Travel for the Taste Buds

It's not a secret that Asian cuisines are delicious. After all there seem to be as many Chinese
restaurants out there as Italian ones. Living in Korea for 3 years with side trips to various other countries and a 4 month backpacking trip post-Korea meant that my taste buds got a workout! 

What is truly great about Asia is the dining experiences across the continent. Every country brings new and exotic flavours to the table. It’s incredibly intoxicating and they do it in such a relaxing way. Whether it’s dining in a cheap kimbap shop in Korea or sitting on bamboo mats beside a busy street in Indonesia it’s about the food. No chairs? No worries! No utensils? It’s all good dig in! In the west it’s all about fuss, is the tablecloth straight? Is there enough garnish on the dish? Are all the drips cleaned off the side of the plates? Guess what, garnish is overrated and sometimes so are expectations!

Haejung Gook (Korean Spicy Pork Spine Soup, one of my favs!)

Some of my favourite food abroad was from a shady looking stall partially hidden by the darkness and maybe a few spider webs that no doubt housed something with far too many legs and eyes. Sure you may be thinking you’ll pay for your culinary choice later but right now who care’s it’s friggin’ tasty!

Street food market in Luang Prabang, Laos (a heaping plate of food for $1!)

Keju pancake in Java was an experiment that went more right than any of us had anticipated, so right in fact that we spent our remaining time in Indonesia searching for more.  The almighty sate…. tuna, chicken or tofu all receive high marks for yumminess! Grilled barracuda with lemon butter sauce and grouper that makes your taste buds sing. Delicate cobra and python curry that tastes just like... you've got it, chicken! And last but not least a chili garlic sauce so delicious that no one would blame you from drinking it right from the bottle!

Snake Curry in Java, Indonesia (Cobra and Python)

Laos/Cambodian BBQ is delectable and should be tried if encountered! A noodle soup from a road side bus stop on the side of a Laos mountain so tasty that it still haunts my taste buds! 

Laos BBQ with water buffalo meat

 

 Cambodian fish amok is ridiculously delicious. Similar to Thai coconut curry it is steamed perfection wrapped in a banana leaf.

Fish Amok in Siem Reap, Cambodia (HEAVEN!)

Red snapper caught just feet away from your table in the Philippines, grilled and stuffed with garlic, tomatoes and onions. Melt in your mouth Marlin steaks with lemon and pepper, big fluffy banana pancakes, grilled and perfectly seasoned cuttlefish and mango shakes to die for await you in the Philippines!

Grilled Red Snapper on the beach in El Nido, Philippines

Proper Ramen topped with succulent pork in a rich broth, mouthwatering sushi and blowfish that could possibly kill you in Tokyo.

Salmon and Shrimp sushi in Tokyo, Japan.

 Sweet Peking duck in Peking, China (Beijing).

A plethora of Chinese dishes including Peking Duck in Beijing, China.

Spicy flavourful soups, winter street food and fermented goodness in Korea.

Chicken Juk (rice porridge) with various salty, fermented sides in Daegu, South Korea

A cornucopia of ethnic flavours bursting from every street in Malaysia...

Spicy Chinese noodle dish with shrimp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

... and Singapore.

Fabulous Indian food in Little India, Singapore.

Creamy curries, soup that is so spicy that even the toughest tourists are left with watering eyes and dripping noses and pineapple so incredibly sweet you may mistake it for something else entirely in Thailand.

Different dishes at a market in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Across Southeast Asia, tropical fruit that looks uglier than rotting meat but leaves you craving more long after you’ve returned home. 

Bananas, mangoes, leche, mangosteen, ugly fruit to name a few at a market in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

While traveling there is a lot of talk about what you’ll eat the second you get home. What dinner you want your mom to cook, daydreams about family BBQ’s in the backyard and how long you have to wait for the next turkey holiday! But I guarantee that when you leave Asia you’ll daydream about the culinary delights you took advantage of during your trip!

Coming up in the very near future, I'm going to try and recreate some of my favourite meals from Asia. Wish me luck!