FOOD

While going for Thai food yesterday, my friends and I were reminiscing on what we miss in Asia. The organized chaos, the diversity, the smiles and most importantly, the street food! I still remember my first visit to a street food market in Thailand like it was yesterday. It is overwhelming and hectic, but is there anything better than sitting down on one of those plastic stools and enjoying this amazing street food that is both delicious and super cheap? I knew immediately this was going to be my next blog post. Especially after seeing this photo this morning of my personal hero Anthony Bourdain and the American president in a little Hanoi street food diner. Hey, if it’s good enough for the president, it’s good enough for you. Not everyone is as excited about street food as I am, it can be quite scary when you arrive in Asia and it seems like everyone is making something on the corner of the street. Which food is safe and isn’t going to sentence you to the loo for most of the evening (food poisoning is violent!). Which food will taste the best? What if all the street stalls are making more of the same? What does it even say on the menu? How do I figure out how much it costs? The best pad thai I’ve had? On a corner in Koh tao. The best and most deliciously soft squid? On a beach in Cambodia. Tom yum goon I will always remember? Next to the road on the motorbike loop of Pakse, Laos. Eating so much we lost ability to walk? Definitely all around Malaysia! There is nothing that breaks my heart more than hearing somebody went to Singapore, where eating is the national hobby, and was afraid to eat in the hawker stalls. Therefore, I wanted to give you my 20 tips for eating street food in Asia without getting sick. I’ve tried and tested all of them and hope they will help you scope out your awesome next meal:

My personal favorite souvenir is a piece of jewelry but bags, shoes, shirts can also be original and good reminders of your trip. While I was traveling through Thailand I was overwelmed by the thousand of tourist focused stores selling the exact same dusty touristy things. Think cheap copied t-shirts, inexpensive Thai memorabilia and things like funny hats or glowing sticks. It is this kind of stores that make me think twice about the tourist industry. Do your best to look beyond these store and go hunting for the geniune and orgininal pieces. Be on the look-out for the sellers that are selling something authentic, making their own products or are collecting several small local brands.

Sitting outside with my laptop and hearing the up and coming thunderstorm approaching, I wanted to share yesterday’s dish. When I’m on holiday I love to experiment with food as I finally have a little bit more time and a couple of extra mouths to feed. I love to play around with whatever I can cook on a BBQ. Baking a pizza one day is a dream of mine, is that weird? Anyway, back to yesterday’s dinner. At least once while staying here, I need to eat scallops, this is simply not up for this discussion. This year I decided to combine it with a fresh tasting risotto, a lemon-zucchini risotto with scallops that is.