Back to the Thai Temple – Tampa, FL

Two weeks ago, we went to the Thai Temple Sunday Market with our friend, Vimmi.  I enjoyed it so much that Vimmi and I headed back today! 

You can read my previous post for more info on the market.  Although I loved all my foods from last visit, I wanted to try a few new things this time. 

We still bought a bag of the fried bananas – they are too good to pass up.  I’m sure they are one of the least healthy options at the market – but at least we split them. 

This time I tried the pork noodle soup – Vimmi had the vegetarian version.  The line for the soup is one of the longest, so it is clearly a favorite of the regulars.  They let you pick the thickness of noodle for the soup (we both got thin angel hair noodles). My broth had meat mixed in to the noodles and vegetables, as well as Thai pork meatballs.  The meatballs tasted like doughy dumplings…I didn’t realize there was any meat in them.  We both ordered the “small” size soup – although they were actually pretty large!

Last night it poured rain, so the area with picnic benches was flooded.  We found a pavilion to sit under and avoided the muddy tables. 

After our meal, we picked up dessert to-go.  I chose the “khanom kauew” (small banana cakes).  There was a bonus orange-colored cake called “khanom taan” in with the others.  It was made from the fruit of a palm tree, which I had never tried before.  

The khanom kauew didn’t really have a cake texture - it just felt like mashed up bananas coated in coconut flakes.  I preferred the khanom taan – it had a spongy texture and sweet flavor.  It’s too bad my box only had one of the palm cakes.  Most of the desserts are new to me, so I’ll never know until I try them.  

Visiting the Thai Temple is the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning. 

The Wat Mongkolrata Sunday Market is located at 5306 Palm River Rd, Tampa, FL 33619 and is open 10:30am – 2pm.