🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
If it's your first time on Koh Kret, plenty of people come to see the Mon pottery and pay respects at the leaning pagoda — but once you start walking the riverside market, you realize the sweets are the real star of the island. Thai dessert shops line up by the dozen, many run by families for several generations, using natural ingredients with no synthetic coloring, plus Mon sweets that are hard to find back in Bangkok. We split them into two streams: refined royal-court Thai sweets that are pretty and tricky to make, and rustic Mon sweets carrying that fragrant coconut-milk flavor.
Koh Kret sweets you should try
Ordered by what people mention most and what you can actually find in the market. Most prices start from single digits to the low tens of baht, so it's easy to try one thing at a time. A budget of 200–300 THB will keep you snacking happily all day.
Thong Yip, Thong Yod & Foi Thong
The golden-egg sweets that are the face of Koh Kret, made from egg yolk and syrup. Thong yip is pinched into flower-petal pleats, thong yod is round and glossy, and foi thong is fine golden threads. The well-known shops make them fresh — sweet and fragrant with egg, never cloying — and they make pretty gifts to take home.
Khanom Kong (cartwheel sweet)
An old-school sweet shaped like a cartwheel — fried bean-flour dough, crisp outside and soft inside, glazed with a thin layer of sugar. It's getting harder to find in Bangkok, but Koh Kret still has shops making it by hand. It pairs nicely with a cup of hot tea.
Hoi Krok Fritters (tod man no kala)
The island's signature savory bite that you have to order. No kala is an aquatic plant that grows around Koh Kret; it's chopped into the fish cakes for a crunchy texture and mild sweetness. It's a good savory palate-cleanser between sweets — served hot and fried, with ajad dipping sauce.
Dara Thong / Thong Ek
Crisp royal-court sweets, fragrant and rich from flour and egg, shaped into stars or flowers and finished with gold leaf. Just sweet enough and easy to keep nibbling. Several Thai dessert shops on the island make their own at friendly prices.
Mon Desserts (Mon kalamae & coconut sweets)
Rustic Mon sweets with a deep coconut-milk flavor and chewy boiled-down sugar. Some shops have sticky-rice-and-grated-coconut sweets made the traditional Mon way, not too sweet, and rarely found in shops off the island. Ask the vendors in the community what Mon sweets they have that day.
Khanom Tuay (fresh coconut, salty topping)
Little cups scooped hot off the stove — soft flour base under a rich, salty coconut-milk topping. Many shops make them in small one-bite cups, and there's a country-style spot where you can sit down and eat properly with a drink.
Dok Mai Tod (fried flower crisps)
Crisp fried flower-shaped batter, dusted with sugar or eaten plain — light and crunchy, easy to keep snacking on. It's a classic Koh Kret nibble that kids love, and easy to find around the market.
Look Choup, Khanom Chan & Pumpkin Custard
The colorful Thai dessert set that nearly every shop makes — look choup shaped into tiny fruits, soft chewy layered khanom chan, and rich-sweet pumpkin custard steamed whole. Great to buy together as a gift box to take home.
Tip
Fresh-made Thai sweets often sell out by late afternoon, and most shops on the island take cash only — bring small notes and it'll go smoother. If you're set on buying a lot of gifts, go mid-morning while everything's still in stock.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Nonthaburi food tour or cooking class
Half a day with a local who knows the lanes — or cooking a dish yourself — teaches you more than just eating. Book ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide.
Shops locals and reviews talk about
Thai dessert shops are scattered along the walkway around Wat Poramai Yikawat and the pier market. We picked the ones with a real presence in reviews. Shop positions may shift on weekends, so it's worth walking past the storefronts and choosing whatever looks freshest.
Baan Ja Mongkut
A royal-court Thai dessert shop with everything arranged on pretty pedestal trays — thong yip, thong yod, sane chan, ja mongkut, kai nai rang, krachao seeda. Great for a higher-end gift set.
Chompoo Khanom Thai
Brightly colored Thai sweets laid out by the tray, with hin fon thong, thong kon and thong chomphunut. People love photographing it because it all looks so pretty.
Ja Ja Khanom Wan
Several kinds of traditional Thai sweets, with dara thong at around 18 THB a piece and Mon hantra at around 12 THB. Uses natural ingredients, no artificial coloring.
Mae Thong Term
A Thai dessert shop with cute little gift-size pieces — over 30 kinds to choose from, starting at 5–7 THB each. Great for buying a mix to take home.
Khanom Tuay Country
A country-style spot where you can sit down to eat, with fresh-made khanom tuay, grass jelly, and cold drinks to cool off while you walk the island.
Make a dessert crawl of Koh Kret worth it
- Take the ferry from Wat Sanam Nuea (Pak Kret pier) — the crossing costs just a few baht. Get off in front of Wat Poramai Yikawat and start your dessert crawl from there.
- Start with the savory stuff first — eat the hoi krok fritters and Mon khao chae while you're still hungry, then work through the sweets afterward; it tastes better that way.
- Go on a weekday if you can avoid the crowds — Saturdays and Sundays get busy; every shop is open but you'll be shuffling through the crowd. On weekdays some shops close, so check first if you have a target shop in mind.
- Buy gifts at the end — save the sweets you need to wrap and carry until just before the ferry back, so you're not lugging them around all day.
Straight talk
Some of the sweets people call 'Mon desserts' are genuinely hard to find even on the island, because there are fewer of the old makers left. If you want the real Mon stuff, just ask the vendors in the community whether they make any Mon sweets themselves — that's how you'll find the good ones that aren't out on display.
Plan a full-day eat-and-explore trip to Koh Kret and Nonthaburi
See the Nonthaburi guide →