Signature Dips

Pandan Dip: Naturally Green, Fragrant and a Little Bit Magic

If you’ve ever eaten dessert in Thailand, Vietnam or Malaysia, you’ve eaten pandan — maybe without knowing it. It’s the leaf that gives Southeast Asian desserts their signature green color and a fragrance that’s hard to describe and harder to forget: grassy, nutty, coconut-adjacent, almost like fresh jasmine rice.

Our pandan dip is made with real pandan leaves — not extract, not food coloring — and it’s the dip people either fall in love with instantly or ask us about five times before trying. Here’s the full story.

What Is Pandan?

Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is a tropical plant grown across Southeast Asia, prized for its long, fragrant leaves. It’s the region’s answer to vanilla: a natural flavoring that makes everything taste subtly better. Thai cooks use it in khanom (desserts), rice, coconut milk and drinks; in Indonesia and Malaysia it’s woven into sweets and curries alike.

Pandan’s aroma comes from a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline — the same molecule that gives jasmine rice its scent. That’s why pandan desserts smell the way a fresh pot of jasmine rice tastes: warm, nutty, and gently sweet.

The green color, meanwhile, is pure chlorophyll from the leaves. Real pandan is naturally green — no dye, no artificial color, just plant.

How We Make Our Pandan Dip

We make ours the traditional way: fresh pandan leaves are blended with a little water, then squeezed and strained to extract the green juice and the aroma. That fragrant liquid goes into a silky cream base.

• Real leaves, every batch. We don’t use pandan paste or extract. The flavor of fresh leaves is brighter and cleaner — there’s no comparison.
• Coconut cream, not just milk. Pandan and coconut are a classic pair across Southeast Asia. Coconut cream gives the dip richness and brings out pandan’s nutty side.
• A gentle sweetness. Pandan’s fragrance is delicate. We sweeten it lightly so the aroma leads and the sugar follows — the opposite of a candy-green “pandan” flavored product.

Why Pandan + Mini Donuts Works

Pandan is creamy, fragrant and gently sweet — a natural match for warm, crispy, buttery donuts. The green color against golden fried dough is one of the prettiest combinations on our stand, and the flavor is approachable even for first-timers: if you like coconut or jasmine rice, you’ll like pandan.

It also plays beautifully with the rest of the menu. Pandan and ube is the Southeast Asian dream team. Pandan with condensed milk tastes like the filling of a Thai dessert pancake. And if you want to convert a skeptic, pandan is the safest first dip to try.

For the full experience, grab the 6-donut box with all five signature dips and work through them in order. Pandan is the sleeper hit — watch how fast the green cup empties.

Pandan Dip FAQ