Thai dessert shop blows up the internet with sweets that look like Buddhist amulets

People are going absolutely nuts for them.

2 years ago

By Veerabhatr Sriyananda
| Apr 28, 2021

Independent Thai dessert shop Madam Choops went viral on Facebook yesterday when it posted pictures of its colorful, homemade sweets resembling Buddhist amulets.

The Samut Songkhram shop’s multi-colored, amulet-shaped sweets are based on the classic Thai snack ah lua, which is made from a mixture of coconut milk mixed with wheat flour and kwan tien—literally fragrant candle smoke, which adds a familiar, ancient aroma to many Thai desserts.

Netizens have had a field day, leaving thousands of comments and sharing the post over 13 thousand times since yesterday evening.

So overwhelming was the response that the shop’s owner today wrote in a post: “There have been so many messages, and we don’t have an admin for the [Facebook] page or anything. It’s just me and my six-year-old daughter... so I apologize for the delayed responses!”

สวัสดีค่ะ ขออนุญาติตอบรวมๆตรงนี้ก่อนนะคะ เดี๋ยวจะไปรับออเด้อในข้อความอีกที #อาลัวพระเครื่อง กล่องละ100.-...
Posted by มาดามชุบ on Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Many people have left jokes in the comments. “Do we have to pray before eating them?” wrote Facebook user Zee Fah Fah. “It’s all in my tummy now, satu,” added Khamphirada M. Lookgade.

Not all have shared the same light-hearted banter or cheeky reverence for the creative sweet treats.

“In my opinion, amulets are supposed to be holy, so I feel weird about this. Don’t get me wrong, but as a Buddhist, I don’t think this practice is appropriate. It’s like we respect our parents, but then we make images of them, and make other people eat them... It’s weird, don’t you think?” wrote Facebook user So I’Ice.

A box of these intricately made sweets goes for B100, with 20 “amulets” in each box. All are made to order, and the shop produces just 50 boxes each day, with five boxes maximum per customer.

Orders can be made via Madam Choop’s Facebook page.