This Wednesday I wrapped up a month and a half abroad in Asia starting with Japan (a tour through the country with my roommate adam. I wrote about it earlier in this blog.) Then I moved on to:

• Taipei, Taiwan for 4 days
• Shanghai, China for 3 days
• Hong Kong for 9 days
• Singapore for 8 days
• Taichung, Taiwan for 6 days

I have been a solo traveler, and this was no change. However, I had never stayed abroad for so long before - nor have I hit so many cities in such a long period of time. Luckily I did not miss any flights and for the most part stayed on schedule.

Now that I am back in America, I thought that I would write a bit about my thoughts about Asia before it all flows away once I get back into the flow of life.

This is part of a series of posts that I hope to get out in the coming weeks, all about different thoughts I’ve had during my travels, starting with the food culture over there.

Food

Here’s the truth: I am not really a foodie and I didn’t eat all that much special in Asia but there are a few highlights.

Japanese food is nice in that there’s a lot of Japanese places around, but for the most part you can get stuff just as good in San Francisco. I would argue that SF’s Japantown has better udon than anything I got in Japan itself. Is that provocative? Should I fight someone?

The only time when Japan’s food is better than what you can get in the US West Coast is Kobe Beef and Tuna.

If I were to think about it, I would say that the Kobe beef and the fatty tuna are actually pretty similar in terms of taste. Lots of that delicious, rich fatty taste. You can argue that if you wanted that fatty flavor, you should go for the fatty tuna because it’s going to cost you less.

I did not eat that much special in the rest of Asia. The traditional foods I would venture to say aren’t that wonderful tasting. And if there is one thing in Asia that is so horridly lacking, it is the quality of the fresh veggies/fruits. Nothing in Singapore, China, or Taiwan can match the sheer variety and freshness. Strawberries in the US cost less, are bigger, and taste better than a $9 box in Singapore.

Vegetables are rather limited and that became a problem for me because I wanted to eat some sorts of greens for fiber. In Japan, I was forced to order a pathetic broccoli thing because that was the only thing that I could find. It surprises me, I think because the frequency of obesity in Asia is way lower than in America. Yet they don’t eat that much more salads than we do.

So in summary. US = fruits/veggies. Asia = meats.

Taiwan is famous for its street food and I would back that up. As long as it is cooked, you should try it. The food in Taiwan is amazingly cheap (the stand below cost just ~$3 and had rather large portions), is varied, and did not disappoint.

Throw away your fear and just go for it. Point to what other people are eating and see if you can get a piece too. I’ve had burritos, fried rice bowls, candy, and amazing cuts of meat. Japan food might be the thing in SF that everyone wants to go to, but Taiwan has unquestionably the best cuisine experience. In much Asia, I felt that I’ve been able to put sugarplum dreams in everyone’s eyes when I talk about the food in America (notably the strawberries example above). Well, much of Asia except Taiwan - they have frankly not been impressed.

Hong Kong’s food is quite good as well, much of it focused on two food concepts: Dimsum and noodles. I was not able to try the dimsum in Hong Kong, but I managed to visit an amazing noodle shop in Wanchai that has been around for over 50 years.

Restaurants stay open late and have a distinct, homey feel that I think few places have replicated. It is hard to get that feeling in the US, as most have sort of adopted the dry, sanitized clean feel that the corporates have had.