mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hoi An
Originally uploaded by An Smith.

We love food (..Denise and I..um duh). Much of our trip enjoyment is centered around food and in fact much of our pre-trip obsessing was over what we would eat while away.

There are certain foods from places I will eternally crave (which is part of what I love about travelling).. dried biltong from South Africa, almond cookies in Marrakesh, white rose from Hoi An (White Rose is a Vietnamese version of a Chinese dumpling with pork inside and crispy garlic sprinkled on top). I could really talk a lot about favorite food but those three might be my top fav food memories.. today anyway. And my memory tends to suck so.. don't quote me on anything ever. In general.

Um..babbling..k.. we normally have two meals a day.. breakfast consists of either granola (meuslit) and yogurt with fresh fruit OR eggs and bacon with a crusty roll and fresh fruit lassies. Always a latte for me, a cappuchino for Denise. Lunch is a snack of fresh fruit (mango, lychee's or pineapple) and then dinner. Mmmm. Dinner. The one meal we really look forward to. Obsessively.

It's hard to say what country has the best food so far. Our worst meal was in Thailand but it was also the most consistent in terms of amazingly delicious meals. My favorite in Thailand was a spicy noodle chicken and an unidentifiable green vegetable stirfry at a street vendor in Chiang Mai (devoured while sitting at a table on the road and drinking a beer). The whole meal and the beer cost less than $2 :)

Our best meals were in Hoi An (hands down - three amazing dinners in a row and likely the best food I've ever tasted) but prior to that we had been really disappointed in the Vietnamese food. Laos food is more like Thai food. We generally ate in outdoor markets but nothing to crazy, just really cheap.

**As an aside there used to be a pharagraph here about soup. Specifically Vietnamese Pho but it was grammatically terrible and since it was just about soup I took it out. Who really cares about soup anyway...*

In general we eat so healthy. The food is really fresh and always loaded up with fresh veggies, herbs and spices. Sometimes hygiene is questionable but you try not to think about that stuff or else you miss out on the experience. The only time we eat junk is long bus rides. We grab peanut butter, fresh rolls and oreo cookies. Everywhere you can find Mentos, Pringles and Oreo cookies. Nothing else familiar from home really but finding Peanut Butter in a grocery store is like finding gold.

*WARNING: Please skip this next paragraph if you are a dog owner and/or animal lover and have a weak stomach*

Dog is eaten in Vietnam (more typically in the north than the south). We did see fresh dog meat at a market in Hanoi - whole bodies and heads that had been BBQ'd, the skin and hair burnt off.. (I try to respect it.. you sort of have to try even though it repulsive. It's a different culture and that's just what they do and have done for centuries so it's not morally wrong in their world.. BUT the thing that gets me is they still have dogs as pets. How can you have them for a pet and eat them? I don't get that??).

mmmmmmmmmmm. Time for dinner. Vietnamese pancakes tonight..our last night in Vietnam!