Photo: Sutthaya Chalassathien

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

“Have you tried mango sticky rice?” the kid who makes my Thai coffee at Sugar Club asked one Saturday afternoon. “Yeah sure,” I thought to myself as I sipped my coffee. “It’s just mango and warm sticky rice with condensed milk.”

He seemed inordinately excited about it though, so one day a few weeks later, after having some noodles at Pata Paplean and paying my respects to the Emerald Buddha at Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram, I returned to try Sugar Club’s take on the classic Thai dessert. When it landed on the table I immediately saw why my young friend was so jazzed about. With its cloud of whipped cream atop homemade mango ice cream and fresh cubes of mango all surmounting pale green sticky rice, Sugar Club’s creation is part Thai dessert, part sundae.

Cool ice cream and sweet refreshing mango give way to the green warm sticky rice scented with pandan. At $9 it’s one of the most expensive and decadent versions of the dessert I’ve ever had.

When I went over to thank the gal who made it I learned the name of her wonderful creation: emerald mango. I smiled as I thought of my visit to the Emerald Buddha.

Sugar Club, 81-18 Broadway, Elmhurst, 718-865-9018