Anybody that knows me knows how fussy I am with food. It’s no doubt josh has forced me to try foods over the years and I have started eating more foods, all unhealthy foods may I add. I don’t eat vegetables, sauces like ketchup, nuts, fish, eggs, pretty much any dairy foods (except ice cream obvs). So the question is, how do I cope in a foreign country, where people speak very little English to understand what I do and don’t want with my food.
When we first arrived in Cambodia I pretty much lived off Spag Bol, our first night in Siem Reap the whole group we were with ordered Khmer style dishes while I sat there with my chicken nuggets and chips. I don’t think I tried a single Khmer Dish during our whole 2 weeks there. I mean josh is not picky in the slightest, he will eat just about anything unless it’s cheese then that’s just a no go, but cambodia has some weird specialists in the forms of bbq’d rats and spiders and after the outbreak of a global pandemic in the form of a bat even he wasn’t chancing trying those things.
The food in Vietnam was much easier for me to order and eat and try Vietnamese food as it didn’t seem as wild as Cambodia. Banh Mi (sandwich) is something which I thoroughly enjoyed whilst travelling through Vietnam and I found it really easy to explain what I wanted on the bread by pointing and saying yes or no. I love noodles but the idea of Beef Pho (noodle soup) creeped me out. One stop for lunch during an 8 hour bus ride and it was the only option or I’d have starved, it wasn’t as bad as I expected but certainly not something I would choose to order myself in a restaurant. I think the day I found myself being really brave was at the Duck Stop where they gave you complimentary Banh Xeo which is basically a crispy pancake stuffed with pork and veggies. I found myself trying it and actually really enjoying it. That was the extent of my trying of new foods in vietnam.
When we first arrived in Cambodia I pretty much lived off Spag Bol, our first night in Siem Reap the whole group we were with ordered Khmer style dishes while I sat there with my chicken nuggets and chips. I don’t think I tried a single Khmer Dish during our whole 2 weeks there. I mean josh is not picky in the slightest, he will eat just about anything unless it’s cheese then that’s just a no go, but cambodia has some weird specialists in the forms of bbq’d rats and spiders and after the outbreak of a global pandemic in the form of a bat even he wasn’t chancing trying those things.
The food in Vietnam was much easier for me to order and eat and try Vietnamese food as it didn’t seem as wild as Cambodia. Banh Mi (sandwich) is something which I thoroughly enjoyed whilst travelling through Vietnam and I found it really easy to explain what I wanted on the bread by pointing and saying yes or no. I love noodles but the idea of Beef Pho (noodle soup) creeped me out. One stop for lunch during an 8 hour bus ride and it was the only option or I’d have starved, it wasn’t as bad as I expected but certainly not something I would choose to order myself in a restaurant. I think the day I found myself being really brave was at the Duck Stop where they gave you complimentary Banh Xeo which is basically a crispy pancake stuffed with pork and veggies. I found myself trying it and actually really enjoying it. That was the extent of my trying of new foods in vietnam.
Stir Fried Thai Curry
Our arrival in Thailand safe to say massively improved my eating habits, the Thais don’t cook a bad meal. I really love noodle dishes but I don’t really order them as they always come with egg and when I do find myself ordering them I always forget to ask for no egg so it’s got to a point where I just don’t order noodle dishes as I pick around most of the foods. I have found a love for Pad Kra Pao which is a spicy pork dish that it served with basil and it’s absolutely to die for and for that reason I have found myself pretty much eating everything that is thrown in there with it. I think the Thais cook quite plain dishes which may explain my love for their food. The currys barely come with anything else added into them which makes it easy for me to eat and the Garlic and pepper dish they do is just amazing, who doesn’t love garlic.
I was dreading going to Asia, I told everyone I was definitely going to starve whilst here but it’s actually been the complete opposite and I’ve found a new found love of food something which I’ve been scared of for years. The biggest thing of all that I was dreading was Street food, I love all things street food in the UK but I’ve seen images of chicken feet and bats and insects. The fact is that Asia does have all those things as street food but they also have amazing night markets with tonnes of bbq skewers, kebabs, potatoes on sticks and much more to enjoy. Night markets have become one of my favourite parts of Asia.
I have spent a lot of time picking at meals over the years, sending food back as they didn’t take off the mayo I asked them not to add or I have just learnt to order something that I know I like. It’s been very difficult adapting to the Asian culture and Asian food but I have started to try more and more things and started eating vegetables when there mixed in with my other food and in fact it’s not all as bad as I thought and I will be definitely visiting more Asian style restaurants back in the UK.
