Exclusively crafted for the capital city’s famous landmark the Temple of Dawn, a new ice cream brand in Thailand merging taste and design with art and culture is finding viral success.
Dubbed Flower of Dawn, the ice lolly is a pilot project of local ice cream brand Pop Icon. It depicts intricate patterns of colourful tiles that adorn the temple’s stupa and comes in two flavours – Thai milk tea and coconut milk with butterfly pea.
The ice cream was the brainchild of Pop Icon’s owner Namtan Sirinya, who devoted nearly two years to developing and finessing her favourite dessert. She combined her love for Thai art, culture and history with her wish to promote tourism at the historical site.
“Ice cream is a good medium. It’s easily approachable. When people eat it, it could stir their curiosity and bring them closer to art and culture as well as the murals around the stupa,” said Namtan, who made about 40 trips to the temple before the product launch.
Locally known as Wat Arun, the temple has stood for centuries on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. It is renowned for its stupa, whose architectural magnificence is ornately decorated with colourful tiles and pieces of Chinese porcelain.
Following its launch in May, Flower of Dawn became an instant hit among temple visitors. In just over a month, the ice cream has stirred up public interest in the traditional decoration around the religious site.