A Yummier Side of Kolkata, India

 

Cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Double Mutton Roll

Double Mutton Roll:

I continued my world street food hunt in India and this was what I found. This roll comprised of a fried doe, aka Roti. It was thicker than regular Roti. Fried on a giant wok- like skillet. Mutton (lamb), onions, green pepper were also given a turn on the wok. Then everything was assembled into a wrap. Hot sauce, lime and some ketchup-like sauce were added to finish things up. The guy who made the roll was the chillest guy ever. He made them as one of the customer was badgering him. Writing this post is making me hungry, time to go hunt for another one..

 

A Bengali Meal:

Rice, fish in fish gravy, Mung bean mash and curry vegetable.

 

Indian sweets!

Lassi.

This looks familiar…

Sweets:

Assortment of Indian sweets, Lassi and sugarcane juice. I thought I could eat one box in one sitting, but it was sweeter than I’d thought.

 

Mutton Biryani.

Chicken and potato.

 

 

Fruits and veggies:

Mangos, assortment of vegetables and coconut.

 

A vendor watches over his seafood at the night market.

Fresh produce and men everywhere. Not how I had imagined it would be. Night markets in India are the complete opposite of night markets in Southeast Asia. Instead of women vendors filling the sidewalks, men were everywhere. It was an interesting site indeed.

Nepalese Cuisine

Newari Set:

This was my first meal in Kathmandu. I believe it was a Newari Set. Consisted of Buffalo meat, lentil salad, potatoes, some crunchy flaky bits and a lot of spices.

Nepali Khana Set:

Rice, Dal (lentil soup), and two different curries. One with cubes of cheese (my fav) and yogurt for dessert. The yogurt here is amazing! Very similar to Vietnamese yogurt. Yogurt is used in a lot of Nepalese dessert.

I don’t know what this is called. It can be found on small carts along the sidewalk. Potato fillings with a sweet spiced sauce. Everything here is spiced with either: curry, cinnamon or cardamon.

Street Food: Momo (Dumplings)

There are Nepalese dumplings. As there are very little beef being served in Nepal, I would have to guess that this was buffalo. Very tasty with a hint of curry.

Oven used to make Roti (flat bread)

Lassi (Yogurt Drink):

Its good to be able to have these everyday out here. It’s quite cheap as well. $0.50 for a glass. There are many variation of this drink. Some places such as this one, tops it off with dried fruits and nuts. While other adds a little extra spices to it. All very good.

Roti, Dal and Egg. The salsa on the side was fire!

Just simple noodle soup I had while visiting Bhaktapur.

Interesting food I had in Cambodia

Muesli and Fanta Lychee:

I’ve had some pretty interesting food and drinks on my trip up to this point. So, I figured I’d put the spotlight on some interesting food and beverages I had along the way that tickled my taste buds. The picture on the left is a bowl of Muesli. Muesli is a German breakfast dish. It is pretty much fruits, granola with some yogurt. Needless to say this dish had me sprung like the German-Asian mixed waitress serving it. One adjustment that would make this dish better would be to replace the yogurt with Noosa yogurt. Then we’ll have something special. Something quite indulgent. I also had a Fanta Lychee soft drink and it was pleasant. It grew on me, but I wouldn’t describe the flavor as true Lychee.

A Must Try in Southeast Asia: Sugar cane juice.

If for some reason you find yourself in Southeast Asia, there are two things that you must do: The first is try a locally pressed sugarcane juice. These are tasty and great thirst quenchers for the hot ass weather of SEA. The second thing would be to use sunblocks, lots of it or you will end up with some nice little brown spots.

Simple Foods in Kampot:

A local recommended this little Vietnamese owned spot to me. It took me a minute to find it, but the food was great. Just simple rice with chicken or pork. The fish sauce was something else though.

Amok, a Cambodian Curry Classic:

My bowl of delicious Amok.

If you ask the locals of Cambodia what their favorite dish is, their answer will most likely be Amok. Amok is a coconut curry dish that consist of either fish or chicken. It is not spicy but is very aromatic. The first thing you will notice after your first bite will be the aroma of bay leaf. I would say that it is a cross between curry and Tum Yum served with rice. It is quite tasty. Perfect for those cold lonely Cambodian nights on the beach.

Grilled Sticky Rice with Banana:

Bananas are peeled and dried.

The peeling of the bananas.

Wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.

Crispy on the outside, chewy and sweet on the inside. An amazing treat.

Street Food and Insects:

I can only make out the quail egg. Everything else is a mystery to me.

There were some interesting insect treats, but I was not adventurous enough to try.

Chiang Mai Culinary

Sticky Rice

Chiang Mai culinary is known for its sticky rice. I was fortunate to find a street vender selling it. Typically, sticky rice is cooked in a bamboo over direct heat.

This is what it looks like after the dude chopped the bamboo open. It was pretty good. It had coconut cream flavor with a hint of char bamboo infused.

Khao Soi

Khao Soi

Chiang Mai cooking has a mixture of Burmese and Chinese influences. One of the more popular Northern Thailand dish is called Khao Soi. After asking around town I finally found a spot that serves it. Khao Soi is a curry based egg noodle soup. The curry is mellow and sweet with hints of coconut cream. It is served with chicken, pork or beef. With pickled greens and onions on the side. It was very tasty.

Chiang Mai style sausages

These were by far the best sausage I’ve ever had. It looked very bland, but it is anything but bland. There were so many different herbs and spices. The lemon grass rounds everything out. On top of that it is very spicy.

Roast Chicken and Spicy Pork with Sticky Rice

A fellow traveler recommended this place. There are no words to describe how good the sauce was.

Dessert

Thai desserts.

 

A Morning Stroll Thru The Food Market.

Various sausage ball kabobs

Thailand is known for its street food.

The morning food market was bustling with vendors. So many to choose from. A lot of grilled meats.

Sweets for breakfast sounds appealing this morning. This is what I had for breakfast today. It’s yucca covered in coconut and bean syrup. Very delicious!

 

Intestine Soup?

Not sure what this is called. Looks a lot like Menudo.

 

Simple Stirfry:

 

Some Kind of Stew:

 

Egg Noodle and Wine:

Dried egg noodle.

Turned out to be wine instead of beer…

 

Sweets:

 

Mango Sticky Rice:

Of course you can’t do Thai street food without the infamous Mango Sticky Rice.

In search of Pad Thai

A small family operated Halal certified food stall off the alley of Silom Rd. I find myself returning to this little place on many occasion throughout my stays in Bangkok.

After being swindled into paying $6 for a continental breakfast at the Guesthouse that should’ve been free, I took to the street in search of a more economical way to spend my USD. It was hard to navigate the streets, since no one stops here for pedestrians. My wandering paid off, as I went down the right alley and found a Halal certified spot. They had Pad Thai and Tom Yum for 40baht each! That’s 1 dollar! My favorite would be the Biryani rice with chicken that they serve only on Mondays. It was better than any food at the hostel or restaurant. Street food is the way to go. I’ll just have to see how well my stomach fairs it tomorrow morning.

Here is a picture of the Pad Thai.

Life on the road and of a traveler can be lonely…Goodbyes are a thing of luxury…

Journal Entry: 10.20.2013