Market Stall Coco Krok Brings One of Thailand’s Most Popular Street Foods to Sydney

Khanom krok is a ubiquitous street food in Thailand. In Sydney, it’s so uncommon, Matt Bhuvawatcharapisut had to fly to Thailand to get the right equipment for his market stall, Coco Krok. The list included seven cast iron pans, each with 28 shallow indentations for batter; seven tall cylindrical bases to set the pans above the fire; and an aluminium pourer with an elegant spout, like a teapot’s.

All of this just to cook orders of crisp-on-the-outside, custardy-on-the-inside bites made mostly from rice flour, sugar, salt and coconut milk. Although they’re usually described as pancakes, in shape and cooking style, khanom krok are more like small Sri Lankan hoppers but with finer, crisper bottoms.

“If you go to local markets in Thailand, you’ll find people at any time of day eating khanom krok as a snack,” Bhuvawatcharapisut says. “I used to eat it before school.”

The dish straddles sweet and savoury in that balanced way typical of many Asian snacks (kaya toast in Malaysia; champorado chocolate rice porridge topped with salty fried fish in the Philippines). At Coco Krok, you can order your khanom krok plain, with one of four toppings (corn, spring onion, grated pumpkin or grated taro) or ask for The Lot, a 12-piece pack with a few bites of every topping.

While the toppings skew traditional, the batter itself is a departure. Normally, white rice flour is used exclusively. Here, an extra-crunchy base is formed with a thin drizzle of black rice flour batter for a purplish colour and a lovely, nutty flavour. White rice flour batter is poured on top to form that soft, gooey centre.

When Broadsheet visits, Coco Krok is set up in the evening at the Parramatta Midwinter Festival. Bhuvawatcharapisut is managing four pans, all full. Each time he lifts a lid, warm coconut-milk-scented steam wafts towards the customers waiting in the cold night. At the back of the tent, Bhuvawatcharapisut’s mum Angella grates taro while his girlfriend Jasmine Fong runs the till, slicing discs of khanom krok between taking orders.

Although he’s worked as a restaurant chef inside and outside Australia, Bhuvawatcharapisut prefers the market setting. “Khanom krok is strongly connected to its street food roots,” he says. That’s the identity of it. If I opened a shop, it wouldn’t have the same vibe.”

The atmosphere at the markets is vibrant and buzzy. There are families with young kids, people walking out of Parramatta Station to join queues, and others around open fire pits and listening to live music. Many stop to watch the show at Coco Krok. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” a man remarks to his friend, and moves forward to order a mixed plate.

Bhuvawatcharapisut loves introducing this comfort food to Australians, but there’s one thing that fills his cup more than anything. “We’ve been getting so much great feedback from our customers, but when the same Thai customers come back week after week, it feels really good,” he says. “It feels like we’re doing something right.”

Coco Krok
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@khanomkrok.sydney