There's no better way to experience a culture than through its delicacies. And Southeast Asia is a paradise for any food lover. Fortunately for me, I am no longer a picky eater, and am happy to eat just about anything and everything. In Southeast Asia, food is so cheap and so delicious that it's hard not to fall in love with absolutely everything you encounter. One of my favourite things to do throughout my three-month trip was just to grab some street food, sit on one of those tiny stools on food streets, and watch locals pass while indulging in whatever delight may be in front of me.
Given the fact that I visited seven vibrant Southeast Asian countries, my list of delicious food is simply too long, but here's an attempt at capturing some of the incredible concoctions that I had the good fortune of sampling.
#10: Burmese Curry. Myanmar
I'll be the first to admit that Burmese food, in general, does not stand out when compared to other popular Southeast Asian cuisines. This said, given my low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised in Myanmar.
Well, during my first few days in Yangon, I was not impressed, and the street food seemed so unsanitary that I did all I could to stay away. I then heard about a popular restaurant that served delicious Burmese curry, and I had to try it out.
The meat is tender, the curry itself packs tremendous flavour, and even the vegetables served alongside the meal are quite delicious. I remember going to what would be considered an expensive restaurant in Yangon, and paying the equivalent of something like CAD$6.00... Cheap, and delicious!
#9: Kolo Mee, Borneo, Malaysia
I must say, going to Borneo turned out to be one of the best decision I've made.
What looks like a simple noodle-and-meat dish is actually something much, much more. It's tough to properly describe this dish, but it's really an incredible blend of a variety of flavours. It almost tastes vinegary, and add the peppers, lime and cilantro and you have yourself a meal. You really need to taste it to understand it, but this dish is definitely something I returned to time and time again over the course of my time in Borneo.
#8: Chicken Khao Soi, Northern Thailand
This is actually one of the dishes I had the pleasure of cooking myself when I attended a cooking class in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. Essentially, to prepare it, you need to grind chili flakes, pepper, sugar, green onions, and a bunch of other ingredients and mix it with a cononut-milk based broth to make a curry. Top it with some noodles, chicken, lime and cilantro, and you have a delicious, spicy Thai curry!
#7: Laksa, Borneo, Malaysia
You could technically find laksa in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, but the one in Borneo was particularly special. This spicy soup, based with coconut milk, and topped with noodles, shrimp and some other random (but delicious) stuff is among the most delicious foods I ate on my trip. Once again, top it with lime and cilantro, and it's perfect. After spending so long in Asia, I really started appreciating my spice, but this dish incorporated the spice so smoothly that it was tough to ignore.
#6:Tea Leaf Salad, Myanmar
Describing this dish is near impossible, but this was my favourite among all the delicious Burmese salads (and they're all excellent, but just don't buy any off the street at risk of some serious food poisoning). I wasn't able to identify all the flavours in the dish, but they provided a perfect harmony of picked tea leaf, crunchy chickpeas and fresh tomatoes, along with some other traditional Burmese vegetables. The tangy tea-leaf flavour was great, and the tomatoes were as fresh as you can get, especially given that Myanmar grows tons of incredibly fresh tomatoes.
#5: Fresh Spring Rolls, Vietnam
I was first introduced to these delicious spring rolls back when I was a child at my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal. These spring rolls are stuffed with an assortment of Vietnamese vegetables and sometimes shrimp or meat and coupled with some savoury peanut sauce. We are all surely familiar with spring rolls, but the freshness of the ingredients and the authenticity of this simple dish in Vietnam, particularly in Hoi An, is something else. For the record, I much prefer the fresh spring rolls to the fried spring rolls, simply because you can really taste the ingredients properly. The best rendition of fresh spring rolls I had were in the central food court of Hoi An, where you can be entirely satisfied for about $2.50.
#4: Char Koay Teow, Penang, Malaysia
So, first off, let me just say that Penang is internationally renowned for having some of the best street food in the world, and is extremely popular among backpackers in the area simply for its food.
Penang was my first stop in my Southeast Asia trip, and I did not skip out on the various delicacies of the city. Mt favourite, and the most famous, was Char Koay Teow, a stir-fry of noodles, egg, meat and vegetables with some traditional Malaysian spices. The dish is said to have been brought in from Chinese migrants hundreds of years ago and adapted to the Malaysian food scene. The flavours are incredibly savoury. One of my favourite experiences in Penang was watching the street food vendors preparing this dish in front of me and seeing all the hard work that goes into preparing it.
#3: Pad Thai, Thailand
Ah, pad thai. A mixture of noodles, peanuts, chili flakes, vegetables, seafood or meat, lime and cilantro. Probably one of Asia's most famous dishes, and one I would go back to over and over and over and over. Over time, my spice tolerance kept growing, and I would add more chili flakes. No trip without Southeast Asia is complete without savouring this dish as much as possible, and you will never be disappointed. In Bangkok, pad thais can be found for as little as 30bath ($1.20), but they're incredibly cheap throughout the country.
#2: Banh Mi Sandwiches, Vietnam
I'll say one thing; after spending a while living and travelling in Asia, sometimes you just want some good bread... and that's where Banh Mi comes in. The term (banh mi) basically means "bread with anything," so no two sandwiches will ever be the same, and that's a good thing.
Words cannot describe this sandwich. I ate at the shop where it was invented in Hoi An, as well as dozens of other food stalls across Vietnam and was NEVER disappointed. This well-baked bread is filled with a bunch of Vietnamese vegetables, some form of meat, egg, tons of incredible gravy and a tangy Vietnamese spicy sauce. There is no proper way to describe the flavour, you just must taste it to believe it. The best part: it barely costs more than $2, and they're incredibly addicted.
My fondest banh mi memory was discovering a food stall in Hoi An during one of the final days of my trip. This food stall served up the best rendition of the sandwich ever, so I instantly told my Australian friends at the hostel about it. For the next two nights, the three of us went bac to that same stall and kept eating it, sometimes eating three sandwiches in one sitting. Absolutely incredible.
Honourable Mention: Fresh Fruit Smoothies, all over Southeast Asia
Literally all over the sub-continent, you can pop into any street corner and order the freshest fruit smoothie you can find. The vendor will literally literally chop up your fruit in front of you, throw it in a blender and concoct your delicious smoothie. My personal favourites were watermelon, pineapple and especially mango. I got one practically daily, and miss them to this day. A must for any traveller to Southeast Asia.
#1: Pho, Vietnam
We all know this one, and it's probably no surprise that it's #1 on my list. I've been a huge fan of pho ever since I was a little kid, and before knowing anything else about Vietnam, my main motivation for visiting the country was to sample its signature dish. My first ever time eating pho in Vietnam was at some traditional hole-in-the-wall in downtown Hanoi, and I would go back to eat pho almost every day. In Vietnam, the broth is more savoury, the vegetables fresher and the overall experience incredible. I ate pho in Hanoi, the streets of Hoi An, a great spot in Saigon and my favourite restaurant on Phu Quoc Island. By far the best, and I can't wait to go back.
Go to Southeast Asia and eat, you will not be disappointed.
