Generally speaking, the SE Asian approach to food is best exemplified by simply looking at the condiments found on almost every table, regardless of restaurant class. In place of salt and pepper Thais have salt, soy sauce, fish sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, pickled chili peppers, ground peanuts and sugar. Salty, sweet, spicy, acidity and even texture (peanuts). Rice really is eaten at virtually every single meal. Without exaggeration I think I have eaten more rice in the last four months than I had eaten previously in my entire life. And I have to admit, now when I have a meal without rice it just doesn’t feel…right. Here is a collection of some of the meals I took pictures of (as quickly and discretely as possible!) in Indonesia and the Mecca itself: Thailand.
Here is a meal from a restaurant on Bali that was far…classier…than the places I eat 99% of the time. On Bali though, street food was nonexistent. This was an Indonesian seafood curry and a fancy saté sampler. And this is the a lot more representative of the 99%. Indo street food including a massive bowl of noodle soup and a big, messy plate of saté smothered in a soy and peanut sauce. It usually came with slices of a fruit that reminded me of a plantain for the extra sauce.The abundance and price of fresh fruit is one of the greatest blessings of this area, and I am going to miss it more than almost anything else. The little plate of funky looking things are an assortment of Indo rice “cakes”. They were really sticky, sweet, a little chewy, and usually coconut was involved. Probably my least favorite of anything I’ve had to date.
Here is one of the best vegetarian dishes I’ve had in my life. It was basically just carrots, beans, bean sprouts, fried tofu and tempeh (Indo fermented soy bean, kind of like beefy tofu) all covered in a peanut sauce. The thing on the top left is baked eggplant with spicy tomato sauce.Here is a breakfast traditionally from Yogyakarta. You pretty much just get everything and some rice wrapped up in a banana leaf. There is a kind of sweetish meat, a spicy meat, and some crazy hard boiled eggs.It was time. Sausage and mushroom in Labuanbajo.Probably the most picturesque meal of my life. Fish curry on Gili Air.Might as well start Thailand with the true food of the gods: Tom Yam soup. On a street corner somewhere in Bangkok.This was one of the best meals of my life, and I thought for awhile before saying that. There were two lightly fried soft shell crabs in a very rich red curry sauce with red peppers mixed in. The rice was shaped like a dolphin, and a Belgian beer (which was originally the reason I came here) completed the scene.It might not look like much, but this is my #1 go-to street food meal wherever it’s available. It’s basically just ground chicken or pork stir fried with “holy” Thai basil and chilies, and topped with a runny fried egg. Best enjoyed with more chilies and rice.This is a slightly fancier version of the same thing. It was still from a street vendor, but this guy had some tricks. All the green is just crispy fried basil, and it was the best version of the dish I have had!Meat salads are a whole genre of dishes around here. I think this was a pretty standard version with a spicy lime and peanut dressing, red onions, mint and basil.And here is THE best fried rice I have had. And that’s saying something. Also, can’t help but love the condiments…garlic, fresh chilies, and garlic chili sauce. Perfect.A version of Thai curry called khao soi that I only really found in Chiang Mai. It is kind of like yellow curry with a thinner consistency. My favorite breakfasts look something like this, in this case…red curry.Yunnan style chicken noodle soup in Mae Salong. There’s some wontons somewhere at the bottom. YepI’m going to miss this. Fill up a doggie bag and take it for when hunger inevitably strikes later in the night!
That’s so cool that you are traveling, I have a heart for Southeast Asia. The food looks amazing! The dolphin shaped rice was so cool. I am inspired to create rice art.
Wow. wowowowoww. That is my heart fluttering at each photo! THANK YOU FOR GETTING TOM YUM!!! 🙂 I hope your respect for rice never fades! And their philosophy of no-sauce/broth-left-behind speaks to me. What a palatially beautiful palate adventure Per!!
potravels 
That’s so cool that you are traveling, I have a heart for Southeast Asia. The food looks amazing! The dolphin shaped rice was so cool. I am inspired to create rice art.
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Wow. wowowowoww. That is my heart fluttering at each photo! THANK YOU FOR GETTING TOM YUM!!! 🙂 I hope your respect for rice never fades! And their philosophy of no-sauce/broth-left-behind speaks to me. What a palatially beautiful palate adventure Per!!
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