I have been an Asian food freak all of my life, even when I had limited access to its many cultural manifestations. Maybe it's because my opportunities were slim (the Chinese restaurant, that small town institution, did not exist where I grew up) that I relished each Asian meal, the occasions usually being dinner away from home while travelling long distances by car with my family. I can recall many Asian "firsts:" the first time I tried duck served with a sweet red sauce and coated in chopped peanuts; buying a plate of samosas stuffed with potato, garden-fresh green peas and coriander and a plastic container of mint-coriander chutney; noticing the light citrus flavour in "Orange Beef" and meditating on its remarkable subtlety.
Some types of Asian food escaped me altogether until I travelled. The first time I sampled Pad Thai, served piping hot on a small paper plate from a roadside vendor's wok on Khao San Road in Bangkok, was my informal introduction to Thai cuisine. Same goes with the dishes of Cambodia. I wish I had snapped pictures of the fruit salads I tried there, but I was probably too mesmerized by their beautiful arrangements. Some salads were almost too pretty to eat.
Vietnamese dishes (in the restos of this city, anyway) include a limited repertoire of items, but nevertheless have plenty to offer: fresh ingredients, cute presentation and great value. I can't help but smile when a plate of Shrimp Summer Rolls, accompanied by a bowl of peanut-y dipping sauce, appears in front of me. Can you?
