pre-mixed packets of Thai spices on display.  These will enable you to easily cook up popular Thai dishes.  All you need to do is select the right pack for the dish you wish to prepare, and follow the simple instructions on the back.  They will tell you what other ingredients you need to purchase, then use the contents of the pack and cook per the rest of the directions.  You’ll be a Thai chef instantly!

For dinner, we visit a Thai restaurant across the street.  The prawn cakes are tasty, and Tom Yum seafood soup hot & spicy.  Crispy duck is a good new experience, flavorful and crunchy.  Fried vegetables and steamed rice round out the meal.

With not many choices on the dessert menu, we settle for “Kluai Tod” deep fried banana, “Bua Loi Phuak” taro in coconut cream, “Red Ruby” water chestnut bits coated with tapioca flour in coconut milk, and “Kluai Buat Chi” banana cooked in coconut milk.  All were sweet and delicious; a satisfying end to the day.

The next day, after breakfast at the hotel, we confirm directions with the concierge and head for Bangrak fruit and flower market in an exclusive neighborhood around the south part of town.

Looking at the great variety of fruits laid out before us, we understand why Thailand is truly a land of exotic fruits, and why so many wonderful desserts have been created by these inspired people.

There are indigenous fruits such as mangos, known as “Ma Muang” locally.  There are several varieties, each with its own unique flavor.  The best known dessert made with this fruit is Mango and Sticky Rice; steamed glutinous rice with sliced mango and a topping of coconut milk mixture.

Many non-native tropical fruits are also grown in the country.  Among them is Star-fruit, a yellow-orange fruit with a star shaped cross section.  It is very juicy, with a sweet-sour taste; it is often served as chilled juice for refreshment.  Its unique shape also allows it to easily enhance the presentation of any fruit platter.

After an enjoyable morning discovering all types of exotic fruits, we slow down the pace after lunch and go visit Jim Thompson House.  This museum was the Thai home of American James H W Thompson, the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company, and is a popular attraction for visitors to Bangkok.

All too soon, another day is almost over and our weekend in Bangkok is coming to an end.  Time for a last round of shopping in the city, then packing for the trip home, and a final tour of Bangkok city by night.

Have a good flight home; Dirn Tang Dooi Sawsdee Pap (Bon Voyage).

When we get back, I’ll Xperiment a bit with fruit & vegetable carving and get some experience before sharing with you the techniques.  Bye for now!