Kaya Revelation

 There are a few snacking trends that make their way from Asia to the west. Odd flavoured Kit Kat bars, Pocky, seaweed crackers just to name a few. There are however some Asian trends that never make their way to the west, and I can’t figure out why. Salted Egg, both on fish skins and as a flavour is a great example. It’s a flavour trend that’s just about everywhere in Asia, from Krispy Kreme donuts to every kind of salty snack and cookie you could imagine, yet most people in the west have no idea what it is. I can never really figure out why one particular snacking trend makes its way around the world while others don’t.

Kaya is the latest thing I’ve discovered that seems to fall into the category of treat that just about everyone should love, but for some reason it seems to stick to certain parts of Asia. I discovered it on a trip to Malaysia where I met a person who was so surprised that I had never tried it before. This isn’t that uncommon, for someone to introduce me to a treat that I’ve never tried before. After all there are hundreds of regional treats and snacks all over the world that are only available in very specific places. At first I assumed that this was just a Malaysian thing and while happy to try it, I didn’t think much of it.

Then, after my trip to Malaysia, we ventured to Singapore. I decided to poke around Singapore and see if they had any Kaya available as well. I was blown away by how much Kaya I found. There were snack shops and restaurants dedicated to the stuff. Dunkin’ had a doughnut flavoured with Kaya too. I also checked the grocery stores and there were shelves full of different varieties and different qualities of Kaya. After having one person in Malaysia point it out to me, I suddenly discovered that it’s actually all over the place. I’ve since travel ed to a few other Asian countries, and each and every one of them also offers Kaya.

For those of you that don’t know, Kaya is a coconut based spread. It often has pandam in it as well as various other ingredients like sugar and sometimes egg. There are apparently different versions of it too, depending on where you get it, but most are sweet, slightly gritty spreads. There is certainly a coconut flavour, but it’s not too overpowering. The traditional way to eat it is on toast with butter, but as I said before filling donuts or dipping things in it is also acceptable.

It’s a sweet spread that has some truly fun (and fairly familiar) Asian flavours, so why is no one in North America or Europe eating this stuff? I don’t really have an answer, but I can say that it’s not because it’s brand new. The people I’ve talked to about it have been eating it for years. According to some research I’ve done online, there are Kaya recipes that have been around since the early nineteen hundreds.

I’m not sure how long Dunkin’ has offered a Kaya donut, and I’m not sure how long Kaya toast shops have been open. Maybe Kaya is just hitting the mainstream in Asia. Maybe it’s been on the shelves for a while, but now it’s finally getting a bit more of the snacking spotlight. I can’t really say for sure because it just wasn’t on my radar until recently.

What I’m hoping is that this awesome spread picks up momentum, and we start to see more and more treats flavoured with it. A Kaya Kit Kat sounds good to me, maybe even some more Kaya cookies. I would also love to taste a Kaya ice cream, if Baskin Robbins is feeling adventurous.

CC