Baan Luk Chup

Pleasing to both the tongue and eye, and beloved in Thailand, luk chup are brightly coloured bite-size sweets that often resemble mini-fruits. The folks at Baan Luk Chup run a small luk chup factory where the sweets are handcrafted and then sold at an inviting air-con cafe around the corner.

Luk chup are a distinctly Thai adaptation of a sweet candy first introduced by the Portuguese during the Ayutthaya era. The process starts by boiling down mung bean and then kneading the batter while gradually adding coconut milk and palm sugar. The batter is then cooled before being crafted into the shapes of mini watermelons, mangoes, cherries and peaches, or less traditional objects like eggs or even little piglets. Kitchen artisans then add an outer coating of jelly and finish each luk chup by painting them with a bright food colouring mixture.

Once the luk chup are finished, they're arranged into mini edible bouquets that make adorable gifts. Baan Luk Chup offers an eclectic range of luk chup to choose from along with coffee, fresh juices and other sweet snacks.

Although you would expect them to have fruity flavours, luk chup actually taste more like a cookie, and Baan Luk Chup momentarily places a blown out candle under a lid with some of the batters to add a smoky undertone. They taste great, but are almost too pretty to eat.

The easiest way to get here is to take the Chao Phraya Express Boat to Wang Long (aka Phran Nok) pier, not far from Phra Athit pier and Khao San Road but on the west side of the river. Walk straight from the pier on Phran Nok Road, then hang a right on to Arun Ammarin Road. Follow Arun Ammarin over the bridge spanning the Bangkok Noi canal, then take the stairs and cross to the other side of the road beneath the bridge. Continue straight past the Royal Barge Museum for a couple of hundred metres, and Baan Luk Chup is on the left a short way past Arun Ammarin Soi 39. Just look for a large glass-fronted shop beaming with a whole bunch of very bright colours. Alternately, take a tuk tuk or taxi to "arun ammarin sam-sip-gao (39)".