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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:
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February 6, 2012 @ 6:55 PM
Most of these look delicious. And I’m a huge fan of fried rice – no blurryness could take away from that 🙂 Hats off to you for trying the weird Brunei soup (?). I don’t think I would have just from looking at it 🙂
February 6, 2012 @ 9:33 PM
Thanks Sabrina! That stuff in Brunei wasn’t soup, it was thick goop. I don’t know what to compare it to besides phlegm, absolutely disgusting.
February 6, 2012 @ 10:16 PM
Ah, even worse!! Wonder what it’s made of…
February 6, 2012 @ 10:47 PM
I know, right? All I know is that it’s some kind of carbohydrate.
February 6, 2012 @ 9:48 PM
The Schnitzel looks so sad on the plate. And really it is Fish and Chips, not Fish and Chips and Lawn Clippings.
February 6, 2012 @ 10:47 PM
Hey now, that was really good fish and chips! I liked everything on that plate, even if the rice was a bit overkill.
Christmas in Queenstown » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
February 6, 2012 @ 9:48 PM
[…] a full meal. Since Ali had really just gotten out of South East Asia, she didn’t want to eat Asian food again. We decided to go back to our lunch spot and ordered some kumara fries and a few drinks. This […]
February 7, 2012 @ 12:23 AM
Yum, yum and YUM.
February 7, 2012 @ 5:01 AM
Thanks!
February 7, 2012 @ 4:08 AM
Really enjoying the street food so far in Bangkok but haven’t yet brought myself to eating the bugs on Khao San Road. Maybe tomorrow.
February 7, 2012 @ 5:05 AM
I haven’t been to Thailand yet but when I do get there, I have no intention of eating bugs.
February 7, 2012 @ 8:07 AM
The food mostly looks great. You’re right about the Schnitzel though. It is way over breaded for my liking. Was it veal or chicken? I’m a big fan of Asian rice varieties so I’d love to try some when I make my way around South-East Asia one day.
What I’m not a fan of though is pork substitutes. I’m a big bacon and eggs man when it comes to breakfast. They’re better off not offering a western breakfast if it doesn’t have pork in it. Just stay with what brought the guests in – an Asian experience. I’d much rather the noodles and crackers. I think I understand why you didn’t like the crackers though. They were probably cold. They always taste like styrofoam when they’re cold. But when they’re hot they’re great.
When the day comes for me to plan a trip around south east Asia, I’ll have to contact you and get the low down on where the best food is at.
February 8, 2012 @ 9:48 PM
Wow I never even heard of having those crackers warm, they always came to us cold. The schnitzel was chicken. Not a lot of beef in that area, the cows I did see looked kind of skinny & sickly. I totally agree about the pork substitutes. Chicken sausage is not my thing, but I guess they’re used to it since they don’t eat pork at all there.
Definitely let me know when you start planning, I’d be happy to help!
February 7, 2012 @ 1:29 PM
The food looks sooo mouth watering. There is something about Asian food that I absolutely love! I went to Bali and spent some time with a local family and eating the food they cooked at home was so unique and delicious. So different from what we are catered in restaurants.
February 8, 2012 @ 9:50 PM
Sounds great! I took a cooking class in Bali & never saw the things we cooked on a menu.
February 7, 2012 @ 4:45 PM
The pizza looks amazing! And I have to try those pineapple pancakes.
February 8, 2012 @ 9:51 PM
The pizza was really good, especially since the restaurant was onthe beach & had drink specials!
February 7, 2012 @ 5:40 PM
The wrong thing to read at lunchtime!
February 8, 2012 @ 9:52 PM
Ha! Thanks Amanda!
February 7, 2012 @ 7:08 PM
Ahhh I can’t wait to be eating in Asia in just a few weeks!!!
February 8, 2012 @ 9:53 PM
Have fun Andi!
February 7, 2012 @ 7:24 PM
Oh man SEA is going to heaven… I love eating… love eating everything and so much. I am loving the food here, but wow that all looks so good!
February 8, 2012 @ 9:54 PM
Thanks Jaime! Yep you’ll definitely enjoy it there!
February 8, 2012 @ 4:57 AM
Ooo, and now you’ve gone and made me hungry!!
February 8, 2012 @ 9:55 PM
Ha! Sorry Amanda!
February 9, 2012 @ 4:39 AM
Great photos! Food photography is always the hardest for me. One of the reasons is that I usually forget to take photos until after I’m halfway through. I get really excited when my food comes. 🙂
February 9, 2012 @ 7:32 AM
Thanks Christy! I’m exactly the same! I had so many meals that I wish I had remembered to photograph. Always seemed to forget that really amazing ones too.
February 11, 2012 @ 11:46 PM
Hi Ali, I am from Indonesia, and now in the middle of the night having seen your post, I feel so hungry! I haven’t been to Lombok myself, everybody says it’s great. Good for you! 🙂
February 12, 2012 @ 5:21 AM
We didn’t really spend much time on Lombok, but the Gili Islands were absolutely gorgeous. Thanks Nelda!
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November 13, 2012 @ 8:02 AM
[…] female, but it’s only because they’re not used to it. I’ve had locals in Southeast Asia strike up a conversation with me because they were curious about me as a solo traveler, and they […]