Posts Tagged ‘Food’

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Top 10 unusual foods you might encounter in Southeast Asia

21 October 2011 by

Southeast Asia quite rightly has a reputation for some of the world’s most delicious food: in the Experience Travel office the virtues of Thai Food are regularly extolled and we’re still looking for a Thai restaurant in London that can offer the same standard of culinary experience that you can get in Thailand (any suggestions are welcome).

However, Southeast Asia can also offer the western visitor some of the world’s strangest (well, strange to a western palette anyway) delicacies. At Experience Travel we’ve all been there, done that, and some of us even have the t-shirt when it comes to sampling unusual dishes. In this article I run down the top 10 most unusual foods you might encounter, and which 5 I would recommend giving a try (provided you’re up for such an experience!) and which I think it’s best to avoid. Of course, it’s all a matter of personal taste… (more…)

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A Year in Vietnam

27 January 2011 by

Coming up next week is one of the most important festivals in the Vietnamese calendar: Tet, or Vietnamese New Year. Tet marks the beginning of spring, and heralds the coming of a new zodiac animal sign for the year. It is a fresh beginning for Vietnamese people and the traditions carried out at this time reflect these beliefs. After taking up a degree in Vietnamese language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Seb Rumsby spent a year in Vietnam from September 2008 to 2009 to help his understanding of both Vietnamese culture and language. Experience Travel talks to Seb about his year and his experiences during Tet. (more…)

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Two new restaurant options in Danang

4 October 2010 by

Word reaches of two interesting sounding restaurant openings in Hoi An/Danang – already something of a foodie mecca.

First is the Waterfront Restaurant in Danang – from the owners of the FANTASTIC Red Bridge Restaurant and Cooking School in Hoi An. We can easily incorporate lunch here into one of trips to My Son, the Marble Mountains or a the trip to the’wonderful Cham Museum in Danang. (more…)

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Melissa’s Vietnamese Culinary Extravaganza!

28 May 2010 by

marketsHeading out to Vietnam again this month and spurred on by Rick Steins recent Far Eastern Odyssey series and cookery book, I decided that this time I would pay more attention to the food and try and learn how to cook a few dishes for myself. With a bit of help from the locals, I discovered that Vietnam really is the perfect destination for food lovers and that as you travel North to South the fabulous diversity of delicious, fresh, healthy and exquisite dishes on offer is a million miles away from what you get presented in your average Vietnamese restaurant in the UK.

Things didn’t get off to a great start as on our first day we stopped at a local restaurant to pick up supplies for the overnight train trip to Sapa and I ended up ordering what turned out to be half a dry baguette and a single foil wrapped DairlyLea cheese triangle. But this was low point in my culinary experience of Vietnam and things got much better as the trip progressed! Up in Sapa I got my first taste of Vietnams infamous beef noodle soup ‘Pho’, pronounced ‘Far’. (more…)

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Villas in Sri Lanka

28 November 2009 by

The villa concept in Sri Lanka is much misunderstood and so it’s a theme I come back to – in the (probably) vain hope that someone might read this blog and help get the following messages out.

1: Villas are a wonderful option for staying in Sri Lanka, both for couples looking for luxury and privacy at a reasonable cost and for families looking for comfort and value.
2: Villas in Sri Lanka are generally not cheap and they are not basic self catering units as you get in the west.
3: Villas in Sri Lanka are great value.

I’ll deal with point 2 first. We at Experience Sri Lanka spend much of our time explaining that villas in Sri Lanka are not like cheap European/Australian/US villas/self catering units, that you cannot get them without staff and that you will pay a fairly decent rate, even for the most basic.

There are several reasons why the villas are not cheap:

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Best restaurants in asia

24 November 2009 by

We constantly get asked to reccommend our favourite restaurants to clients and this worries us as it seems to change so quickly. What suits Peter, seems to annoy Paul, in much more pronounced a way than hotels or more general hotel experiences. I am often tempted to let people chose for themselves by reading the numerous blogs and reviews out there. However, we can always make the table booking for you too…. As usual speak to us directly here.

For Vietnam in particular there are some brilliant blogs on the subject – the writer of Noodlepie has long since left but the info is still there and it is fantastic. I really like a Girl In Asia too. There are many more. (more…)

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Vegetarian Thai delights at Ariyasom Villa, Bangkok

15 September 2009 by

Yummy Thai food

Ariyasom Villa is one of our favourite hotels in Bangkok and is one of the city’s more unusual and unique places to stay. Beyond the superb location, luxururious rooms and sense of old Bangkok history that runs through the original 1940 building, the hotel has a very special food angle in its restaurant. Owner David Lees has been a devout vegetarian for many years and the ‘Na Aroon’ fine dining restaurant at Ariyasom serves no meat at all (fish dishes are served though).

But this is only the beginning. The team of cooks and David himself are incessantly creative and experimental in the kitchen, serving a huge range of classic Thai cuisine suitable for vegetarians. On top of the Thai side of the menu are a rotating selection of fusion dishes, European influenced dishes and seasonal favourites. (more…)

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Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey – a review:

25 August 2009 by

Rick Stein did us a massive favour by doing a programme that focused, almost exclusively, on the area that we specialise in. Apart from Laos, all our bases were covered – Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and of course, Thailand. A big ‘thank you’ to Rick then, as we saw a definite increase in inquiries from the sort of people keen to do something a little different and sample the true flavours of the region – something which we can deliver!

I also think we are well placed to review the show and watched it with great interest. Not only do we know the countries very well, but we are all fairly greedy and get thoroughly over-excited by the thought of South East Asian food. We also know a few of the characters featured in the programme and all of the hotels featured.

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Asia Wishlist – No. 1 Knai Bang Chatt

17 August 2009 by

Stuck in my office in Wandsworth putting together tours for people in Vietnam is a decent way to make a living. My thoughts do wander sometimes though, to the places I am working on, and where i would like to go next.
Knai Bang Chatt
With 2 small children, much of this is purely a pipedream, but number 1 on the list has to be Kep in Cambodia and Knai Bang Chatt in particular.

My colleague, who visited recently, came back raving about the laid back charms of Kep, the delicious buckets of Kampot Pepper Crab available in the markets at a dollar a throw, the hike up Bokor mountain to see the ethereal abandoned hilltop colonial resort up there and dreamy boat trips out to empty paradise islands. Having loved the rest of Cambodia, but missed Kep on previous visits, I am most keen to get back.

He also said that Knai Bang Chatt was the best hotel he had ever stayed in. That would all depend on what you’re looking for, but personally, the converted villas sound fantastic, and the thought of the food – a cunning French and Khmer fusion, too good to be true. (more…)

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The 5 Best Eco Lodge’s in Asia

31 July 2009 by

The last two posts about new eco lodges in Sri Lanka has got me thinking about the abundance of this sort of place in Asia now, coming under the somewhat subjective heading of an ‘Eco Lodge’.

The Mudhouse at night!

The Mudhouse at night!

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