Ask anyone from Kelantan what outsiders get wrong about the food here and sweetness comes up quickly. The state has a genuinely sweet palate, and it shows most clearly in the kuih: a whole family of small cakes, steamed, fried, baked and folded, sold by the piece from morning trays and evening stalls.
Start with akok. It is made from eggs, coconut milk and palm sugar, poured into a heavy brass mould with scalloped wells and cooked over charcoal until the edges catch and the middle stays soft, almost custardy. Good akok is dense and fragrant rather than cloying, and it is best eaten warm within an hour of coming off the fire. You will find it stacked in plastic bags at the markets and along the roadside in the late afternoon.
From there the list opens up. Jala mas is spun egg yolk in sugar syrup, laid in fine golden threads, and it carries a clear echo of Portuguese and Thai palace sweets. Tahi itik has an unfortunate name and a lovely texture. Buah tanjung, kuih lompat tikam, nekbat and pulut pais all turn up on the same trays, and every stall has a slightly different version of each.
The easiest place to survey the whole range in one go is the ground floor of Pasar Siti Khadijah in the morning, or the night market and medan selera once the sun drops. Buy one of several kinds rather than several of one. Half the pleasure is working out which one is yours.
New to the food here in general? Our food guide for newcomers covers the savoury half of the story.