What I Ate in Southeast Asia in Photos

, , , , , , , ,

I spent about two months in Southeast Asia, and I tried to photograph my food. But I often forgot. My friend Val is great at taking pictures of everything she eats and drinks, but I think I got a good overview of what I ate during my time in Southeast Asia. Some of these pictures were taken on my iPhone so they might not be the best quality but I figured it was better than nothing. Enjoy!

Singapore noodle soup - food in Southeast Asia
some kind of noodle pork vegetable soup

Ok so the picture is a bit blurry, but I used my iPhone and it’s probably fitting that it’s blurry because this was my first meal in Singapore so I was jet lagged. The pork was a little tasteless, but the noodles and broth were really good.

Bali breakfast - food in southeast Asia
Bali breakfast

Our guesthouse in Bali had a great breakfast menu, included in the price of our room! One day I got rice, another day I got noodles, and it came with either fruit or fruit juice. Yum. Although I didn’t like the prawn crackers, they were kind of like eating styrofoam.

dessert in Bali - food in southeast Asia
in Bali, the most amazing dessert ever

I forgot to take a picture of the Balinese paella I had for dinner, but this dessert was so amazing I couldn’t for get to capture it. It was warmed bananas and pineapples in coconut milk and rum with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Soooo delicious!

breakfast in Senggigi - food in Southeast Asia
Senggigi breakfast

Before our ride picked us up to go to the Gili Islands, Amanda and I had breakfast in Senggigi. Mine was scrambled eggs, toast, and this oddly cut chicken sausage. My brain knows what sausage should taste like, and non-pork substitutes never seem to taste right.

drinks and pizza on the Gili Islands - food in southeast Asia
fruity cocktails and a pizza on Gili Trawangan

The Gili Islands were so laid back, we didn’t do much besides relax. We enjoyed some fruity cocktails at a couple different cafes while admiring the ocean, and ate this wonderful pizza. They called it Hawaiian, but it had chicken instead of ham since Indonesia is mostly Muslim, and the peppers were a nice added bonus.

lunch on Gili Air - food in Southeast Asia
my lunch on Gili Air

My lunch on Gili Air was rice with vegetables and chicken in some kind of spicy sauce. Not too spicy, perfect. And I had an amazing pineapple, banana, and coconut rum drink.

pineapple pancakes on Gili Air - food in southeast Asia
pineapple pancakes

Pineapple pancakes for breakfast before we left Gili Air. Tasty, but not my favorite breakfast food.

drinks at Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali - food in southeast Asia
drinks at Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali

On our second visit to Bali, we went to Potato Head in Seminyak and had the most wonderful dinner and drinks. I had the best Bloody Mary (ok two of them) ever and a yummy piña colada.

dinner at Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali - food in southeast Asia
dinner at Potato Head in Seminyak, Bali

Ok, this is totally not an Asian dish, and it’s only chicken and mashed potatoes, but it was damn good chicken and mashed potatoes!

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia night market
squid at the Kota Kinabalu night market

After seeing all the crazy fish at the Kota Kinabalu night market, Amanda and I tried some grilled squid for dinner.

Brunei sweet and sour chicken - food in Southeast Asia
Brunei sweet and sour chicken

Brunei’s version of sweet and sour chicken was some of the best I’ve ever had. They certainly like their food in this tiny country.

Brunei fish and chips - food in Southeast Asia
Brunei fish and chips

I wanted some western food, so I ordered fish and chips for lunch one day in Brunei. It came with the obligatory rice you get with almost everything in Asia and some tasty semi-pickled vegetables. I really liked the artistic display.

Brunei ambuyat - food in southeast Asia
Brunei Ambuyat

This was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever eaten. Ambuyat is a traditional Brunei dish so we had to try it, plus we were just curious about that gooey stuff. But wow was it bad.

chicken friend rice in Phnom Penh, Cambodia - food in southeast Asia
Phnom Penh chicken fried rice

This is another iPhone picture, sorry it’s a little out of focus. This was some really good chicken fried rice I had in Phnom Penh. I tried one of those tiny chilis with it, and even a small slice with no seeds was really hot.

schnitzel in Vang Vieng, Laos - food in southeast Asia
Vang Vieng schnitzel

Yes, I found schnitzel on a menu in Vang Vieng, Laos. I was already sitting in a westernized restaurant with “Friends” on the big screen, so why not go all out and order schnitzel for dinner? It was a little over-breaded and just not the same as what you’d get in Germany, but it was decent enough and it made me laugh.

Don’t forget all the interesting food I ate during the cooking classes I took in Bali and Phnom Penh!

Unfortunately I didn’t take anymore food pictures after Vang Vieng. My stomach was being a little sensitive, so I mostly ate western food or chicken fried rice for my remaining two weeks in Southeast Asia, though I really wanted to try some of the more interesting food in Hanoi. Someday I’ll get back there and try more. For now, I hope you enjoyed these pictures!

You might also enjoy: