This series covers the obstacles of daily life in Asian countries and the differences to the Western world. It helps the reader to escape some of the typical tourist traps.

About eating

Street kitchens

In my opinion it is no problem to order food from them with perhaps the exception of parts of Cambodia and Vietnam. Before you order food just watch the cook (mostly women) to see how hygienically she works. Then best order fried or steamed food. You shouldn't eat salad and also not ice blocks, that are broken out of a bigger block. Those ice blocks usually can't be found anymore anyway as there are ice cube delivery services now everywhere in Asia. Those ones are no problem. Fruits are harmless too as they can be washed before eating. I also recommend cut fruits on ice blocks. I was never sick of those. I prefer to order soft drinks from cans. Before ordering them you should tell the staff that you want them unopened. This is important, because it is usually a part of the service to open the can/bottle before serving.

Ordering food in restaurants

In most Asian countries it is normal, that all ordered food arrives at your table simultaneously. The food, that needs the fewest preparation time, arrives first. But what can you do, if you want to eat your salad or soup first? It's actually easy: First you just order your salad or soup plus your drink. Once it arrives, you ask for the menu again and order the main dish. The food at most places arrives speedily, so you don't need to worry about waiting for ages with that strategy.

I have to admit of course, that the best thing is to just order the local dishes, but every now and then I just like to eat Spaghetti or one big piece of meat ...

Breakfast

Many places just offer Western breakfast of bad quality. Especially in Thailand it seems to be a hobby of the chefs to precisely count the amount of bacon strips served with an American breakfast. You hardly ever get more than three strips. The best American breakfast if at all is served in Irish or English pubs.

Hence it is recommended to eat a rice/vegetable soup, fried rice or steamed rice with vegetables. This is healthier anyway and local lifestyle. Or you buy your own breakfast. I recommend a yoghurt plus wonderful, ripe fruits along with it. Those fruits are so good and ripe most of the time, that you're ready to start the day with the best imagineable mood. Local fruit stalls and 7/11 delis can be found almost everywhere.

Eat a cake

This also rather is a subject for long time travelers, that long for Western food every now and then.

Cakes and tarts in Asia – especially in China – are not as sweet as they would be in Europe, North America or Australia. I hence recommend not to eat them in Asia. If you can't resist order it with some extra sugar or sugar syrup to sweeten it up to your level.

Bread

Is a mega trend in Asia in all kinds of variations. Bakery shops are now almost everywhere. But the bread doesn't have much in common with a good German or Swiss bread (sorry, I can't tell the difference for other countries). The bread usually is very soft and full of air. If you press it you can reduce it to 10% of its volume and it is impossible to cut it with a knife. In Vietnam a local explained to me like this: People like a light bread for breakfast. It should be easy to digest.

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