Vegetarian Food in Indonesia

Are you “Saya Tidak Makan Daging”? That means are you a vegetarian in Bahasa Indonesia. Well, if you are you need to know certain Bahasa Indonesia words and also the dishes that you can eat as Indonesia is a country that fiercely loves its meat. Be it fishes, white meat or red meat, the people of Indonesia likes it in all their meals. At first, this might seem like a big problem for vegetarians traveling to Indonesia, but once you understand the system, you will also find out that they have some of the best vegetarian foods too. It is better if you as a vegetarian can consume eggs (Telor) and peanuts (kachang). If you have an allergy to nuts and are a true vegetarian, then your options will be limited.



Below are the list of vegetarian (sometimes with eggs) dishes that I have been sampling in Indonesia over the past 2 weeks in this country. Since I am a strict egg-atarian, I have had to dig deep.

1) Gado Gado: This is my absolute favorite: This assorted vegetables with rice dumplings and one egg in a peanut sauce is the best lunch I have had in Indonesia. The rice crackers and a cold iced tea (Es Teh Manis) go perfectly with it.

2) Lotek: This dish is pretty similar to Gado Gado, but is pure vegetarian and comes with more greens, tofu and no eggs. Again, this is created in a peanut and chilli paste.

3) Cap Cai (pronounced Chap Chai): This is an assorted set of vegetables and mushrooms with or without eggs in either a fried form (goreng) or as a broth (kuah). This is best had with plain rice (nasi).

4) Nasi Goreng: This is your stereotypical fried rice with vegetables. If nothing works for you, this should definitely come in handy.

5) Nasi Gudeg Telor: One needs to acquire a taste for this traditional food from Yogyakarta, Java. It is  rice and jackfruit served with egg curry. Cooked jackfruit always has an indifferent taste, but I like it.

6) Nasi Rica Rica (pronounced as Nasi Richa Richa): This is rice served with eggs in a spicy onion and tomato sauce.

7) Nasi with Sayuran and Sambal: If you wish to create your own food, then ask for Nasi (rice), Sayuran (vegetables) and Sambal (spicy onion and tomato paste). This will ensure that you have no need to consume any animal products.

8) Martabak Telor: This is a thick egg pancake that is perfect as a evening snack or on a rainy day.

9) Martabak Manis: This is a sweet egg pancake served with lots of sugar and sometimes chocolate or other flavors.

I hope if you are a vegetarian who is interested in traveling to Indonesia, this list gives you a fresh breath of life.

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Popular Shan Snacks of Burma

Everywhere I travel to, I try and taste their local food as long as it is vegetarian. While I was in the Shan state of Myanmar, I got the opportunity to taste two yummy snacks, Hin Tou and the Tea Leaves Salad. These snacks are so good that the locals seem to enjoy it every evening.


Hin Tou is pounded rice with onions and greens steamed in a banana leaf and then served with roasted garlic, oil and fish sauce. Tea Leaves Salad is a salad with some greens, tomatoes from the Inle Lake and a variety of roasted and deep fried nuts and beans that include peanuts, broad beans, soya beans and more. The salad is served with chillies, coriander leaves, roasted garlic, oil and fish sauce.


If you are a vegetarian and/or do not like the taste of fish sauce, you can tell them to skip the fish sauce for your snack. The rough cost of a plate of either of these snacks should be 700 kyat for a small plate and 1000 kyat for a large plate. These are costs of the street and hence the prices will be higher if you order them in a restaurant. Both these snacks are addictive, so be prepared to eat more than one and may be skip your dinner.

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Tamnak Lao Restaurant: Best for Lao Food!!

Unlike Thai, Malaysian or Vietnamese Food, Lao food is not that popular the world over. But, that is not because the food is not good, but that there is hardly anyone who is taking Lao food to the masses. It is only when you get to Laos and taste the food that you know it can be a cuisine on its own in an international kitchen. One such restaurant, which is a good exponent of this tasty cuisine is Tamnak Lao. Tamnak Lao is located in Luang Prabang and Vientiane where it is not too far away from the most popular sights in these respective cities.


This restaurant, which doubles up as a cooking school dishes out a great variety of Lao food and its specialties include the Lao Fish Larp, steamed Lao fish in banana leaf, Lao Salad, Bamboo Salad and more. In Vientiane, they are only open during the evenings, while at Luang Prabang, they are open both for lunch and dinner. The restaurant staff speak decent English and will ensure that you have a great dining experience. In fact, this is one of their better selling points. The food here is slightly on the expensive side, but once you get a taste of their food, you are bound to return many times in spite of it putting a strain on your wallet. In addition to their great food, they have dedicated menus for vegetarians and diabetics, which augurs well for those with special needs too.

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Coldstone Creamery: Delicious Ice Cream in Taiwan

Ice creams are a hot favorite with most of us humans and it will definitely be liked when you add really creamy ice cream, nuts, your favorite brownie, biscuit or tart to it. That is how it goes with the Coldstone Creamery ice cream brand in Taiwan. They have a pretty interesting way of making ice cream and they are fairly pricey too, but they are totally worth it in every way.


Here are some interesting points for you to think about and let your mouth water:

1) They don’t give ice cream by the scoop. Rather, they do it by weight. 100g, 200g, etc.

2) Their ice cream has some interesting flavors and is extremely creamy.

3) Their biscuits have an interesting shape and come in various flavors: plain, chocolate, rose water, mint and more.

4) After measuring your ice cream, they throw it on a plate, throw the cakes, brownies and nuts into it and mix it like how you would mix fried noodles or fried rice in a hot pan. And finally, they scoop it all up and put it into the biscuit and give you a spoon to sample the finished product.


The shop has many ice cream flavors and different sizes to suit everyone’s need and budget. But, the best way to sample their wares would be to take up on one of their ready made concoctions and just watch how it is made. You will definitely relish the final work product. If you need a second opinion, just watch the huge crowds in front of Coldstone Creamery outlets all over Taipei and it will become easier for you.

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Tokyo Curry: Some of the best curries in Taipei

Taipei has come delightful cuisines and foods, but it is very difficult to find any vegetarian options here as like Hong Kong, the concept of vegetarianism is very limited here. Hence, I was very excited when I found a couple of vegetarian dishes at Tokyo Curry, one of the restaurants in Taipei City Hall


‘s food court. And that was when my friend exclaimed, ‘I have head about this brand. They are supposed to be one of the best in Taiwan for their curries’. I didn’t need a recommendation, but it was good to get one.


I ordered a vegetable curry while my friend ordered a Chicken curry. The dish smelt really good when it arrived. In fact, we could smell it all through the restaurant. The signature dish of the restaurant is their beef curry. Our dish was of a healthy proportion and was enough to satiate the appetite of any backpacker. The curry was simply unbelievable and definitely one of the better foods that I have tasted in South East Asia so far. I am unable to place the exact ingredients of the curry, but it had some of the Indian spices in it, apart from having something else. The food is great here and the place is chic too. The only problem is that they run full more or less all through the week and hence you might have to wait a little bit to get your seat in this restaurant.

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Nang Tam: A Great Vegetarian Restaurant in Hanoi

It has a Cinderella like story, but it is based in Vietnam. In this story, the king marries Cinderella, but some witch sends her out to the woods. She escapes and works in a remote village where her vegetarian dishes are a hit with the locals. The king, hearing about this famous eating joint, comes in disguise, finds his wife and takes her back to his kingdom. The girl’s name is Nang Tam and thus this restaurant, which believes in this fairy tale, has named it Nang Tam after the girl in the fairy tale.

The restaurant also believes that vegetarian cooking should be in such a way that it resembles meat so that meat eaters feel like they are they are getting their daily meat intake. Thus, the menu would have a lot of chicken, beef, pork, fish, squid and other meat names, but in reality they are all vegetarian and are made either from tofu or mushrooms. They are prepared in such a way that they exactly look and texture wise feel like meat.

If you are won Hanoi and need a local Vietnamese vegetarian option, I would recommend Nang Tam. They are located on Trang Hung Dao road in Hoan Kiem District and near the Hanoi train station. Like traditional Vietnam style, they have both set menu and alacarte. The typical set menu would include rice, lots of veggies and definitely lots of tofu and mushroom and a veggie soup that has a lot of lemon grass in it. You don’t get Vietnamese Green Tea (Tra Vietnam) with it, but I would definitely recommend you order that with your food.

I hope your vegetarian craves are met here while you are in Hanoi.

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Tarts, Cookies and more baked items from Macau

You are in Asia and attached to the People’s Republic of China. You are in one of the top gambling destinations of the world, but apart from gambling, tourists visit this country for two things. One, a dose of its Portuguese past and the other to taste its unbelievably good Portuguese baked items, which are a legacy left behind by the Portuguese.


And in line with this legacy, one can see a baking frenzy all over Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, like Hong Kong. A one hour ferry ride from Hong Kong brings you here and a 10 minute bus ride brings you to the Portuguese old town where you can smell the goods before you see it. As you follow your nose, you end up crossing an unbelievably large number of bakery shops, some small and some really large. They are all doing brisk business as the baked items of Macau are a hot favorite with tourists and locals alike.


The tourists prefer to carry huge boxes of freshly baked cookies and crepe rolls as souvenirs from Macau after a round of tasting. But, if you just want to taste the goods and want to know the best one here, then it is undoubtedly the Portuguese Egg Tarts that are so yummy. The fresh and hot egg tarts are so good that you can just complete your entire meal with egg tarts. Apart from the egg tarts, you have to eat the egg baked rolls, the wafer thin crepe rolls and the excellent assortment of cookies that range from pecan nuts to walnuts to almonds and more.


Whatever you do in Macau, don’t miss out on sampling its excellent Portuguese baked items. If you do miss it, you have not visited Macau. If you want to know a reputed brand for sampling these goods, look up Koi Kei bakery, the largest and the most reliable chain in Macau.

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Saigon’s Sense Restaurant: Cuisine of Hue, Vietnam

If you are in Ho Chi Minh city and would like to taste authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a up market place, take a look at Sense Restaurant that is situated in Ho Chi Minh city’s happening District 1. This up market restaurant serves Vietnamese food from Hue, the biggest city in Central Vietnam. The food here is not as spicy as Thai food or sweet as Cambodian food, but has a subtle flavor that comes from the use of Lotus roots and other ingredients unique to Hue.

Unlike most other Vietnamese restaurants, the Sense restaurant has a menu, albeit a short one for vegetarian options. The options are not healthy like the ones for meat eaters, but the food sure does taste good. The restaurant is pricey and on an average, food costs between 5 and 8 USD. There is a 5% VAT and 10% service tax on top of that price. If you are going during Tet, you might spend 15-20% more. The place is near the Rex hotel and the Saigon palace hotel, so it is in prime locality.

I went there for dinner a night before the Tet New Year and the place was welcoming with a warm ambience. The people running the restaurant were very helpful in explaining to me the various food options. I would recommend this place if you are looking to try out vegetarian Hue-Vietnamese food.

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Blue Pumpkin: The Best Dessert Bar in Cambodia

When I was in Siem Reap, my friends who had just returned home after a vacation in Cambodia told me not to miss eating at the Blue Pumpkin ice cream bar and restaurant. Unfortunately for me, I missed going to their restaurant in Siem Reap. But, luckily for me, I got an opportunity when I chanced upon their restaurant opposite the riverside at Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.


Blue Pumpkin is an up market restaurant, but is very popular for its ice creams. Both tourists and the local population seem to have taken a liking to it. Hence, you will mostly find this place crowded. The one at Phnom Penh has 2 floors. The ground floor is the take away, while the first floor is the dine-in restaurant. The restaurant comes with free wi-fi, air-conditioning and full length sofas where one can enjoy their dessert or shake while relaxing completely and browsing the internet.


They also have a balcony section where one can sit in the open air and watch the riverside action flow past you. Like I said before, Blue Pumpkin is known for its ice creams. They have some unique flavours, like four spices, Khmer fruits, Durian, Raspberry and Yoghurt, Baileys and more. While I was there today, I tasted the 4 spices and the Khmer fruits in a ice cream cone. I liked the subtle flavor of the four spices ice cream. In terms of cost, 1 scoop of ice cream costs USD 1.5, 2 scoops for $2.75 and 3 for $3.75.


The food menu also looked interesting. I ordered the Linguini with Ratatouille jus, while my friend ordered their signature dish, the Amok fish with rice. Both the dishes were very good. The place is slightly more pricey than the rest of Cambodia, but the taste was much better than what we had tasted anywhere else in Cambodia. Plus, the ambience, the hygiene and the service make up for the slight increase in price.

I really liked the place and plan to return there again tomorrow. Do remember to bookmark this place when you are planning your trip to Cambodia. You will definitely like them. Definitely their ice cream!!

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Juicy Insects and Reptiles at Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Before traveling to South East Asia, I had seen and read a lot about how insects are considered a delicacy in Cambodia and Vietnam. During my days in Thailand, I saw it at some places. In Cambodia’s Siem Reap, I saw some more stalls. But, the markets of Phnom Penh take the cake. Roaches, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, maggots, silk worms are commonly seen. The special sights are the tarantulas, scorpions and the baby snakes.


Insects and reptiles are not just sold here, but devoured at an amazing place. Kids eat fried maggots and fried grasshoppers like how I would do to sakkarai pongal (sweet jaggery rice) and vazhakka bajji (deep fried raw banana and gram flour). Everyone seems to like it. People just walk to these stalls, pay 600 Riel (0.15 USD), carry a small bag full of these maggots or other insects and continue with their work. This is how I would react to buying some bananas or apples.


The experience of seeing this is very interesting. Personally, I would never eat any of these even in my dreams, but I definitely like to see the way the locals go about eating this delicious snack (according to them). Even the meat eating tourists, watch, think about eating and just end up taking a photograph. Do you want to taste some of these?

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Travel Video: Cambodian Dessert Store in Action, Siem Reap

I am one of those travelers who loves to sample local food, especially desserts. While I tasted the coconut ice-cream bread sandwich with nuts and raspberry sauce, coconut doughnuts and sweet coconut, sugar and sesame seeds on crispy rice pancake in Thailand, I got to see a whole new set of desserts in Cambodia as I entered the old market in Siem Reap, the town closest to Angkor Wat.


This was the shop with a lot of local crowd. I stood around the shop for half an hour, watching the action taking place in front of me. Locals kept pouring in, ordered their sweetmeats and the lady behind the shop kept dishing out these yummy looking desserts at a lightning pace. And all these dishes were between 1000 and 1500 Cambodian riel, which equates to roughly 0.25 to 0.40 USD. The most popular dessert seemed to be the one with palm fruit in it. The second most popular one had palm fruit, jack fruit and jelly in it. The other desserts were sprout based, banana based or made from red bean.



But, all of them were made from sweet condensed sugar. My personal favorite was the cold palm fruits with sugar syrup, sweet condensed milk and powdered ice with some caramel on top of it. The other desserts are also great to taste. If you visit Siem Reap, you should try this place and see which dessert is your favorite.

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Top 6 Malaysian Dishes

The interesting mix of Malay, Chinese, Thai and Indian cuisines gives the Malaysian dishes a heady flavor. It bears interesting resemblance and taste to a lot of Indian dishes, but maintains its own unique taste and presentation. Here the some top Malaysian foods that you should definitely taste:


1) Roti Canai
This is a classic Malaysian breakfast that looks very much like the Indian Kerala Parantha (dough+egg+ghee). It tastes best with dal curry, egg masala or fish curry.

2) Satay
Meat lovers will say this is their Malaysian favourite. One can see its popularity through the umpteen number of hawkers selling this dish across the country. The meat is marinated with local spices and is identified by its peanut-based “sweet and slightly piquant sauce”.

3) Curry Laksa
The noodle soup laksa is one of Malaysia’s iconic dishes. The curry laksa consists of a coconut milk broth that is poured over noodles and garnished with tofu puffs, shrimp and eggs and of course a blend of the special Malaysian spices.

4) Beef Rendang
This is a slow cooked dry curry deeply spliced with ginger, turmeric, kaffir lime, chillies and coconut milk.

5)Nasi Lemak
Often called Malaysia’s national dish, Nasi Lemak is a rice dish steamed with coconut milk and served with fresh anchovies, peanuts, sliced cucumbers, hard boiled eggs and sambal. This is one of those dishes that is served at all times of the day.

6) Popiah
These are rolls of shredded veggies along with egg, tofu or peanuts. All of this is wrapped in a thin, pliant wheat crepe. Look very similar to our spring rolls.

Note: Photos in this post have been used with written consent from Beehive Communications on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.

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Feast Restaurant at Sheraton Bangalore: A Review

Last Sunday, I was at the Sheraton Bangalore hotel at Brigade Gateway on Dr. Rajkumar road to have lunch with my family. The Sheraton Bangalore has a restaurant called the ‘Feast’ where they serve buffet every day from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. My overall experience at this restaurant was mixed. Below is a complete review of my lunch experience here.

1) Aren’t 5 Stars supposed to be the best in service? Then, why did I find an alarming fall in this trait? Even surprising is that this is a new property and typically newer hotels adore their customers and try to ensure that they absolutely become repeat customers.

2) The spread at the buffet was pretty impressive. The cuisine was international with Thai soups, Mexican, Italian and Indian starters, Japanese, Italian and Indian main course. But, only about 50% of the dishes were really up-to-the-mark. Keep in mind that I am talking only about vegetarian food items. Since my entire family is vegetarian, I can’t comment much about the non-vegetarian fare.

3) The dessert spread was great too, though I would have liked some more options of hot desserts. They had a good blend of international and Indian desserts and some were real good too. What I never understood is why the international desserts are made more sweet than they are supposed to be. May be, it is for the Indian palate, but I somehow prefer the authentic taste of the dessert. For e.g., the walnut cake and the brownie were sweeter than the Indian Rasagulla.

4) In terms of ambience, the place reflects typical five star standards, which is good. At some places in the restaurant, I would have loved to have some more walking space, especially since this is a buffet restaurant that requires a lot of walking around.

5) In terms of entertainment, the restaurant had some live music going, which was hardly appealing. I don’t even remember once singing with the live band even though they played most of my favorite numbers. The best thing in the restaurant was the ‘balloon artist’ which all kids absolutely loved. This artist could make anything with his balloons, be it a sword, a crown, a motorcycle or other interesting designs. My nephew refused to eat till he had gone and met the artist and got a sword for himself. Such was the artist’s control over the young ones!

6) On weekends, the restaurant sees quite a crowd and there is a good chance that you might have to wait in spite of having booked in advance. But, the wait is not at all irritating unlike the other restaurants in the city where we have to simply sit on our chairs. Here at the Sheraton, there are 2 lounges. One that hosts 3 or 4 Wii gaming devices (with a whole lot of games) with large televisions. This is a super hit especially if you have kids with you, coz it are those who lose their patience real quick. The second lounge is one where one can relax and sip a nice drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

Overall, my experience here was mixed. I really liked the hotel property and its location, but felt that the food left a lot to be desired considering the load that it puts on the wallet. I might visit their other restaurants though to see how they are.

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The Flavors of Kenya

Kenyan food has a diverse international history. The Portuguese rule, the Indian workers, the Arab traders and the British colonial rule have contributed to this distinctive food. Thus, Kenyan food involves a heady concoction of spice, curries, maize, bananas, pineapples, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers along with the local produce.

Food
For Kenyans, a key objective of food is to fill one up as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Nevertheless, the food is tasty as well as filling. The local dishes are Irio (a mashed potato, spinach and bean dish, is often used to accompany a vegetable stew such as githeri), Githeri (Boiled maize and beans or peas, cooked with tomatoes and onions), Ugali with sukuma wiki (a communal dish in which lumps of dough are used to scoop up the stewed greens), Matoke (Boiled and mashed plantains), Mukimo (Mashed potatoes mixed with green corn, green peas and pumpkin leaves), Kachumbari (spicy relish of chopped tomatoes, onions, cabbage, chillies, cucumber, coriander and lime juice), Nyama Choma (marinated, spicy, barbecued chunks of meat, may be served with piquant kachumbari relish), Mchuzi wa kamba (prawn curry with a rich tomato and coconut milk sauce served with rice and fried plantain) and Wali wa nazi (Swahili dish of rice cooked with coconut milk until creamy).

Most people in Kenya are non-vegetarians, and local meals often include red meat, chicken or fish. Kenyan beef, chicken, lamb and pork are all of good quality. The Maasai enjoy boiled goat soup, with the meat eaten separately afterwards  while the Kikuyu prefer stewed, boiled or roasted beef and mutton, served with vegetable dishes. Coastal dishes such as prawn or fish curry with coconut rice are a hot favorite. Freshwater tilapia in inland areas, while the Lake victoria areas feast on the Nile perch.

Kenyan cooking also makes excellent use of the country’s huge range of fresh vegetables and tropical fruits. Cassava, maize, yams and plantains are important starch providers. Barbecued roasted corn cobs, hunks of cassava, sugar cane, oranges, mangoes and passion fruits are also very popular. 

Alcoholic Drinks
Most Kenyans love a bottle of Tusker beer along with their meals. Such is the popularity of this drink that it is available almost everywhere. In terms of local produce, there is Kenya Cane, a sugarcane liquor that is pretty similar to white rum. Kenya cane is one of the cheapest forms of alcohol available in the country and contains 40% alcohol content in it. One of the famous cocktails made from Kenya Cane is the ‘Crocodile Walk’ that consists of Kenya Cane (60 ml), Grenadine syrup, lemon wedges and salt. Kenya Gold, a coffee liqueur is also pretty famous. A popular and appetizing local cocktail is dawa, a mixture of Smirn off vodka, honey, lime and ice. Apart from these local varieties which are cheap, the larger hotels and bars stocks all international brands. The South African wines are also easily available in the cities and are very decently priced.

Other Drinks
Kenyan coffee is pretty good. Java House at Nairobi serves great freshly ground coffee. But, at other places, only the filter coffee variety is used. Both black tea and milk tea are available in the cities, though in the countryside, only chai (sugary milk tea) is available. Most of the places will serve very good fresh juices, especially passion fruit, pineapple and mango, though the choice of drinks will vary with season. Tap water is considered unsafe across Kenya. Hence, everyone boils the water before consuming. For those who want to be totally safe, mineral water bottles are available at fairly high prices.

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Lucky Restaurant serves the best Biryani in Mumbai

Founded in 1938 by Sayed Ali Akbarul Huseini, Lucky Hotels and Restaurants is one of Mumbai’s best Biryani joints. The Lucky Restaurant situated at suburban Bandra and next to the Goregaon flyover (east) is the name that every Mumbaikar mentions when you ask them for a Biryani restaurant suggestion.

 
I got a first hand experience of this restaurant when I dropped in at their Bandra joint one evening. The place, which was running full had a pretty decent ambience with both non-air-conditioned and air-conditioned facilities. The first floor, which is their air-conditioned section is shaped like a igloo with a small entrance and very low ceilings. But, once you get settled and look at the menu, you are spoilt for choices. But, since this was my first time around, I went with the recommended meal of Biryani, Raita and Irani chai.

 
But, whether you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, whether you are going for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the options that the Lucky restaurant are phenomenal. And all this at a very reasonable price. A full meal with dessert and a hot cup of tea or coffee would cost you between 250 and 300 rupees. A lot of celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar and Sanjay Dutt have also visited this place and have endorsed their food. I would definitely recommend this place for a great Biryani treat.

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Tomatoes can really be very sweet!!

I distinctly remember savouring sweet tomatoes while I was vegetable shopping with my mum a couple of decades back. It has been a while since I tasted such tomatoes anywhere. The ones we get at the market are more tangy than sweet and one cannot enjoy tomatoes like a mango. I think it is the new generation of fertilizers and pesticides that take away the true taste of this fruit/vegetable.



But, I again got an opportunity to taste real sweet tomatoes when I dropped by an organic Tomato farm situated next to the Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve at Maidenahalli. In fact, I was on a wildlife safari, but lost my way and ended up here at the farm. While I was checking out the tomatoes here, the tomato growers invited me and my friends to taste their farm’s produce. As I dug in to the warm and sweet tomato, my childhood memories flooded back and I asked for a couple more to relish this taste for a longer while. Only the lord knows when the next such opportunity will come by…unless we start growing more of such organic products.

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10 Unique Foods to try in Thailand

One of the best things about traveling, is the food.  Trying out the cuisine of another culture can be a thrilling adventure in and of itself.  Once you get checked into your Thailand accommodation, it is time for a snack.  Here are 10 dishes that will surprise and delight.

Laab Luead
This is a pork salad that is very popular in Isaan.  Most travelers tend to have some difficulty getting it down, however.  The difficulty has less to do with the sour and spicy flavors than with the pork itself.  Traditionally, the pork is served raw and topped with fresh pig's blood.

Goong Dten
This dish translates to “Dancing Shrimps.”  As you may have guessed, the shrimp are served with their heads and legs still attached.  What you may not have guessed, is that they are still alive when you eat them.  You can feel them dancing all the way to your stomach.

Cab Moo
Cab Moo is more accurately a garnish or side dish.  This piece of deep-fried pork skin is served with many Thai dishes and is definitely worth trying. There are two basic varieties.  One is mostly fat while the other is fat-free.  The fat variety is much more popular in the country because it has a lot more flavor.

Yum Kai Deng
Yum Kai Deng is usually served over steamed rice.  It is the salted red yolk from a duck egg.  It is considered a delicacy and is very high in both calories and cholesterol.  In some restaurants, there is an additional layer of spicy and sour salad on top of the egg.

Fried Bugs
These snack foods all have different names depending on where your Thailand accommodation choices have placed you.  But they all have one thing in common, the main ingredients are crickets, grasshoppers, water bugs and a few other crawly things tossed in the fryer and served as a finger food.

Ant Egg Soup
The soup is spicy and loaded with vegetables but what really makes it special are the ant eggs.  The ants are very protective of the eggs and separating them is quite difficult.  As a result, when it is time to add the eggs, the ants go into the soup too.

Tripe Soup
Using liver, intestines and heart to make a soup may not be unique to Thailand, but the sweet, sour and spicy flavors of the Thai variety give the soup a distinctive and enticing aroma.

Pat Pet Noo Na
This is a barbeque dish that may be served over rice in a rural restaurant or skewed on a stick from a street vendor.  The meat used is field rat.

Squid Jerkey
These dried, salted pieces of squid can be found on most streets in Thailand.  They are sometimes served as an accompaniment to salads, much like bread sticks.

Steamed Stingray
There are very few places where you can enjoy a plate of Stingray.  With lemongrass, ginger, lime and chillies, the Thai dish is definitely one of the tastiest.

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Guest Post: Planning a Foodie Road Trip Across India

Planning a road trip across India, it’s hard to know where to start. Whether you’re going by car, motorcycle, or rickshaw, you’re going to want to base your trip around something. India’s cuisine is famous throughout the world, so why not plan your journey around your stomach?

Many flights to India land in Mumbai, and coincidentally this is a great place to begin your foodie odyssey. Get the taste for Indian street food in the famous food markets, or Khau Gullies. One of the most popular, Jhaveri Bazaar, is also the goldsmith’s market. Watch as diamond traders bid for uncut stones while you eat your batata vada.

After Mumbai head to nearby Pune: the perfect destination for garlic lovers, as the aromatic bulb features heavily in most dishes. The food of Pune is delicate and based on lacto-vegetarian principles.

Next stop: Goa, famous for delicious seafood curries spiked with chilli. The food of Goa has a strong Portuguese influence, dating back to colonial days. While in Goa you’ll notice the difference between Hindu cuisine, which is known for being delicately spiced, and the Catholic cuisine (Vindaloo is the most famous example). This part of the country is breath taking; so take some time to relax on one of the white-sanded beaches.

Kochi, a little further south, is a famous banana-growing district. The fruit is used in many dishes, and most meals will be served to you on a banana leaf. Enjoy curries flavoured with coconut milk, and expect to drink coconut water: the perfect tangy accompaniment to any meal.

Bangalore is a haven for fans of South Indian Udupi cuisine. Udupi cuisine is unusual as it contains no onions, garlic, meat, fish, or shellfish. Grains, beans, and vegetables are used to fill dishes out.

Chennai, your next stop, is well known for hospitality. Dishes are served with rice, coconut chutney, sambar broth, and mulaga podi. Find out where the foodie hot-spots are by following local food blogs; a little research goes a long way whilst on the road!

Heading Northwards you’ll find yourself in Hyderabad, where the food has a tradition passed down from the Sultans. What better way to eat like royalty? All ingredients are carefully chosen, picked, and cooked to the highest standards. Biryani is perhaps the most famous dish from this region.

A foodie trip to India would not be complete without a visit to Kolkata. Bengali cuisine focuses on fish and lentils, with subtle fiery spices. The confectionary and desserts in this part of India are also famous.

Before finishing your trip in Jaipur, India’s “Pink City”, spend a few days in New Delhi getting reacquainted with the fabulous street food tradition. People from New Delhi love eating, and you’re bound to find something to tickle your taste-buds.

About the author: James writes for cheap flights comparison website Skyscanner.

Route Map 

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Seafood in the Andamans...

As most of you know, the Andamans is a tropical paradise with its pristine beaches, emerald waters, mangrove swamps and dense forests. But, if you do go there, don’t forget to sample its amazing array of sea food, which is not only cheaper than the mainland, but extremely tasty or at least that’s what my meat loving friends say.


I am a vegetarian, but my backpacking buddy, Vishwadeep Anshu, is a hardcore meat lover and is ready to taste anything. Hence, to satisfy his taste buds, we went fishing in a lot of places in the Andamans. We caught Barracudas, Red Snappers, White Snappers, Cuttle Fish and so many other types whose names I do not know. What we could not catch, we bought it from the market, especially the lobsters, the king crabs and the other crustaceans.

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Nirvana – A Great Lounge and Restaurant at Hyderabad

If you happen to be in Hyderabad and wish to taste some authentic local cuisine and soak in a great lounge like atmosphere, then do visit the Nirvana Restaurant. This tastefully done up lounge-restaurant is located on the 4th floor of Lumbini Mall on Road No.2, Banjara Hills.

This place has an amazing bar and an excellent kitchen. My friends swear by the Nizami Murgh Biryani here. Me being a vegetarian, I can only vouch for their vegetarian fare.

The service is excellent and the dimly-lit paths surrounded by waterways, fountains and rose-petals is certainly very soothing. These guys have an exhaustive menu dealing in Indian, Hyderabadi, Italian and Mediterranean dishes. The food is fairly priced. For such an ambience and taste, the cost is very much within reach. 

I like this place so much that I tend to plonk myself for at least a couple of hours during my every single visit to Hyderabad.

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