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Native Sweet Treats of Chanthaburi
Located about 10 kilometers south of Chanthaburi on the banks of the Nong Bua Canal, Ban Nong Bua is the only place where you can try unusual snacks and food sourced from Chinese descendants in this centuries-old community.
The community of unusual snacks is also known as Chumchon Khanom Plaek. The community became popular tourist attraction after the market was re-opened in 2016. Thanks to the president of Khanom Plaek Community Enterprise named Ratanathorn Kaonongbua who initiated the idea to highlight unusual names of some snacks and the ambience of the community’s old wooden shophouses for visitors.Starting with a modest start with 15 food stalls set up in front of some shophouses, the place has rapidly expanded to a walking street that today holds more than 130 stalls.
The highlight is khanom khuay ling (means penis of the monkey). The snack was created by the family of Mali Thueakkaew more than a century ago. It is made of black glutinous flour which is kneaded into a cylindrical shape and boiled in water before being covered with fresh coconut shreds.The snack initially had no name. But after the delicious snacks were distributed to the neighbors, a name was needed. Their ancestors named the snack after seeing a long-tailed macaque showing its penis while sitting next to the cooking station begging for dessert. It may have started as a family joke, but the snack has since been known by the name.
Another weird name dessert is khanom tid kho, which means a dessert that sticks in your throat. The snack consists of boiled black glutinous. It is served with the mixture of ground peanuts and cane sugar. Other weird names and must-try snacks are khanom e-nam yiao wua (a unique version of bua loy or sticky rice flour served in cane sugar syrup instead of coconut milk), khanom talum (coconut pudding topped with egg custard), khanom tang kuay (rice snack mixed with sesame seeds and dried winter melon) and many more.
There are also food stalls where you can try kuaytiao khon chon (a noodle dish in shrimp soup), muk tom nam aoy (boiled squid in cane sugar soup) and khao khluk phrik kluea (boiled rice topped with parboiled shrimps, squid, fish and boiled egg and seafood sauce, which is called phrik kluea in Chanthaburi).
Apart from local food and snacks, don’t forget to check out some old wooden shophouses which are opened for public visits.
How to get there: From the city of Chanthaburi, drive 10 km on No 3348, then turn right on 200 Pi Road and follow the sign to the community. Bang Nong Bua Walking Street is open during weekend from 9am to 5pm. Visit facebook.com/NongBuaChanthaburi or call 081-761-6034.
