Flavours of Asia

I often wonder what most people remember about a holiday. In an earlier post, I said it was the 'people", but there seems to be a bit of consensus amongst friends that "food " is definitely up there. Certainly exotic foods add another dimension to the experiences. Yes, these bottles of wine were for sale, and they did contain snakes, scorpions, and other creatures often considered nasty. I did try some, but it wasn't amongst my souvenir purchases. There were of course, other delicious and more familiar food found in markets and from street vendors. - bananas, mangoes, tamarind, dragon fruit, corn, fresh greens and noodles .... and lots more ... anything and everything....

 

Shopping is not easy  a) when you're not sure of the language ;

  

b) when you live in a floating village ( Here a woman and her child stop at the local shop for dinner supplies) ;

c) when you have a weak stomach for raw meat ( apologies to all my vegetarian friends)

We ate wonderful, beautiful food, both from street markets and in restaurants. I recommend the cafes and restaurants of groups like Friends International and KOTO (Know One Teach One)  which provide vocational training in hospitality for street kids in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.  

 

    

Some  of my favourite dishes were the spring rolls ( especially when they were presented  in such an amazing formation, above) and stuffed bamboo shoots, but my all time favourites were the meals we  helped cook ourselves under the guidance of  chefs in Laos and Vietnam.  - the stuffed lemon grass, steamed fish in banana leaves and vegetables with coriander .... mmm

   

 

                     

The next post will be the last about the holidays . Please check back next week to see some photos of the more exotic, bizarre and beautiful.