Food of Southeast Asia

As our trip is slowly coming to an end, and we are back in The Netherlands for a quick visit before moving across the pond, friends and family have asked if we are just plain sick of Asian food.

And the answer is a very strong: NO WAY! 

Actually we both lost some pounds (probably also due to carting around backpacks every few days!)...yet we ate like pigs. It's not even that we shed some weight (Christian can't fit into his old pants anymore lol), we just felt healthier. Even with all of the rice, the noodles and salty sauces...we felt better eating Asian food than we did eating Western food back home.

A friend of mine living in Bangkok explained why this could be so: cooks visit the food markets every morning for their daily ingredients because they usually don't have the means to store food in refrigerators, etc. At the same time, fruits and vegetables are locally bought and free of preservatives, sugars, etc. 

Food is so fresh and simply made in Asia, it makes me completely rethink how I'll prepare food in the future.

The dishes aren't only delicious but very colorful and pretty to look at :)...even if it comes straight from a food cart on the side of the road.

We had so many favorite dishes. Nepalese momos, potatoes aloo, noodle soups basically everywhere. But during almost every meal in Thailand we ordered Chicken or Pork with Holy Basil and Chilis or Pad Thai. Christian's all-time favorite while on the road was Singapore's Wonton Mee.

Here are some of our favorite dishes we had in Asia!

From left to right:

Top row: Nasi Campur (Indonesia), Bowl of chilis and garlic (Thailand), Momos (Nepal)

Second row: Noodle Soup (Laos), Pad Thai (Thailand), Shrimp with basil and chilis (Thailand)

Third row: Curry chicken noodles (Malaysia), Green Curry (Thailand), Ramen with Pork (Japan)

Last Row: Wonton Mee (Singapore), Grilled Prawns with Garlic Rice (Philippines), Chicken Laap (Laos)

We must make some honorable mentions outside of SE Asia to our feast of falafel, fuul, hummus and pita at Hashem Restaurant in Amman, Jordan. And Korean BBQ everywhere in Seoul. Just delicious!!

Weekend Indulgences at the Neighbourhood Food Market

It’s that time again! Oh yes the Neighbourhood Food Market in Westerpark is this weekend :). Christian and I finally made our way to this once-a-month food market a few weeks ago and were definitely not disappointed. Tapas, fresh soups, artisan bread, a Greek AND Lebanese deli, a California-inspired bakery, Ethiopian and Vietnamese dishes, oh boy I can go on for days!! We’re hoping to roll out of bed this Sunday and straight into the food market again (that is if I don’t spend all of my cash at Primark on Saturday).

Hope your weekend is just as delicious as ours will be :).

Lisbon Part 2: Cascais & Belem

Once we laid our eyes on Bairro Alto on our first day in Lisbon, it was pretty hard to leave—the relaxed atmosphere, the small café-lined streets and colorful buildings had us eating dinner there every single night. We hit a local spot recommended by the shop owner down the street—Casa da India—which ironically is not an Indian place at all but a Portuguese grill. Any place where you’re sure that you’re the only foreigners in there and where you wait for a table for 30 minutes while sipping 1 EUR beers must be a good place! We were not disappointed—the guy behind the counter slathers marinade on grilled chicken, beef, bacon, seafood, shrimp and well just about anything that you can grill. We ordered a huge jug of sangria and a mixed plate of grilled meats which came with fluffy rice and crisp French fries----mmmmmmm mmm mmm.

The next day we thought we better venture away from Bairro Alto so we escaped to Cascais, a seaside town only a 40-minute train ride from Lisbon, and the train just so happens to go right along the water. We grabbed a harbor-side table and while Christian and my brother-in-law went to check out the yachts, my sis and I ordered some vinho verde and did some wedding planning :). Not a bad atmosphere to chat with my maid of honor about wedding stuff!

On our last night in Bairro Alto..errrr I mean Lisbon…we found a tiny café around the corner from our cute apartment. Shame on me for not jotting down the name because this was our best meal over the weekend! My sis and I ordered shrimp skewers but my brother-in-law’s bifteka Portguesa, steak topped with bacon and gravy, was so salty and so good! Let’s not forget that we started off with bread and homemade garlic butter and fresh gazpacho…I LOVE gazpacho! Upon finishing our 2^nd bottle of wine, the four of us decided that Lisbon was definitely one of the best cities in Europe! The lifestyle, the delicious food, street parties and cheap sangria and the sky is so ridiculously blue! We didn’t want to leave…but my sis and her husband were off to Rome and Christian and I were off to Croatia the next day sooooo…we were cool with it ;). 

I'm linking up with Bailey today for her travel party link-up! 'Travel' and 'party' just sound too good together, no? :)