Chilli Crab in Singapore
Stir-fried crab in a tomato based, sweet, savoury and slightly hot chilli sauce. Break into its claws with crab crackers and suck at the flesh. The popular crab choice in Singapore is the mud crab but expect all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Khantoke Dinner in Thailand
A traditional Northern Thai feast showcasing many of the region’s Lanna food favourites. Bites include chilli dips, spicy sausage, Northern style curries and the staple rice. “Khantoke” refers to the haunch height, round tables in which diners feast around and dinners generally come with traditional dance, performances and local liquor.
Curry Feast in Sri Lanka
Laced with chunks of cinnamon, curry leaves and other local spices, a curry feast on the Island of Spice is not to be missed. In Sri Lanka curries rarely come served alone and are often matched with sides (condiments) of bean curry, cabbage curry, dhal curry… all sorts of curry. Eat with rice, spicy sambals and popadoms.
Candied Hawthorns in China
Like mini candy apples with a sharp sour bite. Candied haws known locally as Bing Tanghulu are a popular street food snack made from local Chinese Hawthorns skewered, dipped in sugar syrup and left to harden. While haws are the most common sweet, there are variations with deseeded and stuffed haws or varying candied fruits.
Kimchi in Korea
Accompanying almost every Korean meal these spicy, fermented vegetables are like the ketchup of Korea. While the most common Kimchi is of pickled napa cabbage (baechu kimchi) there is in fact seemingly endless variations of vegetables and seasonings. To make a meal of it try Kimchi fried rice (Kimchi Bokumbap).
Satay (Sate) in Indonesia
Quintessential barbecue food with tender meat pieces, marinated, skewered and grilled over flaming hot charcoals. Satay comes served with a fiery, hot peanut sauce and while replicated elsewhere in Asia regional interpretations can be less spicy and more sweet. Satay is no doubt found best at its origins in Java Indonesia.
Ais Kacang in Malaysia
Shaved ice is common with Asian desserts but for me it is best found in Malaysia with AIS Kacang, a mix of shaved ice and variations of fruit, beans, icecreams and syrups. Ingredients do vary but the traditional mix comes with red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly and cubes of agar jelly. Also popular in Singapore and Brunei.
Sushi in Japan
Sushi is ‘cooked vinegared rice, topped with ingredients’. Some of the popular ingredients in the bright and beautiful world of sushi includes thin cuts of fresh fish, caviar and fish eggs and wraps of seaweed. If the delicate tastes of sushi fail to excite then dabs of soy sauce, wasabi or pickled ginger will liven it up.
Beerlao in Laos
Often better known from logoed backpacker t-shirts this iconic Beer brand is one of the most sought after beers in Southeast Asia and with 99% share of Laos’ beer market it can often be hard to see past. If bored of the regular Beerlao try the Beerlao Black or Gold alternatives. Perfect with sunsets on the Mekong River.
Bun Cha in Vietnam
Fatty grilled pork (Cha) served with rice noodles (Bun), fresh picks of herbs and a salty, sweet and slightly hot dipping sauce (nuoc cham). This popular Hanoian dish offers an unhealthy escape from the green and goodness of Vietnamese cuisine. It is also a ‘lunch-time’ food and is best found around midday.