Southeast Asia is known for a lot of things: it's mystical cultures and customs, it's exotic languages, it's melting pot of ethnicities and religions and perhaps most importantly, the food! From Thai street hawkers, to Vietnamese seafood delicacies to Indonesian gorengs to Filipino hot dogs, this region has it all.
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| A fruit stand in Vientiane, Laos PDR |
However, globalization hasn't left this region behind; far from it. These days, you can find literally every cuisine under the sun in Southeast Asia. For example, I was able to find a Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere Laos. But you're probably not traveling to Southeast Asia to take in tacos, pork out on pizza, and slam sliders (even though you inevitably will). This little a bit long, but useful pro-tip will try explain some of the myths of eating food in Southeast Asia and give some clarity on how you can enjoy some of the greatest foods in the world without breaking the bank. Find out how, after the jump!
Southeast Asia Isn't As Cheap As It Seems!
First and foremost, let's clear a myth: Southeast Asia might be cheap, but it's certainly not dirt cheap. This is a topic I 'm going to elaborate on in another post, but the bottom line is that there's a lot of misinformation flying around on what food will cost in this part of the world. Before we left to come over here, practically everyone was telling us that food was so cheap and that we could easily eat for 1.00 EUR/1.13 USD a meal and be full. Sounds great, right? Well not quite.
To start, unless you're either eating instant noodles or just grabbing a couple of skewers off of a street hawker, you're not going to be able to eat at that price. Food is cheap, sure, but if you're wanting a complete meal, along with at least a bottle of water to go with it, then you're looking more at 2.00-2.50 EUR per person.
That might not seem like a big increase nominally, but it represents a mark up of 150% on the initial estimate. Multiply that number over the 21 meals that you'll eat in a week, and your budget has gone from 21.00 EUR to 52.50 EUR! Once you start going from food cart to restaurant, the price per meal will only increase.
Nathalie and I are happy when we're eating for 4.00 EUR/4.50 USD a person per meal, drinks included. We had to adjust to this reality, but once we did, it made budgeting easier.
Where did this myth come from? My theory is that most of the people we talked to were coming from Europe, mainly the Eurozone. If you haven't paid attention to the euro's value against other currencies (i.e. the exchange rate) lately, it's taken quite a hit over the past six months. Traditionally, most developing world currencies look to the USD as their marker. Over the past decade, the euro has been strong against the dollar, with 1.00 EUR buying around 1.30 USD (it's fluctuated during this time, but by and large, it has been in this neighborhood).
This meant that people traveling from Europe who had euros had a strong advantage, getting 30% more for their money than people traveling with USD. When the euro began losing its value earlier this year, the savings disappeared, making Southeast Asia comparatively more expensive than in the past. Of course no one can predict how currency is going to move (see the CHF re-adjustment back in January 2015), so if you're traveling to this part of the world, be prepared for the new realities of what your home currency can buy.
To start, unless you're either eating instant noodles or just grabbing a couple of skewers off of a street hawker, you're not going to be able to eat at that price. Food is cheap, sure, but if you're wanting a complete meal, along with at least a bottle of water to go with it, then you're looking more at 2.00-2.50 EUR per person.
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| Produce in the main market of Luang Prabang, Laos PDR |
Nathalie and I are happy when we're eating for 4.00 EUR/4.50 USD a person per meal, drinks included. We had to adjust to this reality, but once we did, it made budgeting easier.
Where did this myth come from? My theory is that most of the people we talked to were coming from Europe, mainly the Eurozone. If you haven't paid attention to the euro's value against other currencies (i.e. the exchange rate) lately, it's taken quite a hit over the past six months. Traditionally, most developing world currencies look to the USD as their marker. Over the past decade, the euro has been strong against the dollar, with 1.00 EUR buying around 1.30 USD (it's fluctuated during this time, but by and large, it has been in this neighborhood).
This meant that people traveling from Europe who had euros had a strong advantage, getting 30% more for their money than people traveling with USD. When the euro began losing its value earlier this year, the savings disappeared, making Southeast Asia comparatively more expensive than in the past. Of course no one can predict how currency is going to move (see the CHF re-adjustment back in January 2015), so if you're traveling to this part of the world, be prepared for the new realities of what your home currency can buy.
Pro-Tipping
Each country has different customs regarding service charges and taxes. In general, tipping isn't customary (although feel free to if you thought the service merited it). That being said, service will often be either included in the price or added on to the the final bill as a service surcharge.Usually if it's added on as an additional charge, it's clearly stated somewhere on the menu. This will tell you whether or not it's included in the price of each dish and what percentage the fee is set at. It
Tax, like tips, are also reported differently. In most places we've been to, the tax has been included in the price of the meal. This isn't always the case though. Here in Malaysia, for example, the 6% "GST" or "Goods and Service Tax," is often left out of the dish price and is instead added to the final bill. Your best bet is to research ahead to see what the rules are before arriving.
What You Should Know About Street Food
When people talk about Thai food, they talk about street food, and with good reason! In every corner of the country you can find hawkers serving quickly-made meals and treats from carts and small stalls. And while Thailand is renowned for it, you can find street food in every country in the region.
It's cheap, delicious and, throwing in the novelty of it, extremely enjoyable. However, there are few caveats that you should keep in mind when going out for street food:
The second point was explained to me by my dentist back when I had my *fun* medical emergency and subsequent root canal/crowning. After one procedure to start prepping me for my root canal and the crown placement, she told me that if I was going to eat street food, then either order something cooked on a skewer over a hot grill, or if you're eating something non-grilled, ask it to go.
The reason for this was not because of the quality of the food. Rather it had to do with how clean the utensils and plates were. If you haven't seen the typical street food setup in Thailand, it usually consists of a 'kitchen cart' where the meal is prepared along with plastic tables and chairs for patrons to sit at while they dine. If you look around, you'll see that there are big buckets of water with dish soap.
The vendors use these buckets to wash all the plates along with the cooking and eating utensils. The water they use is more likely than not coming out of the tap (i.e. not entirely safe to drink), and everything is being rinsed in same water. As you can imagine, this leads to contamination. My dentist told me that while normally it isn't a problem, because my mouth was already fighting an infection and was weakened from being worked on, I should only eat either grilled skewered meat or take the food away and eat it with a clean utensils from the hotel. So if you have any doubts about the cleanliness of the street food, this tip should help you keep from getting sick.
The final point kind of applies to almost all restaurants in the region, but particularly so for street food. Raw vegetables need to be properly rinsed in order to remove pesticides ('organic; doesn't really exist in this part of the world), dirt and other potential pathogens from the produce in order to be safe to eat. Unfortunately, this doesn't really happen with street food (and in general at many other non-western eateries) so if you're eating something like raw lettuce or tomato, you're setting yourself up for an extended stay on the toilet. The best bet is to ask for some sort of cooked of vegetable dish. A good alternative would be either a stir-fried plate or a soup. These dishes are cooked at a high enough temperature that kills the germs avoiding unnecessary illness.
It's cheap, delicious and, throwing in the novelty of it, extremely enjoyable. However, there are few caveats that you should keep in mind when going out for street food:
- Most of the food is fried in oil
- Many times, the plates and utensils are all washed in the same bucket with tap water
- Raw vegetables probably haven't been properly rinsed
The first point is more for those on a diet, or at least watching their oil/fats intake. Usually, the oil used will be some sort of palm/corn/peanut oil. These aren't exactly the best fats for the human body. You might get lucky and find someone using coconut oil (we saw that a lot in Thailand; not so much elsewhere), but if you're planning on eating nothing but street food, you're more than likely going to start feeling a bit 'off' after a few days .
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| Street food hawkers in Penang, Malaysia |
The reason for this was not because of the quality of the food. Rather it had to do with how clean the utensils and plates were. If you haven't seen the typical street food setup in Thailand, it usually consists of a 'kitchen cart' where the meal is prepared along with plastic tables and chairs for patrons to sit at while they dine. If you look around, you'll see that there are big buckets of water with dish soap.
The vendors use these buckets to wash all the plates along with the cooking and eating utensils. The water they use is more likely than not coming out of the tap (i.e. not entirely safe to drink), and everything is being rinsed in same water. As you can imagine, this leads to contamination. My dentist told me that while normally it isn't a problem, because my mouth was already fighting an infection and was weakened from being worked on, I should only eat either grilled skewered meat or take the food away and eat it with a clean utensils from the hotel. So if you have any doubts about the cleanliness of the street food, this tip should help you keep from getting sick.
The final point kind of applies to almost all restaurants in the region, but particularly so for street food. Raw vegetables need to be properly rinsed in order to remove pesticides ('organic; doesn't really exist in this part of the world), dirt and other potential pathogens from the produce in order to be safe to eat. Unfortunately, this doesn't really happen with street food (and in general at many other non-western eateries) so if you're eating something like raw lettuce or tomato, you're setting yourself up for an extended stay on the toilet. The best bet is to ask for some sort of cooked of vegetable dish. A good alternative would be either a stir-fried plate or a soup. These dishes are cooked at a high enough temperature that kills the germs avoiding unnecessary illness.
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| Laotian Larp from an open-air restaurant in Vientiane, Laos PDR |
You Might Be On a Diet, But the Locals Won't Buy It.
We in the west, and especially in America, have a multitude of special diets. This is a product of our advanced economies, decades of food security and world-leading dietary research. Unfortunately, these trends have largely yet to reach Southeast Asia and as such, if you're on a special diet, you might be finding yourself desperately trying to improvise come meal time. Here are a few of the common diets we have in the west that I have yet to see viable on this part of the world:
Vegetarianism could potentially work, especially in Buddhist countries where it is part of the religious diet. In these countries, there's also an abundance of tofu. Keep in mind 'vegetarian' has a much different meaning over here and most if not all plates are cooked with some sort of fish/oyster sauce. Some places will use tallow (aka horse fat) or lard to cook with. This means that while you might have ordered a plate without meat, there's a strong possibility that you're eating some sort of animal product or bi-product.
Vegetarians will be delighted to know that eggs are a major source of protein in this part of the world. I've had eggs for breakfast almost everyday I've been over here. This might prove an issue with vegans as this would be against their diet.
Also, keep in mind on many menus where you'll see 'vegetarian food,' you'll be shown a list of dishes that are centered on vegetables but will also come with meat and/or seafood. We've always gotten a chuckle out of this, but if you're not eating meat, you'' want to keep this in mind as well.
Sugar is everywhere in Southeast Asia. Seriously, these guys have a major sugar addiction. We've ordered smoothies and fresh fruit juices on many occasions only to watch as the juice-meister (is that the right name for the person making the juice?) add sugar syrup to the mix! As if fruit wasn't sweet enough on it's own, they'll add additional sweeteners to make it ''more drinkable." You can get diet/light sodas in many 7-11s and some restaurants, but if you're watching your sugar intake, beware, they'll try to sneak it in everywhere.
Finally, if for some reason you're depriving your body of fats, you're going to find mixed results. If you're avoiding all fats, you're more than likely harming yourself as we need fat to live. However, if you're avoiding hydrogenated and saturated fats and , you might have some difficulty. First off, trans-fats are still a part of the frying culture in this part of the world meaning if you're eating a lot of fried food, you're going to be encountering them quite often. Olive oil isn't that common here and most of the time, you'll see food cooked in peanut or palm oil. Occasionally, you'll find coconut oil being used, but I haven't seen used as frequently as I thought I would. Margarine is served with breakfast in many places, especially with 'western' (i.e. continental and American) breakfasts, which is a huge source of trans-fat.
In any case, if you have any dietary restrictions, don't hesitate to ask the waiter/cook. If you're lucky enough to have them understand you and they have the products that meet your needs, then excellent! Otherwise, be prepared to wiggle a bit on your diet.
I spent seven days in Kuala Lumpur eating some of the best food on the planet!
- Gluten Free (good luck)
- Keto (no-carbohydrate)
- Paleolithic, aka Paleo, aka the 'caveman diet.'
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Low sugar
- Low fat
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| Donuts; America's ethnic food in Bangkok |
Vegetarians will be delighted to know that eggs are a major source of protein in this part of the world. I've had eggs for breakfast almost everyday I've been over here. This might prove an issue with vegans as this would be against their diet.
Also, keep in mind on many menus where you'll see 'vegetarian food,' you'll be shown a list of dishes that are centered on vegetables but will also come with meat and/or seafood. We've always gotten a chuckle out of this, but if you're not eating meat, you'' want to keep this in mind as well.
Sugar is everywhere in Southeast Asia. Seriously, these guys have a major sugar addiction. We've ordered smoothies and fresh fruit juices on many occasions only to watch as the juice-meister (is that the right name for the person making the juice?) add sugar syrup to the mix! As if fruit wasn't sweet enough on it's own, they'll add additional sweeteners to make it ''more drinkable." You can get diet/light sodas in many 7-11s and some restaurants, but if you're watching your sugar intake, beware, they'll try to sneak it in everywhere.
Finally, if for some reason you're depriving your body of fats, you're going to find mixed results. If you're avoiding all fats, you're more than likely harming yourself as we need fat to live. However, if you're avoiding hydrogenated and saturated fats and , you might have some difficulty. First off, trans-fats are still a part of the frying culture in this part of the world meaning if you're eating a lot of fried food, you're going to be encountering them quite often. Olive oil isn't that common here and most of the time, you'll see food cooked in peanut or palm oil. Occasionally, you'll find coconut oil being used, but I haven't seen used as frequently as I thought I would. Margarine is served with breakfast in many places, especially with 'western' (i.e. continental and American) breakfasts, which is a huge source of trans-fat.
In any case, if you have any dietary restrictions, don't hesitate to ask the waiter/cook. If you're lucky enough to have them understand you and they have the products that meet your needs, then excellent! Otherwise, be prepared to wiggle a bit on your diet.
I spent seven days in Kuala Lumpur eating some of the best food on the planet!
Read all about my food fling in Malaysia!
Cafeterias, Food Courts and More
Another alternative to street food are food courts. Most people are familiar with the concept of a food court; it's the section of the shopping mall where all the restaurants are. Many major cities in Southeast Asia are quickly filling up with shopping malls (Vietnam would be the exception to this) complete with dining facilities like anywhere else on the planet. You can expect to find a McDonald's, a KFC, a Burger King and some sort of pizza place. But you're not traveling halfway around the world to eat a sub-par meat that you can get at home anyways.
Well never fear! In addition to these internationaljunk fast food chains, many shopping malls are providing their own uniquely Asian dining alternatives. These food courts feature not only local food, but also cuisine from around the region, all at prices much cheaper than sit-down restaurants and much more satisfying than a factory-made burger.
How do they work? In some shopping malls, you simply walk up to whichever booth that suits your fancy, order your meal, pay for it, then eat once it's ready. In others, like Terminal 21 in Bangkok and Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, the system is little bit more ingenious.
Instead of being able to pay at each booth, patrons instead are required to get a magnet swipe card and load it with credit. There are central counters where you can easily charge the card and once loaded, you're free to go and grab your meal.
Food ranges from local fares, to different national cuisines (Korean BBQ, Japanese teppanyaki, etc) to western food. You simply need to order, give your card to the cashier and wait for your food, which doesn't take more than ten minutes. You receive a receipt with your balance remaining, which you can cash out when you're done with your meal.
We eaten at these sorts of cafeterias/food courts a few times and we always ate well and paid somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.50 EUR/4.00 USD for a meal with drinks. It's a cheap, delicious and safe way to get a great meal (not to mention an excellent excuse to get out away from the heat). It's definitely worth checking out if you're near a shopping mall and are looking for a meal that doesn't involve western fast food.
Keep in mind though that like words and expressions, certain food dishes get lost in translation once they hit other cultures. If you're American, your definition of what constitutes a good hamburger won't be the same in a part of the world that isn't known for it's quality beef (here's another pro-tip: if you're in Southeast Asia and want a descent cut of meat, look for beef coming from Australia).
If you're from Italy, you're going to be hard pressed to find the right olive oils, pastas, cheeses and tomato sauces that give Italian food it's celebrated and savored tastes. If you're Belgian, don't expect the stand selling "Belgian waffles" to taste anything like a 'Gaufre de Bruxelles' (ahem, Nathalie).
You're more than likely going to get a local take or at least a locally sourced version of your western favorites and it's normal that the food you ordered won't taste exactly like what you'd expect back home. Of course there are restaurants where you can eat a much more authentic meal, but these are both relatively rare and extraordinarily expensive. A quick rule of thumb is that you shouldn't be paying more for a meal in Southeast Asia than you would pay back home. If you're only in this part of the world, you can probably hold it long enough to make it back home.
There are occasions where eating McDonald's can prove beneficial. You've probably heard of jet-lag. There's also such a thing as stomach lag. This, like jet lag, is your body adjusting to being a new environment eating foods sourced from different ingredients than your body is used to. It happens to me almost every time I go back and forth from the US to Europe and has happened to me here in Southeast Asia. At one point, usually within the first few days of arriving, your stomach is going to tell you it needs to slow down. In this case, a familiar meal like a Big Mac calms the digestive system down and makes the transition over to local food that much easier.
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| Food Credit Card for the Taste of Asia Food Court, Berjaya Times Square, KL |
Well never fear! In addition to these international
How do they work? In some shopping malls, you simply walk up to whichever booth that suits your fancy, order your meal, pay for it, then eat once it's ready. In others, like Terminal 21 in Bangkok and Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, the system is little bit more ingenious.
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| The Taste of Asia Food Court |
Food ranges from local fares, to different national cuisines (Korean BBQ, Japanese teppanyaki, etc) to western food. You simply need to order, give your card to the cashier and wait for your food, which doesn't take more than ten minutes. You receive a receipt with your balance remaining, which you can cash out when you're done with your meal.
We eaten at these sorts of cafeterias/food courts a few times and we always ate well and paid somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.50 EUR/4.00 USD for a meal with drinks. It's a cheap, delicious and safe way to get a great meal (not to mention an excellent excuse to get out away from the heat). It's definitely worth checking out if you're near a shopping mall and are looking for a meal that doesn't involve western fast food.
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| Beef sirloin teppanyaki at the food court at Quill Shopping Mall, KL. This cost me 4 EUR/4.50 USD |
What Happens When That Cheeseburger You Ordered isn't Actually a Cheeseburger
Last and probably not least, is western food. Once upon a time, we lived in a much bigger world, where pad Thai was exotic and finding a cheeseburger 10,000 miles and an ocean away from the United States was almost unheard of. Those days are long gone and today you can find literally almost any cuisine under the sun in the far reaches of our planet. |
| Probably the best burger I've had in Southeast Asia in Cebu City, The Philippines. It was so good, I used an extended layover to cross town from the airport just to have one. |
If you're from Italy, you're going to be hard pressed to find the right olive oils, pastas, cheeses and tomato sauces that give Italian food it's celebrated and savored tastes. If you're Belgian, don't expect the stand selling "Belgian waffles" to taste anything like a 'Gaufre de Bruxelles' (ahem, Nathalie).
You're more than likely going to get a local take or at least a locally sourced version of your western favorites and it's normal that the food you ordered won't taste exactly like what you'd expect back home. Of course there are restaurants where you can eat a much more authentic meal, but these are both relatively rare and extraordinarily expensive. A quick rule of thumb is that you shouldn't be paying more for a meal in Southeast Asia than you would pay back home. If you're only in this part of the world, you can probably hold it long enough to make it back home.
There are occasions where eating McDonald's can prove beneficial. You've probably heard of jet-lag. There's also such a thing as stomach lag. This, like jet lag, is your body adjusting to being a new environment eating foods sourced from different ingredients than your body is used to. It happens to me almost every time I go back and forth from the US to Europe and has happened to me here in Southeast Asia. At one point, usually within the first few days of arriving, your stomach is going to tell you it needs to slow down. In this case, a familiar meal like a Big Mac calms the digestive system down and makes the transition over to local food that much easier.
Wrap It Up and Take It Away
Half the fun of discovering a new part of the world is indulging in the culinary treats a foreign land has to offer. We're all human and we all have to eat to survive. We all enjoy the satisfaction of a great meal and learning what makes each culture's cuisines unique goes a long way in demystifying the mystique behind strange civilizations. Just remember to bring an open mind, an empty stomach and enough cash to treat your stomach, your tastebuds and yourself to the meal of a lifetime. Bon Appetit!
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