BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - First there was the television variety show Krua Khun Toi, dishing out delectable recommendations for dishes to try at Thai restaurants.
Then came the Krua Khun Toi food exposition. Now, there is the Krua Khun Toi Rak Kanom Thai Fair. It will be in The Mall Bangkapi's MCC Hall, taking the form of a vast marketplace from Nov 23 to 26.
For holiday gift shopping, you cannot go wrong. The selection of traditional Thai sweets and snacks promises to be amazing. Mr Tripop Limpapath, president of Born and Associates, the firm organising the fair, says the vast array of desserts being enjoyed these days is missing one big element - pastries that "really reflect the uniqueness of the authentic Thai culinary arts and flavours".
He adds: "So we've organised the first Krua Khun Toi Rak Kanom Thai Fair to promote original Thai sweet treats. We want to proclaim that our Thai pastries are the best in both taste and diversity."
The fair will "add value" to the Thai dessert business by selling three different floral-print gift boxes containing a cornucopia of pastries, Mr Tripop says.
Also on offer will be scrumptious light meals from more than 80 restaurants and patisseries, the fare including dumplings, buns, Isaan sausages and leek-stuffed dough.
The gift boxes will cost 999 Thai baht (S$41) each and contain nine different kinds of Thai desserts created by 24 well-known shops.
Adorned with a rose motif, the pink box has kanom sommanas (traditional cookies made with roasted coconut and egg white), tua tod jiew (crisp-fried peanut cookies), tub tuab (sweet peanut candies), pan sib (fried puffs with a fish filling), maprao kaew (crunchy coconut sticks) and kanom koh (Chinese-style wheat-flour cookies).
The famous Thai sweets derived from classic Portuguese recipes are represented by kanom farang kudeejeen (flour-and-egg muffins), foy thong krob (a lovely lacework of fried egg yolk) and aa-loa (dumplings made with flour, coconut and sugar).
Butterfly-pea flowers form a pattern on the blue boxes. Inside are yu ii (wheat flour roasted overnight over scented candles and filled with mung and black beans) and kanom hedcone (a melt-in-the-mouth sweet shaped like a mushroom with a chocolate spur).
There will be kanom pia (Chinese-style cakes with assorted fillings), kanom ping (tapioca cookies), krayasart (peanuts, sugarcane, sticky rice, sesame and coconut) and kanom na nuan (glutinous rice pudding topped with coconut milk and smoked overnight). Perfect pairings for herbal tea or coffee are kanom bueng (thin pancakes with sweet and salty toppings), kanom sali maprao (sponge cake with coconut), gluay tak (sun-dried bananas) and kanom sampannee (smoked flower-shaped cookies made with cassava flour, coconut milk and sugar).
In the green box decorated with jasmine blossoms are tua tad (sweetened peanut brittle), kalamare bolan (glutinous rice, coconut and sugar), kanom khai (baked egg cakes) and kanom kleeb lamduan (shortbread cookies).
Ideal for those on a diet is chao guay kob (crisp baked grass jelly made with Vietnamese stevia juice and brown sugar), thong muan (golden crispy rolls mixed with parsley) and thong ek (wheat-flour dumplings with egg yolks). Also inside are koong paan song krueng (crisp-fried shrimp pancakes) and krong krang kob (fried cookies).
