A Step Off The Beaten Path

Food is so different (and fun!) here in Thailand. One thing I’ve noticed is that coconut seems to find its way into everything:  curries, soups, beverages, and lots of desserts. Anna and I happened upon a fun example of a coconut dessert a couple nights ago when we went to a night market by our place. A lady operated a stand making Khanom Krok, which she translated to mean Thai coconut pudding. It took all of 10 seconds of watching her make it before I knew I had to get some! She starts by pouring a rice flour mix onto a hot iron filled with a bunch of half-cups. Then she pours sweet coconut over the whole thing, followed by a topping of either corn, pumpkin, or onions (we went with corn). It makes more sense when you see her in action:

Almost ready!

Once they finish cooking, she cuts them up with scissors and puts them in a little paper container. For 20 Baht (about $.55), we got almost all the little pudding circles you see in the picture below. So yummy!

Another fun treat (with no coconut unless you ask for it) can be found at a special ice cream stand. We found one tonight at the Sunday Walking Street. You pick what you want and they mix and make it up for you on the spot. We each got different ones and they were all yummy! Evan ordered a . . . well, I’ll just let him tell you:

We have one more day in Chiang Mai. From here, we’ll board a bus to Chiang Rai, a smaller city 3-4 hours northwest of here. We’ll only be in Chiang Rai for 3 days before we cross the border into Laos, where we’ll likely spend the next 3-4 weeks.