I didn’t intend to visit the Old Siam mall trice in under five weeks. I still needed to find the right spare parts for my solar panels at the electrical gadgets weekend market near the Old Siam. I forgot that some big shops would be closed on Sunday, so I had to wait till Saturday came around for my search for spare parts. But the third journey to the weekend market was unsuccessful as I still couldn’t find what I was looking for. To console myself and reward my effort, I had to visit the Old Siam mall for some soothing sweets.
I had to take a bus through Chinatown. There were more tourists from Europe and China, making shopkeepers very happy.
The afternoon sunshine was too strong and piercing for this time of the year. But we had been warned of extreme heat this hot season and several dams have begun to dry up very fast. Farmers and agricultural sectors would be badly affected this year. We should expect higher prices for fruits and vegetables in supermarkets. I took the short cut to wards the Old Siam where I could find nice cool air conditioning food court.
Saturday seemed to be quite busy at the food court which made the atmosphere more lively and colourful. I would usually take a walk around the small food court to decide what I would have as my reward for my trip on a very hot afternoon. I decided to go for my favourite Thai sweets in coconut cream. The vendors seemed to have sold out almost all their sweets as all the brass pans were empty. Luckily there were some sweets for taking away which I could ask the vendor to serve me in a bowl. Several customers were enjoying their Thai sweets on the nearby benches.
Regular customers would come to this old sweet shop to have their sweets on the three benches in front of the shop. People were always very friendly and made room for new comers. Then we could chat about the sweets we had ordered. Most customers were in their fifties and sixties; they told me they had been coming to this shop since they were youngsters. So, it seemed their mothers were the influencers who took them shopping here while they were young. People came to this shop to reminisce and relive their past experiences.
These sweets always reminded me of my grandmother and mother who introduced me to the intricacy of traditional sweets in coconut cream. This sweet shop was a good place to connect up with people who shared similar sentiments about their good old days. Communication seemed so smooth and to flow easily while we were enjoying these sweets. So, I could never get bored with having the same sweet when all other choices were sold out. I hoped this shop would remain in business for a long time.
Then, I had to follow up with kanom kroak (Thai pancakes). This is typical sweets made with rice flour, cane sugar and coconut cream. I had the whole box of nine pieces by myself. I thought I was going to have my third kind of sweet but I had to surrender as I could hardly walk. These sweets were very filling and should last me till dinner time. Perhaps I should have skipped dinner as these calories were already sufficient to fuel my internal combustion.
These were modified pancakes with various toppings. The ones I used to have as a kid were roped with minced coconut cooked in cane sugar. These toppings were new to me.
These pancakes just came off the stove, they almost burned my mouth. They were just so delicious that I would order these again during my next visit. Looking around at other shops, some vendors persuaded me to try their snacks. I had to decline politely and told them that I was a vegetarian. For non-vegetarians, this food court was a treasure trove of several delicacies and special snacks for connoisseurs. Several shops had won prizes and some had overseas customers who ordered dozens of boxes for souvenirs.
I was very happy and content to have my two of my favourite sweets in one place. I would have bought more sweets to take away had I not been worried about the extra calories which I had to lose later. Wouldn’t it be nice if one could hat eat as much as possible without having indigestion or putting on weights later on?! The body would suffer as soon as I ate too much, so I had to pull myself together and slow down the indulgence.
I walked around slowly to say goodbye to all the sweet shops which I haven’t yet befriended. It would be nice if the vendors allowed me to buy one or two pieces each instead of having to buy a box of sweets. Then I could taste up to five or six kinds of sweets on one visit! My obsession with Thai sweets have turned me into a greedy monster in one day! So, I had to walk out and forget my attachment to Thai sweets to save myself from becoming diabetic.
Looking across the street, some gun shops were open for business. But there were signs of ‘no camera’, so I couldn’t take any photos of these amazing rifles and machine guns! I could only take one photo of a small corner shop. I had no idea that there were lots of gun collectors around the country who could afford such awesome looking firearms. I hoped that there won’t be any incidents like Mad Max in our country. I have realised that some gun collectors would easily have over one hundred assorted firearms in their collections!
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
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