The reason I look back on Asia especially fondly is because the foods I’ve grown up eating and learned to love here in the states truly felt at home in Asia – which seems obvious, but only becomes more apparent when you finally go. Yes, the Asian food in America is undisputedly excellent, but the Asian food in Asia is on another level. The meals can be so simple and “bare bones”, but are elevated when compared to how they taste in America. Chefs in the states who immigrated from Asia often need to adjust their flavorings to pander to a wide variety of taste buds, whereas chefs in China are catering to mostly Chinese consumers, allowing them to stick to their more traditional methods. These photos are from my summer in Asia in 2018, where I was introduced to so many new dishes and elevations of ones I already knew. My dad grew up in China, so he knows his way around and has some fun tidbits to add about some of the foods we tried, which only added to this incredible experience of staying in China. I will also preface this post by saying that a lot of the foods I’m sharing below are non-traditional, but I ate plenty of traditionally Cantonese dishes during my time - I was just enjoying the moment and couldn’t snap a photo!
This post will include mostly photos, but I’ll write about any foods that may need more of a description, connections to other cultures, or have a story I want to share. While I don’t have the exact restaurant names, keep these dishes on your list for the future!
Some people say Cantonese food is the most boring of the Eight Chinese Cuisines, as it doesn’t pack the kick of Sichuan or Hunan cuisine, but the simplicity of the dishes is the most impressive part. You might be used to seeing Cantonese cuisine through dim sum (to touch the heart) or yum cha (to drink tea), which is typically drinking tea with smaller plates. Some popular dishes you might know of are rice rolls drowning in sweet soy sauce (a personal favorite of mine) and char siu (叉烧) bao (baked or steamed roast pork buns).
Above are just a small sampling of Cantonese dishes I got a photo of: char siu, gon chow ngau huo (beef chow fun), crispy garlic pork ribs, and HK-style cheung fun. Note the distinction between the cheung fun pictured above, and the Cantonese one; HK-style ones are literally tiny rolls, and Cantonese ones are unrolled (but still “rolls), longer, and thinner. It’s pretty much just the shape, but both are shockingly addictive. Enjoy HK-style cheung fun doused in hoisin + peanut sauces (as seen above), and Cantonese ones doused in sweet soy sauce. This is important. This is NOT the soy sauce you eat with sushi, but a perfect umami and sweet combination that pares very well with the plainness of cheung fun.
Just a miscellaneous collection of food pictured above. Siu yuk, or roast pork, is CRISPY, and there’s no deep frying involved. This roast pork is stuffed with a variety of seasonings and hoisin sauce, which you’ll get a taste of once the pork is cut up. The picture next to the roast pork is a platter of the most popular Cantonese meats, which are char siu, siu yuk, roast duck (different from Peking duck!), as well as the not originally Cantonese drunken chicken. You also see the jellyfish salad, which doesn’t taste like seafood whatsoever.
Now, we all know what dumplings are, but what’s pictured on the right is still an enigma to me two years later. It’s this gorgeous fluffy pudding, soufflé/sponge cake thing covered in sliced nuts. I have virtually no idea what it’s actually intended to be, but it’s definitely something to try out if you ever come across it!
The best food in Asia really comes from the no-frills restaurants and the famous Taiwanese night markets. We went to Raohe and Shi Lin Night Markets, IIRC, but there are plenty of lesser known ones that likely serve as equally good products.
Those hand-pulled noodles and freshly-wrapped boiled dumplings were from this tiny, open-air shop a few blocks from the hotel we stayed at. And my GOSH, don't even get me started on those scallion pancakes. The scallion pancakes in America don't do these justice! You can get ham, cheese, egg, and a sweet-spicy sauce/glaze as toppings or just get it plain. Fantastic either way.
Those corn dogs are just like Korean corn dogs, which are dipped in rice batter, as opposed to traditional cornmeal batter, coated in panko, and stuffed with mozzarella cheese and/or a hot dog. They’re also dusted with granulated sugar and topped with ketchup, honey mustard, and/or or Japanese mayo. The last photo is xiao long bao, which I don’t believe are originally Taiwanese, but you may recognize them from the Din Tai Fung empire that is 100% from Taiwan.
The top two photos are from PasarBella at Suntec City, an NYC-inspired food hall. I know some people are shaking their heads in disappointment for not eating traditionally Singaporean food, but I remember eating here more out of convenience than anything. Nonetheless, the food was delicious, and there's not really much else to say.
This satay is from Newton Food Centre -- fun fact, it's where Crazy Rich Asians filmed that intro scene of Nick, Rachel, Colin, and Araminta eat at a hawker centre! We also ate chili crab (one of the national Singaporean dishes), accompanied by mantou (steamed or fried buns - no stuffing), as well as roti prata and quite a few more dishes from various stalls. Next to it is the Sichuan Suan Ni Bai Rou pork belly. I know this isn't quite Singaporean, but we did eat it in Singapore, so that's why it's under the Singapore "category". It's a very famous Sichuan dish, and it consists of ultra-thin pork belly doused in chili-garlic sauce. This is one of Antonia's favorite dishes, but be warned - describing the sauce as just garlic is being modest. This dish is g a r l i c k y.
IT’S DESSERT TIMEEEE! I don’t have a preference for sweet or savory, but my sweet tooth was satisfied in Asia! The boba tea, the cheese tea, the tarts, EVERY dessert is incredible there. Above, you see some mango cheese tea, which is mango blended with ice topped with a lightly salted cheese foam, which I drank nearly every day on my journey. At the very top, you also see a strawberry cheese and grape cheese, which are solid competitors for best drink at HeyCha. You also see a black sugar boba, which is similar to brown sugar boba, a thicker and stickier drink topping, but with a more licorice-like taste. I prefer brown sugar, but black sugar boba tastes great, too.
Below those drinks are Macanese egg tarts, which are inspired by Portuguese tarts, which are one of my favorite warm desserts. The Macanese egg tart shells are flakier and much more layered, compared to their Hong Kong-style counterparts with a crumblier, but still puff pastry-esque crust. Next, I’m ecstatic to present the incredible FRIED MILK!!! Don’t expect a drink to flow out once you bite in, but it’s a milk custard rolled in a thin wrapper (or sometimes a batter). It has only a subtle sweetness, which is ideal for me. I’ve never had the Spanish leche frita, but if it’s anything like this Cantonese variation, I am in.
While brown sugar boba is starting to gain traction in the states, the black sugar boba is not quite on the same level of popularity just yet. I personally don't love the licorice taste of the black sugar, but I for sure see the appeal of this drink. Just as brown sugar, or really any sugar, can be caramelized, black sugar can be as well, and that’s what you see above. The “Fiftea” bubble tea photo next to it was unfortunately more disappointing -- Antonia knew it was a well-known chain, so she suggested we try it. The bubbles were fine, but we didn't love the tea flavor as much. My dad said his milk tea tasted good, so maybe it’s just the fruit teas we had.
We also went to a 7-Eleven in Taiwan, and much to my pleasant surprise, they had 7-11 Bubble Tea! It was actually quite good, but I do suggest supporting the local milk tea shops. Next to that, there’s the final dessert I share, which is the chocolate red bean bao. If you live in a U.S. state with a Din Tai Fung, you certainly don’t need to go to Taiwan for these, BUT...wow, I love red bean desserts, and this one repurposed those paper-thin dumpling skins I love to hold in some chocolate-y red bean goodness.
That famous gai dan jai from Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles. My maternal extended family resides in Hong Kong, so they were excited for me to have my first Hong Kong egg waffle IN Hong Kong! I'm a huuuuuge egg waffle fan, and when I talk to my grandma about how much I love these waffles, we just laugh about the name every time. The name literally means little chicken egg, and we just think the name is so fitting for this dessert.
We didn't have a ton of stops on our trip, but that just meant we got to spend some more time at each! First is the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, as Chiang Kai-shek, the former leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party, died in Taipei. The memorial had multiple exhibits, so be sure to check those out when you're there.
Next, we checked out Yangmingshan National Park, where there was a volcano, along with a ton of grass-lined valleys and COWS! Definitely smelled like cow dung, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
Now...onto the National Palace Museum, home to the Jade Bok Choy and Dongpo Pork Stone! You can see how intricate the details are - they perfectly walk the fine line between ultra-elegant and realistic.
Without further ado, this is the giant Merlion...
I hope this guide helped you live vicariously through my 2018 self. I thought a lot about how disconnected I felt with my Chinese heritage, but I’ve been on a journey to understand my roots ever since then. Thank you China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for an amazing, introspective summer. I am so grateful for food on the table and each of these experiences❤️
See you soon,
Carissa 😊