Asia has tons of fantastic desserts, but we'd be lying if we said this continent was known for its cookies. Off the top of our heads, we can name maybe a handful: almond cookies, achappam (rose cookies), kueh bangkit (coconut cookies).
Trust the online guide TasteAtlas, which collates food critic reviews and traditional recipes, to suss out the very best ones in Asia, though. It recently published a list of the 100 Best Cookies in the World – and two intriguing treats from Asia made the list.
Top in Asia (and 30th in the world) is silvanas, a Filipino frozen cookie with a 4.0 rating on TasteAtlas. It's actually a snack version of the traditional dessert known as sans rival. Silvanas sound fantastic for the Philippines' hot, tropical climate – served chilled or frozen, they're made from a layer of buttercream sandwiched by two cashew-meringue wafers, slathered in more buttercream and coated in cashew crumbs. According to TasteAtlas, the best place to try this dessert is in the House of Silvanas in Quezon City, Sans Rival Cakes & Pastries, or Sans Rival Bistro, both in Dumaguete.
The only other cookie from Asia that made the list is hodu-gwaja from South Korea (No. 55). Rated 3.8 on TasteAtlas, these walnut cookies are often eaten in the winter. Red bean lovers will enjoy this one – rich red bean paste is mixed with chopped walnuts, and encased in a thin walnut-based batter. It was invented all the way back in 1934 by a couple in Cheonan, a large city in South Chungcheong Province, but you can pretty much find hodu-gwaja all throughout the country now.
Check out the full, delectable list of the 100 best cookies in the world on TasteAtlas.
Have you heard? These are the Tiktok-viral Asian desserts you have to try
Plus: All the new and awesome UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia for 2025
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Asia newsletter for the best travel inspiration straight to your inbox.