I typically stay away from Thai Desserts. For one thing, they're generally rather bland with only a hint of sweetness, compared to a typical American artery clogger, and not nearly enough sugar to give you an after meal boost. Imagine taking a swig from a 7-Eleven Big Gulp after all the ice melts.
More importantly, sweets are supposed to be bad for you, so this is one vice I can happily avoid.
That being said, today I broke down and bought a "Lod Chang Singapore" after lunch, as it was recommended by one of my co-workers.
Basically, it's a mug filled with ice, coconut juice, sweetened condensed milk, and red and green rice noodles.
This is nothing special, as most Thai Desserts are some variance of these ingredients - like Mexican food and tortillas, ground beef, and beans. The one thing that makes this dessert unique is the monster-sized straw. Nearly a half inch in diameter, it allows you to slurp up the colored noodles en masse, along with the crushed ice and any small children that get too near.
Here I am making a go at it. Not bad - except that you have to be careful to take a bite occasionally or you'll end up with an interconnected glob of noodles starting at the end of your straw slithering all the way through to your large intestines.
I bet you could eat spaghetti like this - assuming the sauce was a little runny. Perfect for Chef Boyardee.
My co-worker saw me taking pictures of my "Lod Chong Singapore" and gave me the history behind such an odd name for a Thai dessert.
Apparently, years ago during the reign of King Rama V, a diplomatic mission from Singapore arrived with a new product - ice, which had never been seen before in Thailand. Needless to say, ice, which would have been the greatest thing since sliced bread, if the Thais ate bread, was a huge hit. It was first put to use as part of a Thai dessert mixed with some coconut juice and red and green noodles (or Lod Chong). Hence the name - "Lod Chang" with ice from "Singapore", or so the story goes.
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