Foodie report #5: Southeast Asia

Day 153 of the project, 
Te Anua, New Zealand

Gastronomically speaking, I had high expectations for my month in Southeast Asia. The region is famous for its diversity and flavor combinations. San Francisco offers solid access to Asian cuisine (especially Chinese).Yet there are certain things that simply do not cross oceans and can only be experienced in the native environment. I was stoked to see what arrived on my plate.

This post could go on forever, so for the sake of brevity, I have clustered experiences into four categories: fruit, spicy, savory and exotic. Consider yourself warned...do not read this when hungry.

Fruit
After a month of intense meat overload in Southern Africa, I was craving fruit and produce. Thailand over-delivered. Fresh fruit, fruit shakes, fruit smoothies, fruit in fried noodles, fruit in curries. Endless fruits. The pineapple was perfectly ripe and unbelievably sweet; the papaya came in green (for spicy salads), standard yellow and a new (to me) red; bananas were served fresh or fried; guava melted in your mouth; mangos the size of American footballs. And while the cooked dishes and shakes were delicious, it was the stalls selling freshly peeled and sliced fruit that won my heart.

The verdict = five plus stars

Spicy
Once again, the choices of spicy options were nearly endless. But my two favorites were the Thai spicy papaya salad and the Khmer red curry. Spicy papaya salad became a recurring lunch theme while traveling through the islands. It was light enough to eat outdoors, slightly sweet with a searing punch at the finish. Perfect when consumed with a coconut shake. In contrast, the Khmer red curry made a fiery, filling dinner in Cambodia. I preferred it with either chicken or fish, but the shrimp and pork were available as well. The spice was a slower burn across each bite (versus the more staccato finish of the salad). Rice was optional depending on my hunger level and almost always consumed with a simple lager.

The verdict = four and a half stars

Savory
Again, many options of fried rices and noodles fall into this category. But the clear winner was the white pepper crab at No Signboard in Singapore. Melt-in-your-mouth meat paired with the salty oiliness from the cooking process and coated with caramelized onions. It was messy and time consuming to peel, but so worth it.

The verdict = five plus stars

Exotic
One might expect to read about weird things in the category, like frog or chicken feet or crickets. All were available options, but I don't really consider these items unusual...a quick stroll through Chinatown in San Francisco has allowed me to sample them. In this category, the clear winner was a La Monita mexican food restaurant in Bangkok. My expat friend, Matt, spent nearly a year in search of a California-style burrito. His hard work paid off, as I had some of the best tacos, rice and beans and the only guacamole in the last five months. Delicious and by Thai standards, an exotic food. The runner up was the American style Pale Ale from Brewerkz in Singapore. It falls into the exotic category due to its rare nature (there aren't many microbreweries in a country where drinking is an expensive and restricted luxury).

The verdict = four stars

Overall verdict = five stars