Sel Z.
Yelp
I had been wanting to try this place for a long time, but never made it due to its limited open hours (until now!). I got there about half an hour before closing on a Saturday, and there were lots of people picking up their orders. You can order ahead of time through their website or by calling them, or you can walk in and select from the various assorted desserts and snacks they have on display. There are so many options to choose from!
A lot of the items are vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free (they use coconut milk / coconut cream, rice flour, and tapioca flour as the most common ingredients).
When I went, they had special set packages for Asialicious. One of them was a "try a bit of multiple things" package, which consisted of Toddy Palm Cakes, Coconut Layered Cakes, Steamed Pandanus Cakes, and Cassava Cakes. Everything I tried was exactly as expected - delicious, not too sweet, and I could taste the coconut and pandan (my two favourite dessert ingredients). I wish they put more coconut shavings on all the desserts!
Toddy Palm Cakes are unique because they're made using the fruit of the palm tree, mixed with coconut cream. These are probably my favourite, along with Luk Choup (mini jellies shaped and coloured like actual fruits on the outside, with mung beans in the inside) - this was a childhood favourite.
The Coconut Layered Cakes (Kanom Chun) and Coconut Jellies are nice and chewy from the tapioca flour, with a nice aromatic pandan smell and flavour. Steamed Cassava Cakes (Kanom Mun) are a bit more hardy, but I still liked the texture and cassava taste. The Steamed Pandanus Cakes (Kanom Thuay) are soft and delicate.
All the snacks and desserts there just remind me of the food I had as a kid, that we got from wet morning market. Everything tastes very authentic and nostalgia-inducing! It's not often that I come across a place that sells exclusively traditional Thai desserts / snacks, so this place is truly a gem (plus the fact that the location is easy to get to in downtown).
As a family-run business, it has a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere, even as a small take-out place. The person who served us was super friendly and helpful. I'll probably go back to try some of their savoury items next time (e.g. Papaya Salad with Shrmps, Thai Fish Curry Custard, Curry Puffs), and to get more Toddy Palm Cakes and Coconut Jellies! They also have special savoury items every Saturday, that need to be pre-ordered ahead of time.