Just a few days ago, I arrived to my desk at my office job and found a nice surprise on my desk. It was a plastic, Mickey Mouse bag with a yellow post-it note that read in impeccable hand-writing:
From Krabi
You know the festival of the Tenth Lunar Month in the South.
I bring these 3 special and symbolic desserts of the festival for you.
Enjoy eating
I was stoked! Checking into the office in the morning to a nice surprise gift! I love trying new food and enjoy learning about the regional culture, especially that of Southern Thailand. So I eagerly, opened the bag for the three symbolic desserts. I pulled out three plastic boxes each with a unique snack (khanom) inside, and each with a smaller yellow post-it note with a description.
The first was box had a note that read:
We call this Khanom La
This one was interesting, if not downright unusual. It was a long, single flat-like piece, with a texture like a fibrous cloth folded upon itself.
To eat it, you have to tear it, which does require two hands. It is almost like tearing off a thin piece of cardboard paper, but once it hits your mouth it melts quickly.
The second box read:
We call this Khanom La Krob
The Thai word “Krob” means crispy, and this one could be seen as a crispy version of the first dessert. This one was fun because of its crunchiness and hard shell taco-like shape. It was like eating a delicate, more textured fortune cookie.
And the last box, in the shape of a soccer ball read:
We call this Khanom Pong
The container was by far my favorite, and the snack inside was my favorite too. They were like crispy rice cakes with a riceberry mix, easy to break off and pop in your mouth. The flavor is subtle, a touch of sweet and a touch of salty. There were several layers of of these stacked on each other inside the soccer ball.
I remember eating Quaker brand rice cakes as a kid, and the khanom pong reminded of those if they were married to Rice Krispies.
Normally, Southern Thai food is known for its extreme flavor but all of these snacks were quite plain. Therefore, these snacks are a good compliment to counterbalance the bold flavors.
It was definitely a treat to find these khanom from Krabi upon arriving at the office and I enjoyed celebrating (EATING) the festival of the tenth lunar month.
I want to thank my friend, Sompann, for this great surprise and sharing your Krabi culture with me!