Southeast Asia is a wonderland of amazing flavors and varieties of cuisine. And I think my stomach fell in love more than once. Usually I would say that you should always be on the cautious side when trying new foodies because of TD or rather "traveler's diarrhea." But in Southeast Asia...where it really should apply, I say throw it out. (Note: Do pack Pepto or visit a local pharmacy for some medicine and make sure to bring a pack of tissue when traveling abroad if you get what I mean.)
You can't come to Southeast Asia without eating something you'd used to watch on the Food Network and say no way to, or some traveler's show like Bourdain's and not try it. Slice of cow's intensine...just a small piece. Fuzzy and spikey fruit...is that really fruit? Deep fried grasshopper...please no gushy stuff squirting out.
Although I'm Chinese (Yes I am Chinese and not Thai, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, or any other Asian I didn't name), and while there are some similarities and some strange things in our cuisine, it doesn't mean I'm all too familiar with what Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam has to offer. So going to Southeast Asia and tasting it straight from the "source" if you can say that was incomparable.
In Thailand, boy was I a happy camper. The curries, the pad ga prow moo (basil spicy pork over rice), the fresh fruit in practically every corner, the sweet rice crackers with caramel, and the crisp sweet and sour somtam...yum. :) It helped that I had some vendors in my town I grew to favor: som-tam (papaya salad) lady, our cha-dam (thai tea no milk for me) lady, our lunch crew, and our fruit lady. The market was easy to navigate enough as well so if all failed not inlcuding 7-eleven we'd grab some quick meals to go.
When going to Lao and Cambodia, I was really unsure of what to expect. Laos was more similar to Thai flavors than I expected, their coffee and tea quite flavorful and nice especially in the rain; and Cambodia...let's just say learning how to make tea with "lemon" (their lemon is our lime) is the best thing I had there.
As for Vietnam, like Thai, I enjoy their food. However, unlike Thai, it was wayy more intimidating for a foreigner to eat at a stall. Not only do you not know if the stall is a food stall or a drink stall - their outward appearance deceptive - and sometimes are in small alleys or backward street, you also have a hard time knowing what each stall serves. Okay, Thailand was difficult as well, but for some reason the language there was easier to pick up and understand so I could a tleast ask if it's pork, beef, shrimp, veggie, noodles, or rice. Some stalls had a sign that tells you Pho or another kind of dish, but more often than not, you really have to look at what they're cooking or what others are eating to figure it out. And ordering is the "fun" part in Vietnam. Lots of pointing and gesturing. You really get down to the basics there.
Not only that, the food stalls are not like those elsewhere I've been. You sit in mini-sized tables and kiddie plastic chairs. Definitely not made American sized haha. It was interesting to see Jenny or other foreigners attempt to fold themselves into the chair. I'm sure it was quite awkward for her, but she was a good sport. Rarely complained even when she got a lot of stares.
Although every country was a bit different in it's food, it's just quite refreshing to eat simple but delicious food from these stalls we went to. And when trying a dish, it's nice to have others smile or nod at you for trying something out of our "comfort." By the way, adding lime juice, some fish oil, sugar, and pepper flakes is pretty much a necessity, and if you haen't done it yet after 6 months, I'd stop, look at your random neighbor across or next to you, and imitate what they're doing. And while it can be intimidating to try new foods, especially things you've never seen before, you really need to suck it up and get over that fear of an upset tummy. Things don't always appear to be as it is. I mean I dried deep fried grasshoppers and some kind of worm. Crunchy with a hint of sweet surprisingly. :) Trying is really the key to being rewarded with the most yummy and cheapest ever, and your stomach is guaranteed to fall in love at least once.
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