Roast chestnuts or kaolad kua are a delicacy sold on Yaowarat Road in Samphantawong, a popular place for many a traditional food and culinary oddity, especially those imported from China. They are roasted in a large wok filled with small black pebbles that help retain the heat for a long time which in turn aids in detaching the flesh from the rind.

Whereas this area in Bangkok's Chinatown still provides freshly prepared roast chestnuts, nowadays chestnuts are also widely for sale in supermarkets, imported in packed form, already roasted, peeled and ready to eat, and usually at a fraction of the price in Chinatown.