Photo: Reuters
Thai rapper Milli ate mouthfuls of the beloved Thai dessert mango sticky rice on stage at the Coachella music festival in the United States, and fans have flocked to stalls selling mango sticky rice.
Nineteen-year-old Milli, whose real name is Danupha Khanatheerakul, is the first solo Thai artist to perform at Coachella, a festival that draws tens of thousands of fans annually. Headliners for this year included Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and Swedish House Mafia.
Sales of mango sticky rice in Thailand surged after Milli brought a bowl of the dessert on stage and took a few bites as part of her performance of a song called “Mango Sticky Rice” last weekend.
Local media TPBS reported that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that the Culture Ministry is discussing registering mango sticky rice on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.
The dessert consists of sweet sticky rice steeped in coconut milk and served with ripe mango. It is often eaten to cool off in the humid months of March and April.
Dozens of delivery riders were seen in Bangkok queuing up in front of a well-known vendor called Mae Varee to fulfill increasing online orders for the dessert.
“We had to shut down the apps in order to catch up with the orders before resuming it again. We’ve been turning it on and off, on and off throughout the day,” Thanyarat Suntiparadorn, 29, the owner of Mae Varee told Reuters.
Thanyarat said that while mangoes are already in season, Milli’s performance helped increase sales by more than 100%.
Bangkok’s Chinatown area was also flocked by customers, and vendors had to double their mango stocks to keep up with the demand.
“I normally love to eat mango sticky rice but … after watching Milli on stage, I am now eating it nearly every day,” said 29-year-old Suphakomkao Klaypongpan.
