I’m not exactly a gourmet foodie, but I absolutely love trying new and different foods. Sampling new foods was one of our favorite things about traveling around the world. In fact, we started a segment called “Foodie Friday” to highlight all the different foods we were eating. Like all things in life, some were good, some were bad and others were just downright ugly. Looking back on it now, I’m surprised that Good, Bad and Ugly all come from Asia. Not that the food other places wasn’t good, bad or ugly, but these are the memories that stick out.
The Good – India
We arrived in Mumbai at 2:30am exhausted and greeted our couchsurfing hosts in a blur. The next morning we found out that not only were they interesting people, but they could also cook seriously delicious food. So good that I suggested that for their RTW she teach Indian cooking classes at hostels. Delicious. Fortunately this wasn’t a once in a country experience. Everywhere we went, everything we ate in India was downright delicious. From the chai to the dals, naans and everything in between we could hardly get enough. We almost always ordered the Thali platter, an assortment of small dishes on one big platter (think of a Mediterranean mezze) and no matter what came out it was always delicious and the plates cleaned. I’ll never forget eating at a restaurant in Delhi, turning over the menu and seeing their other worldwide locations- Edison, NJ and Manhattan!
The Bad – Central Asia
Shashlik is simply mutton meatballs on a stick. It’s grilled over a fire and usually served as street food. The meat is usually mixed with some chopped up onion and it’s generally served with a generous helping of flat white bread, vinegar and raw onions. I’ll get to why in a minute. We saw it all along the silk road, and for the most part it was pretty similarly spiced and presented.
Shashlik is generally made with the fattiest cuts of meat and more than once there were bits of bone in my shashlik. That’s not too bad though, I mean it happens, at least it’s a sign that it was real meat! The reason shashlik falls under the bad though, is layer of greasy fat it leaves in your mouth. Hence the vinegar and onions- to cut through the fat. It’s not disgusting by any means, but that fatty film just put me off. It coats your entire mouth and it reminds me of the rendered chicken fat my mom used to keep in the fridge. Gross. After a few days I wasn’t interested anymore.
The Ugly – Laos
I love home stays mostly for the company, but also for the delicious and authentic food. Unfortunately we had downright awful food at a home stay in Laos. So bad that it made me gag and vomit in my mouth. Pleasant details, I know. Some sort of ground up organ (you can tell by the texture) and what tasted like dirt. It was awful and for the first time in all of Asia I went to bed hungry. In the morning we had ramen noodles for breakfast, I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see instant noodlese before in my life! The rest of the food in Laos was fine, but this meal will always stick out in my head as the worst of the entire trip.
This column of ishouldlogoff.com aims to answer those questions that we always get asked. What was your favorite this, or your worst that. Every week we aim to highlight a new topic and will do so until we run out of ideas. If you have an idea for a Good-Bad-Ugly post, feel free to tell us in the comment section below or send us an email. To read all of them, click here.
robin says
People do say that mutton is very greasy but I love lamb. I’ve crossed Laos off my “gastronomy” list 😉
inka says
I’m a vegetarian, so this could not have happened to me, I can imagine that you came close to throwing up.
Jillian says
@Robin & Inka- Indeed, Laos for me, would go near the bottom of a gastronomy list! We ate vegetarian a lot in SE Asia and didn’t have similar problems! 🙂
Cathy Sweeney says
Interesting food experiences. Definitely like the sound of your India experience the most. Admittedly, I’m not very daring with food. I love to eat and try new dishes while traveling (as long as they’re still in my comfort zone). I admire you for experimenting along during the RTW.
Jillian says
My mom’s not too daring with food either, but we’ve gently been coaxing her to try new “exotic” things. Usually you can find something in any cuisine that’s in your comfort zone. I’ve been trying to convince my mom to try non-spicy Indian food… we’ll see if I succeed!
Michael Figueiredo says
You certainly have a way with words! I almost threw up in my mouth just reading about the Laotian cuisine!
Jillian says
I guess I explained it well then!
Lisa Rosas says
My boyfriend and I are vegetarian’s but when we travel we find it difficult to stay strict to our veggie diet. In Europe (the second time around) we found it a lot easier to eat vegetarian but we did consume a lot of meat. Also, we want to be open to trying all different kinds of food all over the world. We love food and trying new kinds! I was drooling over your homemade Indian dinner! We love Indian food and think we would have no problem traveling in India on a veggie diet. I am afraid of traveling all over SE Asia and having purely a meat based diet. I can safely assume you’re not a vegetarian but did you happen to take note of veggie options?
Jillian says
I’ts not hard to travel on a veggie diet in SE Asia at all. We ate vegetarian almost exclusively in India and had no problems. My sister is vegetarian and had no problem in any of the countries- she was with us a month!
Kelsi says
so glad to hear the food in india lives up to expectations. i’ll be there tomorrow!
Jillian says
Can’t wait to hear what you think- the food way surpassed expectations!
Ayngelina says
I´m not a fan of mutton either – I guess I only like one type of white meat!
Jillian says
I guess Bacon IS magic!
Migrationology says
Yah, I’m with you about fat on the mutton. I do love to eat mutton, but I don’t like it when there are chunks of blatant fat. In most of Africa, people love straight chunks of grilled fat. Luckily when we ordered, my Kenyan friends would eat the fat, leaving me with the meat!
Jillian says
Fortunate! It’s funny how fat is a delicacy in many parts of the world, but in North America we try to avoid it!
Christy @ Ordinary Traveler says
“Foodie Friday”… I like that! Now I really want some Indian food. One of the main reasons I want to visit India is to sample all the food!
Jillian says
Christy, it’s as delicious as you think! I’m trying to learn how to make it now that we’re home. So far my attempts have been decent, but to be honest I haven’t tried anything difficult yet!
Sana says
Oy Vey! the puke in the mouth reaction to Laos food has left me a little weary of venturing out there…..maybe I should pack my bag full of ramen? 😉
Jillian says
All of the other food we had in Laos was good, even yummy smoothies in vang vieng. Don’t pack too much ramen!