Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day 307

Banh Da Lon Khoai Mon (Sweet Green Taro Root Cake): After a few days of procrastinating, I finally got around to a full-fledged shopping trip today. I hit several new markets on Buford Highway and bought some awesome new foods, but today's entry comes courtesy of the GF's visit to Lee's Bakery. She had lunch there with a friend, and was thoughtful enough to bring me something back to blog about. I've had a couple of their packaged desserts before (made off-site by the Viet My Bakery), but I'd never seen this one, made with green taro root.
I didn't want this one to go to waste, so I gave it a try tonight after dinner as dessert. The ingredient list was fairly long, but consisted mostly of water, tapioca starch, taro root, sugar, bai toey leaves (a common Asian herb), and some coloring. It also included a side of the creamy coconut dipping sauce that was featured in the steamed banana cake dessert I previously found at Lee's.
Once I got the wrapper off, it reminded me of Jell-O in appearance, but much more gelatinous-looking. My first bite reminded me a lot of the banana "cake" I ate before, but this one had a much less distinct flavor. Even though there was no rice flour listed, it reminded me a lot of the gelatinous rice cakes and desserts I've had. I mainly tasted sugar, but the coconut dipping sauce added a lot of flavor. It was kind of like eating warm, sugary, non-fruit flavored Jell-O dipped in coconut cream. Not bad, but not really anything new for me.

How strange is it that I'm used to this flavor/texture by now? I bet a lot of people can't say that.

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