What have we been eating?

If you know me you’ll know that food is a huge part of my life. I love cooking, trying new things, going out for meals with family and friends, and generally just gauging in front of the TV with anyone who likes to do the same.

A love for food is something me and Mat really have in common, although generally we eat pretty different diets. But for both of us we were very excited about all the food we’d eat during our travels. Being in South East Asia for over 6 months we knew we’d be trying some amazing foods, curries, noodles, rice dishes…and it certainly has not disappointed! A few people said to me before, it will be difficult being vegan over there! They couldn’t have been more wrong, everywhere we have been so far has commonly used tofu in their cooking, which is music to my ears because I LOVE tofu. They generally don’t use dairy either, it’s more something they serve for tourists…really different to the UK.

We look forward to our evening meal everyday, we’re such foodies and finding a cheap local and really tasty restaurant is so exciting for us. When we find somewhere we love we often go there again and again, because why not when it’s good value and tasty?

We had a conversation over dinner the other night where we talked about our top 5 favourite meals of the trip so far, so I thought I’d share those with you now.

Mine (in no particular order)

1. Massaman curry in Pai at a restaurant called Charlie and Leks.

2. Penang curry in Bangkok at a resurgent called the Family.

3. Vietnamese tofu curry in Hoi An at a restaurant called Nhans kitchen

4. A huge curry with all the trimmings in Ninh Binh at a restaurant called Aroma

5. A pizza where you could choose 5 toppings (I went for sweet corn, black olives, onion, peppers and pine nuts) in Vientiane at a restaurant called Pizza De Roby

Mats:

1. A super sticky sweet and sour pork in Phong Nha at a restaurant called You and Me (I went back twice for the same dish)

2. A chicken massaman curry in Pai at a restaurant called Charlie and Leks

3. A jam-packed honey grilled chicken Bahn Mi in the Hanoi old quarter at a notorious restaurant called Bahn Mi 25.

4. A Hoi An speciality called Cau Lao which is a noodle dish using thick udon style noodles, bbq pork, local vegetables and a spice broth. They use water from the local well and ash from fire wood to make the noodles which helps to give its unique flavour, all for a total of £1. This was in Hoi An from a restaurant called Cau Lao Ba Le.

5. The big curry feast at as a lovely change of cuisine. This was in Ninh Bình at a restaurant called Aroma.

We’ve also been eating A LOT of Oreos. I’m talking about just short of a packet a day. They’re just so reliable and so tasty, you know what you’re getting and you know you’re not going to be disappointed! One thing I’m missing is vegetarian meat substitutes, it’s not really a thing here, and it makes breakfast a little bit difficult for me. I was beside myself when I finally saw a vegan restaurant that sold a vegan hot dog with a vegan sausage inside, it was delicious and definitely worth the 5 week wait!

What food would you miss the most if you left your country for a long period of time? Let me know!

Until next time,

Megan

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