sweet thai/chinese roasted almonds

[ZoeLouise]

I've just come back from Thailand where I bought a packet of roasted almonds which have a very nice and peculiar taste to them. The only way to describe it is "cake-like". Unfortunately I have thrown away the packet (shrink plastic bag)... Does anyone know what the spice for these roasted almonds might be? I bought them in the market in Chaing Mai and they were also sold in various Chinese villages in the north. They look like ordinary untreated roasted almonds - no visible sugar or oil on them.