Eating in Asia
It has been pointed out to me recently that I don’t say very much about food in my blog. Upon further reflection I just realized, to my great chagrin, that I am not and never will be a real foodie. Someone once said to me (in my fat youth) that some people eat to live and others live to eat, and that I was in the latter category. While I may have spent my early days overeating, I think I fall in the category of people who eat to live, or at the very least, somewhere between the two. Finding fabulous food is just not a priority.
Pity, because I have heard that there is some really amazing food in SE Asia. Alas, I am probably not the person to ask about this. To really appreciate the range and quality of food, one must have a brave palate. Alas again, my palate is a coward. The list of local specialties I have not tried is significantly greater than the list of foods I have tried. In fact, in Macau the first night, I spent too much time in one of the casinos. At about midnight I realized I really should get some dinner and then go to sleep. Amazingly the casino did not have any restaurants or food options (at least I think they didn’t based upon the limited English spoken in that particular casino). I felt sure I would find something to eat on the way back to my hotel which was a 5 minute walk at best. My hotel was not in the real touristy section of Macau and the first restaurant I went into had people eating so it looked promising. They even had a menu in English. Unfortunately, there was not a single thing on the menu that I was even willing to attempt. I cannot possibly list the foods I rejected but they included multiple options involving fish heads and I didn’t recognize the names of most of the fish listed. The meat selection included animals I knew but talked about body parts and organs that could only be identified following completion of veterinary school. So I left and found a shop that sold noodle soup. I think mine had minced pork.
Noodle soup, and every other possible permutation of noodle, is my mainstay of eating. I’m not really a pasta person but I’m even less of a rice person, and those are the staples of every meal here. I’ve pretty much eliminated chicken (unless it’s KFC- ubiquitous in Asia- or a very western style restaurant) because I don’t like dark meat. I’ve tried to get white meat by miming- pointing at my breast would seem obvious, no? But apparently they don’t cut chicken the way we do at home, i.e. legs, thighs, wings, breast. In Asia they seem to just slice from head to foot. And, by the way, most chicken dishes here come with head and foot. In fact, I’ve seen so many chicken feet in restaurants and food stalls that I’m not sure what they do with the rest of the chicken. And I am not eating any chicken with the head still on- cooked or not.
Pork and beef are my main options, but I try to avoid those selections that tell you precisely where the meat is coming from on the animal. Pig tendon may taste fine but it sounds gross to me. Actually I’ve been eating a lot of sausage because then I don’t have to know where the meat came from. (Theoretically it could be even more disgusting, but this is one area where I’m working on the theory of don’t ask, don’t tell.)
I always thought I loved seafood but that love has been challenged here. Shrimp, one of my favorite dishes, is too much work. I learned how to knock their heads off and peel away the shells starting with their little feet when I traveled through Europe. But when they serve whole shrimp in a cooked dish it gets very messy- first you have to suck off the sauce and then you get to start the peeling process. When I go to have dinner I just want to eat- without all the work. As for your more basic fish, most of it is served whole. While I can handle eating a whole fish, this is something that also falls under the category of work. And in China, fish heads seem to be more popular than anything else, and this is not an option for me.
While on this topic I should point out that I have refused to try dog (frankly I haven’t seen this on any menus although I know it’s available and one Australian expat was telling me about the specialty where they serve dog paw with a straw inserted to enable you to suck out the bone marrow), snake, and each and every fried crispy critter that one could imagine.
Last word on the topic of food has to do with Chenglish. While I thought Turkey and Greece took the prize on butchering English (and I’ll never forget the “fried Jews” that was an option in Extremadura, Spain), China wins this one hands down. Up until now in my travels I have been able to figure out what most things on the menu were, notwithstanding the confused and usually amusing translations. Here I have just given up. Unfortunately I don’t have any examples on me at the moment but I will try to save a few for future reporting.
I’m ashamed to say it but I am now actively searching out McDonalds and other western chains.
Bon appetit to all!
Tags: 1, Asian food
myra_n
So, how’s China, other than the food issues? Did you win any money in Macau? I am living vicariously as there is no adventure to speak of in my life right now. Not that that is a bad thing. We are well, and going to spend a week at the cabin on Friday, but kayaking on the lake, and shopping at Walmart are certainly not terribly exciting. How is the weather? And, what are your plans over the next few weeks? Kisses, Karen
You have just expressed the very reason I no longer have any interest in the eastern food menus. In our younger days, I would have tried all that stuff, no anymore, no desire at all to attempt all the body parts of an animal. Thanks again! La Donna
If not any fabulous food, have you found any fabulous drinks?