A palate of delight ... the foods of South East Asia

In my two summer months in South East Asia we were lucky enough to sample not only some incredibly tasty foods, but to experience such a range of atmospheres, hosting and culinary delights.

Although I was leading a group of British school children this food blog is not about them, this is about the two wonderful teachers who accompanied the students and me. I do believe that some introductions are necessary.

It’s not often that I find someone who talks more than me, but Amanda certainly gave me competition! She was the experimental and bold eater amongst us. I’ve never considered myself to be a timid eater and am more than willing to try a whole range of foods in all the countries that I am lucky enough to travel to but I do draw the line pretty early on .... sucking and gnawing on a pair of chicken’s feet in broth ... No thanks! Oh but hold on, Amanda went one step further and had a few duck feet too. Despite the talk and the almost inbuilt desire to try every food on display, Amanda did have one weakness ... she couldn’t take the heat, no chilli for her thank you very much!!

Amanda was pretty persuasive though and even Jess began down the chicken feet line!

Meet Jess. He was the calm in the middle of the storm. When the fiery conversations that brought out all our personal conviction began, about everything from ‘the Mandela effect’ to environmental degradation he was the balanced listener, the one who thought before he spoke. Jess dared to go further than I in sampling the different foods and surprised us all when he said he would be willing to try barbequed rat, something that both Amanda and I turned down very quickly ... just to let our concerned readers know that we did not purchase nor eat that rat! Jess was my chilli mate in arms.

Reconstructing food memories

 When we began this journey through Vietnam and Laos I had not planned to write a food blog but now that I am at the start of a new semester in another new country, that being Sweden, looking back on photos, I feel the urge to share some of the places that we visited. I am not however renowned for having the best memory and so where I can I will try to remember what restaurant or area of town .... crikey, maybe I should simply start with which country and then try to narrow it down to town! I have also tried, where possible, to remember the names of the foods ... but this is definitely not often.

So let us begin ... with rice, rice being the staple of all of SE Asia. Fried rice accompanied most dishes and was always delicious. My culinary delight began however in Bangkok in Thailand when Amanda showed us sticky rice and mango, drizzled with coconut cream and sprinkled with something nutty. I could have eaten these all day long!

One doesn’t normally begin with the desserts but since we are here already ... in Laos we stopped at the side of the long road north towards China to buy squat bamboo tubes that we peeled apart to get to a sweet bean and rice candy bar ... divine, but we saw these only once and never stumbled across them again. I’ve already spoken of the coconut pancakes that were my after dinner go-to in Laos and on trek there was the sweet sticky rice and coconut wrapped in banana leaf.

Of course the fruit deserves some mention as there was so much and of so many different kinds that we had a smoothie pretty much every evening and sometimes in the day time too. Lemons, limes, mangoes, pineapples, dragon fruits, lychees, avocados, bananas, passion fruits ... you name it they had it. This is the main thing I miss as I try to accustom myself to Sweden and its bland, season controlled foods now.  

Both Vietnam and Laos loved their noodles too and these came in two or three main kinds, skinny and stringy, fat and chewy (maybe even waxy) and somehow always tasty. Noodles are undoubtedly served in a chicken, beef or veggie broth which, in Vietnam was known as pho and in Laos called Fer. Piled high in the enormous broth bowl was always salad greens, coriander and to the side came fresh chilli.    

Spring rolls were a favourite of us all and they came deep fried, boiled, grilled or fresh and contained mainly veggies, pork or beef. There were also egg rolls and bean sprouts came with almost every dish and popped in the mouth with a sweetness that cleansed the palate. The ‘white rose’ was an almost see-through white dough stuffed with minced shrimp or pork and bunched up to look like roses.

Of course there were green, red and yellow curries wherever we went, and these all were favourites of mine. We never grew tired of noodles, rice and fresh vegetables but sometimes, here and there we changed our evening plans and had a brief change from street food and the tiny tables and chairs that has Jess’s knees about his ears, and stopped in at more expensive restaurants, an amazing Indian curry in Hanoi for example ... but there were a few places that blew us away and these were all in Luang Prabang in Laos.

Some Restaurant Highlights

A photo of the back of their menu card

Manda de Laos: This restaurant came recommended to us by a friendly man at the waterfalls and we can only pass that recommendation on. It advertises itself as Laotian Family Cuisine eaten on the banks of a UNESCO classified lily pond. Amanda’s dish even came on a flat basket tray in little bowls of ingredients that allowed her, under the waiter’s guidance, to build her own meal. The ambience here was very special and the food so full of flavour, colour and texture that we even mused if it might be the best restaurant that any of us had ever eaten at.

Xieng Thong Noodle Shop: This was a little local noodle spot where we managed to get in a last lunch before we left the country. It was a simple noodle soup with greens, lime juice, bean sprouts and either meat or vegetables but we thoroughly enjoyed it .

Dyen Sabai: The home of the best Laotian fondue in Luang Prabang. Not only has the restaurant been well designed and furnished but waiter service was exquisite and as for the meal ... well let’s just say that we had no choice but to go back for a second try and this time we brought the girls for a farewell and end-of-expedition meal.

There were also a few things besides the rat that we did not want to try and these included some giant bumble bee like insect and its larva which seemed for sale as an edible snack and as a drink.

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