Monthly Archives: January 2008

Excellent Hanoi fish

This is a famous fish dish from Cha Ca La Vong restaurant in Hanoi. It is the only dish they serve although serve is used rather loosely here since the patrons end up doing the cooking. I must admit, this fish was extremely tasty–my best meal in Vietnam. A simple mix of fish with dill […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, vietnam | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sea cucumber soup

Well, I just posted about  and now I had a chance to try them myself. Interesting, but I won’t be seeking them out again. This dish was at a fancy Chinese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. First of all the texture wasn’t too appealing. A bit crunchy and a bit rubbery with some […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, travel, vietnam | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rose apple tree

Pictured here is a rose apple tree. Rose apples, called chompuu [ชมพู่] in Thai, are very common when in season around here. A tasty fruit, they are very juicy with a firm flesh, but not too sweet. I have never seen them in the US. Supposedly it grows quite easily and is almost considered a […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, vietnam | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jackfruit vendor

Here’s another jackfruit street operation.  this one’s from Vietnam and you can see the vendor preparing jackfruit for somebody.  No need for a shop, just set up anywhere along the street and start to sell you wares.  Sometimes you’ll see a mass exodus, though, as the police walk by and the illegal vendors don’t feel […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, vietnam | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tasty fish in Vietnam

Check out these before and after shots of a tasty fish we had beside the Mekong river in Vietnam.  Nothing too special to note of the fish-just your typical asian fried fish-but I was really intrigued by the fish holder.  It makes breaking off pieces of meat a lot more fun than the usual task […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, vietnam | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Tapioca

Here’s something plain but interesting. I think most of us have heard of tapioca, but maybe not had much experience with it. The only real experience I can recall is of tapioca pudding when I was younger. Anyway, here is the actual root in all it’s boring glory. This food is similar to a potato […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, travel, vietnam | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Vietnamese snails

Here are some snails we order in Ho Chi Minh City. An interesting food, but I’m not a big snail lover in the first place and these certainly did sway me. I suppose not too bad, but I always find snails a bit rubbery. Maybe I have just never had any good ones. Anyway, there […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, travel, vietnam | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thai eggplant salad

Thailand has many kinds of eggplants.  Before I moved to Thailand the only eggplant I knew of was the big purple one and it wasn’t even used in that many dishes (that I knew of).  Well, they don’t have the big purple eggplant over here.  Instead they have long eggplants (makua yao [มะเขือยาว]), small green […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, thailand | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sea cucumbers

These photos of an Asian delicacy were taken in Bangkok’s Chinatown. They are definitely a Chinese dish and I have no idea what these would be called in Thai. And just like many other Chinese specialties, they are relatively expensive. Ugly looking things, I’m not sure what kind of taste I would expect out of […]

Posted in food, southeast asia, thailand | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jellyfish or squid?

Another shot from Bangkok’s Chinatown. This is either jellyfish or pickled squid, but I’m not sure which. Can anyone help out?

Posted in food, southeast asia, thailand | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment