Coast through a country at 25km/h rather than rushing, and you’ll start to notice the details that never make it onto a restaurant menu: the roadside stall selling snacks wrapped in a leaf, the market queue three locals deep, or the bakery window filling the street with scents you’ve never encountered before.

Beyond the cycling itself, we love taking travellers on immersive experiences—and some of our favorite moments come from discovering a destination through its local sweets. In this blog, we’ve picked out a handful of our favorites, the kind you’re bound to stumble upon at market stops or quiet village bakeries on our routes—and they often double as the perfect energy-boosting fuel for your ride.

1.BOCADILLO VELEÑO

COLOMBIA - BOCADILLO VELEÑO

Bocadillo veleño is a firm, deep-red block of guava paste, traditionally made from boiling strained guava pulp with panela — Colombia's unrefined cane sugar — for hours until it sets. The end result is something that’s between jelly and fudge. It's then wrapped individually in bijao leaves, which season the paste as much as they preserve it, and eaten simply — sliced alongside a wedge of soft white cheese, or spread on bread giving you an excellent mid-ride energy boost.

To us, this deeply local snack captures the flavour of the Andes far better than any restaurant meal. It’s a highlight on Day 6 of our Riding the Colombian Andes adventure, as we cycle into the quaint town of Moniquirá – known as the 'Sweet Capital of Boyacá,' this town is famous for its traditional bocadillo veleño that is a real favourite among cyclists across Colombia.

Learn more about our Colombia tours here. It’s an amazing destination to go biking.

2.ROTI SAI MAI

THAILAND - ROTI SAI MAI

Meet Thailand's answer to cotton candy — an Asian sweet with one of the best nicknames: 'hair candy.' Roti Sai Mai is made from hair-thin strands of hand-pulled sugar floss in very fun shades of pink, green, and gold, wrapped inside a thin, chewy roti sheet sometimes dusted with sesame. This dessert traces its origins to Indian Muslim traders who settled in Thailand's old capital of Ayutthaya and is still found nearly everywhere in the same city today.

Beyond Ayutthaya, it’s remained a signature ever since, sold from roadside stalls and markets all across the region. It’s a treat that’s almost too delicate to eat; unraveling into strands from the first bite — part candy, part textile, and a must-try sweet from Thailand.

Hungry for more? Browse our Thailand itineraries here and plan a delicious journey by bicycle in the land of smiles.

3.FENGLI SU

TAIWAN - FENGLI SU (PINEAPPLE CAKE)

Fengli su, Taiwan's beloved pineapple cake, is a crumbly, butter-rich shortbread shell combined with a sweet-tart jammy filling. Traditionally, this filling uses a blend of pineapple and winter melon, which mellows the fruit's taste and keeps the texture soft rather than stringy.

Pineapple cultivation boomed in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, and by the 1970s, local bakers sought inventive ways to use the surplus fruit. Fengli su was the delicious answer, and it has been one of Taiwan's favourite snacks ever since.

The cake is a popular gift for weddings and engagements thanks to a clever piece of wordplay: in Hokkien, the word for pineapple sounds similar to the phrase for "prosperity arrives," making it a gesture of good fortune as well as a tasty snack. Look for it in bakeries across Taiwan—but be quick, as the best ones often sell out fast.

Explore more about our cycling holidays in Taiwan here. It’s an unforgettable experience to ride the coasts and mountains of this expansive island in the East China Sea.

4.BAURSAK

KAZAKHSTAN - BAURSAK

Baursak are golden, pillowy morsels of fried dough inextricably linked to the nomadic history of the Central Asian steppe. Prepared from a simple, time-honoured blend of flour, fat, and leavening, this snack was essentially designed for a nomadic life on the move. They’re quick to fry, easy to serve, and are a fantastic, energy-rich fuel— great for keeping you powering through a long, rewarding day in the saddle.

On a Kazakh dastarkhan, the traditional low table commonly used for shared meals, no festive spread is complete without a helping of baursak at its centre, often linked symbolically to the sun itself — the same golden rays depicted on the Kazakh national flag. They're eaten plain, dipped in honey or jam, or used to mop up the last of a stew, and they arrive at the table warm more often than not. If you're riding through Kazakhstan, sampling a fresh batch of baursak is a must.

See more of our rides in Kazakhstan here. From nomadic style expeditions to chasing sun rays across the steppe, this is definitely a bucket-lister of a destination.

5.DAIFUKU MOCHI

JAPAN - DAIFUKU MOCHI

Daifuku — literally "great luck" — is a small dome of pounded rice cake wrapped around a variety of differently filling, most traditionally sweet red bean paste, or anko. The name’s origin has a playful history: an earlier version was called "belly thick rice cake" to describe how the filling swelled the mochi outward, and over time that became daifuku, using the Japanese character for luck instead.

Modern iterations of this sweet have branched out far beyond red bean filling — whole strawberries wrapped in a thin layer of anko, mochi tinted green with mugwort, or fillings of matcha, custard and coffee — but the appeal’s always the same: a soft, slightly chewy exterior giving way to something rich and sweet inside. Wagashi shops across Japan sell daifuku fresh daily, and it remains closely tied to New Year celebrations and spring festivals. It's a small, unassuming treat, and one of the easiest ways to taste centuries of Japanese confectionery tradition in a single bite.

Intrigued about a cycling adventure through Japan? Learn more about our trips here.

THE SWEET DETAILS

None of these local sweets and treats take the place of the grand monuments or bucket-list sights we visit — but that’s precisely their charm. They’re the little delightful details that fill in the in-between moments and make the whole journey richer. Beyond the cycling itself, we love taking people to experience a destination in an immersive way — and some of our truly best moments have come from discovering a destination through its local sweets.