“What the hell is Padang food?” you may ask yourself one day, if you happen to be looking for lunch in Singapore, Indonesia, or Malaysia. “Does this have something to do with Penang?” Ah, you fool, it has jack-all to do with a charming city in Malaysia, but in fact describes a style of cuisine […]
Tag: food
Some Things I Approve Of in Chiang Mai – Sausage, Khao Soi, Night Markets
Khao Soi Khao soi is my favorite noodle dish in Asia, and that’s really saying quite a lot, considering the dizzying biodiversity of noodle soups in this region of the world. Thought to be of Burmese origin, the dish has been modified in Northern Thailand, and is, I think, superior to the original. The essential […]
Taiwan: Taipei Night Markets
Night markets are likely Taipei’s most iconic attraction, and probably the one most visible to those who have never visited the country before. Food Adventurers like Anthony Bourdain regularly traipse through them with a camera crew following behind, sampling this and that from different carts, beneath a canopy of red-and-yellow lights. Not that I’m going […]
Taiwan: Longshan Temple and Shaved Ice
On Tuesday, I went to the Mengjia Longshan Temple, one of Taipei’s largest and most long-standing places of worship. It’s been around since 1738, albeit in different incarnations, and was last extensively rebuilt in World War II following bombardment by Americans. On a Tuesday morning, the place is choked with worshipers lighting incense and candles […]
A Few Good Dishes: Asia 2013
Here’s an unscientific look at some of the finest — or most memorable — things I ate during a year or so of wandering around Southeast Asia. Indonesian food is delicious. As I learned soon enough during my time there, Indonesian food is also exceptionally repetitive. Once you’ve burned through the quotidian pleasures of nasi goreng, […]
Consider the Southern Sandwich: Dairy Center, Mt Airy
Dairy Center – Mt Airy, North Carolina 407 W Lebanon St, Mt Airy, NC 27030 Consider the Southern sandwich. Dairy Center is a North Carolina burgers-and-sandwiches joint that would be absolutely heaving with bored-looking foodies if it were located in a major metro area, the sort of folks who of a weekend find themselves seeking […]
22 Square: distinctly un-Paula-Deen eats in Savannah
22 SQUARE 14 Barnard Street Savannah, GA 31401 Website Facebook page—with a copy of the menu Savannah’s culinary scene is inextricably linked with Paula Deen, the slightly wild-eyed Empress of Butterfat whose culinary stylings wage gleeful warfare against the forces of heart-healthy diets and tempeh. This means that tourists in Savannah almost invariably find themselves […]
Vy Da Quan: Vietnamese Food, Best Consumed Out of Little Blue Chairs
VY DA QUAN, 62 LY TU TRONG, HO CHI MINH CITY The best Vietnamese food is consumed on the street or near it, off tiny tables that appear designed to accommodate intractable five-year-olds not yet allowed to eat with the grownups. There will be little blue plastic chairs to sit in—sometimes red, on rare […]
Dangerous Sandwiches Throughout History: my recent magnum opus
I am really, really proud of my recent story on Dangerous Sandwiches Throughout History for GlobalPost. I just thought I’d share. Maybe there’s a book in dangerous food somewhere. Deadly sandwiches: remarkably dangerous lunchtimes throughout history Sewing needles have been found in in-flight sandwiches on Delta and now, on Air Canada, causing some to cast […]
Mushroom Hunting in Iowa: Staring At Woods for Food
You probably don’t associate the much-derided state of Iowa with rarefied culinary delights. This is because most people don’t know about the Midwest’s highly developed and slightly voodoo-like mushroom hunting culture. It all starts in the spring, when the temperature begins to climb and the landscape explodes into verdant green, complete with the twin annoyances of pollen and oodles […]