🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
If you're in Chanthaburi with a free morning into the afternoon, the Riverside Community is the kind of place you should wander slowly through, no rush. This small lane running along the Chanthaburi River is several hundred years old — an old quarter where people still actually live, not staged for tourists. Many of the sweet shops are run by elderly folks who sit and make everything out front; when it sells out, they close. So we've made it clear which spots are inside the riverside community and which mean a short hop over to the Nong Bua canal or the market next door.
Traditional Sweets Worth Tracking Down
These are the old-school sweets that anchor the neighborhood, ordered by which to try first if you're short on time. Prices are rough ranges and depend on bag size and the time of day.
Khanom Khuai Ling — Nong Bua Community
A folk sweet close to a hundred years old: glutinous rice flour shaped into short ovals, boiled and tossed in grated coconut, eaten with sugar. Sweet, rich and chewy. The name comes from the old days when the community had lots of long-tailed macaques that would sit and watch the villagers make it. A standout you won't find anywhere else.
Pa Tai's Egg Cakes
Baked egg cakes from an old recipe passed down for nearly 70 years; Lung Jun now makes them after Pa Tai. They use chicken eggs rather than the duck eggs other shops use, so they come out fragrant, with crisp edges and a soft center, not too sweet. Best eaten warm. They sell fast — come late and they may be gone, but you can order ahead.
Syrup-Glazed Rice Crackers (Old Style) — Yai Taew
Rice-flour cracker sheets sun-dried, then 'glazed' with cane-juice syrup simmered low until thick, brushed on by hand one sheet at a time. This is one of only a few shops in Chanthaburi still doing it the old way. Sweet and fragrant with cane juice, fun to chew.
Lung Jun's Crystal Khanom Tian
Clear-skinned khanom tian with mung bean filling — chewy skin, smooth fine filling, made with good-quality arrowroot flour. They've been selling for over 40 years and the price is tiny, so it's an easy snack to grab while you walk.
Pa Jinda's Old-Style Khao Tang
Crispy rice cakes made the old way over a stove — crunchy outside, soft inside, tossed with a sweet-salty mix of sugar, fish sauce and garlic, deeply fragrant. She starts selling around 8am and usually sells out before midday, so come early if you want some.
Yai Aew's Soft Rice Crackers
Soft rice crackers made by smearing batter across the rim of a pot until thin, steamed, then scraped off and eaten warm with dipping sauce. It's a dish handed down from the Vietnamese who settled in Chanthaburi. You'll need to hop over to the market next door for this one.
A Note on Timing
Khanom khuai ling and the unusual-sweets stalls along the Nong Bua canal only sell on Saturday and Sunday. The shops inside the riverside community can be walked any day, but they're busiest on weekends. Many of the sweets are made by elderly folks themselves, and when it's gone, they close. Come around late morning, before 2pm, to catch the most.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Chanthaburi 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.
Savory and Cold Bites to Pair Along the Way
Once you've had your fill of sweets, there are savory and cold bites along the way to reset your palate. These spots are inside the riverside community too, and several have been open for decades.
Pa Mai's Kuay Jab
Clear-broth kuay jab from a tiny shop down a lane, open more than 50 years. The broth simmers long over a charcoal stove until fragrant, and it comes loaded — sliced pork, blood, lung, liver, pork skin, crispy pork and fried tofu. Easy on the wallet.
Je Iet's Tom Yum Seafood Noodles
Bold tom yum seafood noodles — sour, salty and sweet, no holding back — with shrimp, crab and mantis shrimp fresh from Chanthaburi. This shop also sells tako and sangkhaya cups on the side, so it's a good lunch before you carry on with the sweets.
Rocket Brand Ice Cream
An old ice cream maker that was once Chanthaburi's first machine-powered factory. The signature is a popsicle with a crisp tea-flavored shell, plus unusual flavors like durian, black bean and Thai tea. ฿10 a stick, ordered by ringing the bell out front.
Mapit Juice
Juice freshly squeezed from mapit, a sour-sweet fruit of the Chanthaburi area. The old shop near Wat Khet Nabunyaram is great for cooling off as you walk — sour and refreshing in a way no other drink quite matches.
Yai Tom's Corn Toss
Boiled or grilled corn tossed in three flavors — salty, sweet and spicy. The old shop has been selling for 20 years. A light snack to eat as you walk, won't fill you up.
How to Eat Your Way Through It in Half a Day
Come on a Saturday or Sunday and you'll catch both the shops inside the riverside community and the unusual sweets along the Nong Bua canal. We've laid out a route that flows from one to the next without doubling back.
Market + the Crispy Stuff That Sells Out Fast
A Long Walk Through the Riverside Community
Unusual Sweets Along the Nong Bua Canal
Bring Cash
Almost every old sweet shop takes cash only, and coins or small notes are easier — a lot of items run ฿2–20 a piece, and some sellers struggle to break a big note.
Know Before You Go
- The best days are Saturday and Sunday — khanom khuai ling and the unusual sweets along the Nong Bua canal only sell on weekends, ~09:00–17:00, while the riverside community can be walked any day but has all its shops open on weekends.
- Come late morning, not late afternoon — crispy items like khao tang and egg cakes usually sell out before afternoon, and when the elderly makers run out, they close up the house.
- Walking is easiest — the lanes in the community are narrow and awkward for cars, so park outside the quarter and walk in; the whole stretch is under a kilometer.
- Pace your stomach — there are lots of small items, so buy a little at a time and you'll get to taste from more shops without filling up too fast.
Want a full-day eating-and-sightseeing trip in Chanthaburi? Plan it out next
See the Chanthaburi travel guide →