Yum Honey recommends!

9/30/2009

One of the best things to do while traveling is eating great food! While it’s impossible to list all the great food I’ve had, I thought I’d list some of my favorites.

New entries are colored orange.

Some tasty recommendations w/ links to wiki if available:

Australia
Main

• Tiger pie: a meat pie topped with a layer of mushy peas, mashed potato, and gravy. Best eaten fresh and hot, and only from Harry’s Cafe de Wheels.

Snacks/Dessert

• Lamington: a sponge cake cube covered in chocolate and then rolled in coconut.

Cambodia (Siem Reap)
Main

• Loc Lac : stir fried beef or chicken served with a lemon or lime and black pepper sauce. Delicious and filling.
• Amok Trei :steamed fish with spices and coconut milk wrapped in a banana leaf.

China (Xi’an)
Main

• Yangrou Paomo羊肉泡馍 : seasoned stewed lamb meat, broth and mung bean noodles poured over thick pita like flat bread broken into small pieces.
• Kao Yangrou Chuan烤羊肉串:Uighur style roasted lamb on a stick, seasoned with cumin and plenty of chili powder. Just follow your nose once you get to the Muslim quarter.

Snacks/Dessert

• Nut Brittle/Candy: various combinations of peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and cashews in a crunchy chewy toffee.

Hong Kong
Main

• Pei Tan Xao Yok Jook 皮蛋瘦肉粥 and Yao Tiew 油條/油炸鬼: A rice porridge made with century eggs and lean pork, served with fried donuts (yao tiew). Possibly my favorite breakfast ever. In fact, I can eat it any time of day
• Jiew Yim Yao Yu 椒鹽魷魚: pieces of squid deep fried in a salt and pepper cornstarch batter, and then topped with sliced chilies.

Snacks/Desserts

• Seong Pei Lai / Dun Nai 燉奶:twice steamed milk custard, either served hot or cold. My favorite is red bean!

Malaysia (Penang)
Main:

• Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉: Thick wide rice noodles with dried baby shrimp, covered in a sweet/salty/spicy prawn and plum sauce and topped with toasted sesame.
• Tok-tok Mee: egg noodles boiled, drained, then tossed in a sweet thick soy sauce and sesame oil, then topped with roasted pork or boiled wontons and cucumber.
• Nasi Lemak : rice cooked with coconut milk, accompanied by many side dishes, such as fried spicy squid, eggs, anchovies and sambal ( a spicy chili sauce)

Snacks/Dessert

• Lo Bak : pork and spices wrapped in a thin bean curd, then deep fried. served with a sweet chili sauce.
• Rojak 囉喏: Fruit (pineapple, jambu, cucumber, green mangoes etc) stir fried, and then topped with a thick brown sauce made with shrimp paste and deep fried squid crackers.
• Roti:Indian/Mamak style flat bread. There are many versions, but my favorites are roti telur, with eggs, roti tisu, a very thin tissue like bread, often dusted with sugar, and roti pisang, with bananas. Often served with dal.
• Ice Kacang: shaved ice topped with red beans, grazz jelly, palm seeds, corn, chendol, rose syrup, and condensed milk. Sometimes also served wiith ice cream or sarsi syrup.

South Korea(Seoul)
Main:

• suntubu jjigae 순두부찌개: spicy soup with super soft tofu, served in a stone pot. Various versions, but I like it with noodles.
• seolleongtang 설렁탕: non-spicy ox bone soup. Really light in flavor, and usually served with rice.

Snacks/Dessert:

• tteokbokki 떡볶이:rice cakes, fish cake, eggs and mandu (korean dumplings) in a sweet and fiery chili sauce. Delicious enough to make you keep eating long after your mouth is burning.
• hotteok 호 떡:slightly chewy wheat dough pancake fried on a large griddle, filled with brown sugar, peanuts, sesame. The filling turns into a sweet syrup after cooking.

South Korea (Busan)
Main:

• haemultang 해물탕: a spicy seafood soup
• haemul pajeon 해물파전:a crispy fried green onion and seafood pancake, goes great with some makkoli 막걸리, a slightly fizzy fermented rice wine.

Sides/Dessert:

• Peanut Butter Squid (Myzinger): semi-dried squid coated in a peanut butter paste, flash grilled then tenderized. Sounds strange, but surprisingly tasty.

Taiwan(Taipei)
Main:

• Coffin Bread 棺材板: deep fried bread filled with pickled veggies, barbecued meat, tomatoes, and egg, topped with a sweet mayonnaise.
• Oyster omelet 蚵仔煎: baby oysters stir fried with eggs, then topped with a spicy starch sauce.
• Braised Pork Rice 魯肉飯: pork marinated in soy sauce and spices, cubed, over sticky rice. There is a great place by Longsan Temple.
• Xiao Long Bao 小籠包: small steamed pork dumplings that have their own “soup”.
  

Snacks/Dessert:

• Aiyu 愛玉：fig seed jelly served as a drink with honey and lemon/lime juice.
• Pao Pao Bing:Taiwanese gelato, made with fresh fruit.

Thailand (Bangkok)
Main

• Som tam ส้มตำ:A spicy and sour salad made of grated green papaya, pounded in a mortar and pestle with chilies, fish sauce, garlic and lime. Sometimes also has ground peanuts. Really refreshing as a light lunch.
• Tom Kha Gai ต้มข่าไก:Creamy coconut milk based soup with galangal and chicken. Galangal is similar to ginger root, and makes this soup filling but not too rich.

Snacks/Desserts:

• Kao niao ma muang ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง:fresh ripe mango with a side of slightly salty, creamy coconut milk sticky rice.

United Kingdom(Cornwall)
Main

• Pasty: short crust pastry filled with meat and veggies, and then baked. My favorites are chicken curry, and lamb & mint.
• Doner kebab : slow roasted meat ( often mutton) carved when you order and wrapped in pita bread with tomatoes and lettuce. Served with mayonnaise and chili sauce.

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)
Main

• Chicken Pho Phở gà: steaming bowl of flavorful chicken soup, with rice noodles, and topped with chicken, mung bean sprouts, sweet basil, cilantro, spicy sliced chilies, and a squeeze of lime. Great for any meal, especially after a night out. Look for busy food stalls, or check out the chain Pho 24.

Snacks/Desserts

• Fried Spring Rolls Chả giò: crispy deep fried spring rolls filled with everything from shrimp, and pork to taro root and bamboo shoots. Delicious with a spicy sweet nuoc mam fish sauce.
• Iced Coffee Cà phê sữa đá: Vietnamese grown coffee beans, roasted and then fried in a wok with butter to bring out a creamy, almost chocolate like flavor. Freshly ground, then drip brewed right at your table into a glass with sweet condensed milk at the bottom. Give it a quick stir, and then pour over ice and enjoy. Honestly my favorite coffee drink I’ve ever had. Try the honey ice coffee at Trung Nguyen.