🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Isan sweets aren't fussy or refined the way central-Thai desserts can be — their charm is in being straightforward. They use whatever's in the home kitchen: sticky rice, coconut, sugar, and banana leaf, made for temple merit-making and eaten as everyday snacks. In Yasothon you can still find them at the morning markets, evening markets, and the night market in the middle of town. No need to go far, and prices still start in the single-digit tens of baht.
Local Isan Sweets Worth Trying in Yasothon
Khao Ji (grilled sticky rice)
Sticky rice pressed into a ball, brushed with egg, and grilled over a low flame until the surface is crisp and fragrant. Some stalls tuck a cane-sugar or palm-sugar filling inside. It's been an Isan breakfast staple forever — find it at morning markets and roadside carts, and eat it warm for the best of it.
Khao Tom Mat (sticky-rice parcels)
Sticky rice fried with coconut milk, wrapped around banana or black beans, bound in banana leaf and steamed. Sweet and creamy in just the right measure. A merit-making sweet that's sold daily everywhere — in Yasothon you'll catch it at fresh markets and from walking vendors in the morning.
Khanom Thian / Khanom Mok
Sticky-rice flour wrapped around a sweet mung-bean paste or shredded-coconut filling, shaped into a pyramid, folded in banana leaf and steamed. The dough is soft and chewy, the filling sweet and fragrant. Isan folks call it khanom mok, and it's a must at any merit-making event.
Khao Niao Kaeo (glassy sticky rice)
Sticky rice cooked down with sugar and coconut milk until it turns clear and chewy. Some makers tint it in bright colours and sell it by the tray, cut into pieces. It's a snack Yasothon kids grow up on — easy to find at the evening markets.
Khanom Pat
A dense, chewy sweet a bit like central Thailand's khanom piakpoon, made from sticky-rice flour and cane sugar. Dark in colour with a deep caramel sweetness, eaten with grated coconut. It's an old-school sweet that's getting hard to find — if you spot it at a market, try it.
Khao Pong
Sticky rice pounded, spread into thin round sheets, sun-dried, then grilled over the flame until it puffs up — crisp, nutty, and rich with the smell of rice. You can brush it with cane syrup. A genuinely old Isan snack that gets harder to find every year.
Khao Pun (Isan rice noodles) in sweet coconut
Khao pun is the Isan take on rice vermicelli. Beyond the usual spicy curry sauce, there's a dessert version — doused in sweet coconut milk and sprinkled with sesame for a light sweet. You'll find it at morning markets and merit-making events, a side of the dish many people have never tried.
Krayasat
Puffed rice, young rice flakes, peanuts, and sesame stirred with sugar until firm and sticky, then cut into bars and eaten with egg banana. It's the signature sweet of the Boon Khao Sat merit festival, made a lot across Isan — you'll see plenty of it at markets in the late-rainy, early-cool season.
Lod Chong in coconut milk
Green lod chong noodles in cold coconut milk with palm sugar and ice. A solid cooldown on a sticky, sweltering Isan day. Carts and stalls at the evening markets sell it all over town.
Bai Makham (tamarind tossed with rice)
Wet tamarind tossed with sticky rice, sugar, and salt — sour, sweet, and salty in a balanced hit. A local snack sold in little bags at fresh markets. Sharply tart, and addictive if you love sour things.
Tip
Sticky-rice sweets like khao tom mat and khanom thian are made fresh in the morning and sell out fast. If you want them fresh, hit the morning market before 9am. Save the cold snacks like glassy sticky rice and lod chong for a later wander through the evening market or night market.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Yasothon 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.
Eating Your Way Through Yasothon's Markets
Yasothon's desserts aren't mainly found in pretty shops — they're at the markets where locals actually shop. These three spots are where you'll find the most local sweets and snacks.
Yasothon Municipal Night Market
A night market in the centre of town where snacks and sweets start at ฿10. You'll find brightly coloured Thai sweets, fried bites, and sweet sticky rice. A pleasant graze in the early evening.
In-Town Morning Fresh Market
The spot for freshly made sticky-rice sweets — khao tom mat, khanom thian, khao ji, and khao pun. Walking vendors set up from early on, and it sells out fast, so come before mid-morning.
Ban Sing Tha Old Town
An old street of historic Chinese shophouses with cafés and dessert spots tucked in between. Wander, take photos, and stop for a sweet. Quiet and a completely different mood from the night market.
Dessert Spots in the Old Town That Locals Go To
If you'd rather sit down for dessert somewhere with atmosphere, the Sing Tha area mixes old-timer shops with newer cafés. We've picked the ones locals and visitors mention most often, based on real reviews.
Sing Nom Sod
A fresh-milk shop in an old Chinese-style wooden house, across from the city pillar shrine. Serves real fresh milk, old-school coffee, and grilled and steamed toast with all sorts of toppings. It's a go-to rest stop in the Sing Tha quarter that draws a steady crowd.
Vachi Old Town
A bakery café set in an old building in Ban Sing Tha, full of old-town atmosphere, with cakes and baked goods to choose from. There's parking behind the shop — a good place to rest after photographing the old quarter.
Lovely Cake (Head Office)
A bakery and ice-cream shop in town with plenty of reviews — cakes, baked goods, tea, coffee, and ice cream. Good for a takeaway box or a sit-down with the family.
Straight talk
The truly local sweets — khao pong, khanom pat, and handmade glassy sticky rice — get harder to find every year as fewer people make them. Some days you might walk the market and not find all of them. If you want to be sure, ask the sweet vendors at the fresh market which makers do it regularly, or order ahead around a merit-making event.
A Half-Day Dessert Crawl
Hunt Down the Fresh Sticky-Rice Sweets
Old-Town Café, Then On to the Night Market
Want a full-day Yasothon eating-and-sightseeing plan? Check out our city guide
See the Yasothon Travel Guide →