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While I wouldnt pick Rome as the best example of Italian there is good food to be had. If you get out of the tourist destinations you will find some of the best food I have eaten anywhere and whats Italian is very different as you move around.
What seperates Singapore from Malaysia is Singaporeans love of food. They are much more obsessed with it and that drives the businesses.
By the way. One small correction to an earlier comment of yours I believe. Anthony Bourdain didnt state that Singapore/Malaysian food was the best. He stated that about Singapore repeatedly. His opinion was that Singapore was the best food destination in the world and anytime he travels through there he carves out time to go out and eat. He doesnt mention Malaysia or KL when talking about that which he has in several shows. Of course he has said that Malaysia has some great food, no doubt, but he says that about everywhere he goes cuz thats his job.
I've been all over Italy. Had some good and some ordinary food. Highlights: actually a vegetarian lasagne at our hotel in Venice I think it was, or Lake Como, a fish dish in Bellagio, pasta in Bologna (the home of spaghetti bolognese), a small pizzeria in Florence and eating my own pizza in Florence, where I did a pizza making class. It was actually probably the best pizza I ate the whole trip! Haha but I had a good teacher.
Yes, I think he said something similar about Penang though. In many ways it is, if you love Asian food but also want a good variety of western food.
One other thing. There was some earlier mention of Bali having some good food. Where please? specific places if possible. Everything I have eaten in Bali, from restaurants to private cooks was bland and quite frankly a huge disappointment. Where is this supposed great food in Bali. It was so terrible the last time I was there I actually broke down and ate at a McDonalds which was the second time in many years of traveling that I broke my rule of never eating American fast food or American food period when traveling. I am ashamed to admit that second one. The first was purely for the novelty of ordering a combo with a beer, so I stand by that one.
In Bali food really varies i wouldn't say that its all good, depending on your taste bud and where you go too. If you just go to some random restaurant at Kuta or Poppies lane then i wouldn't be surprised if you say the food you had is bland. They don't even serve real Balinese food there.
One other thing. There was some earlier mention of Bali having some good food. Where please? specific places if possible. Everything I have eaten in Bali, from restaurants to private cooks was bland and quite frankly a huge disappointment. Where is this supposed great food in Bali. It was so terrible the last time I was there I actually broke down and ate at a McDonalds which was the second time in many years of traveling that I broke my rule of never eating American fast food or American food period when traveling. I am ashamed to admit that second one. The first was purely for the novelty of ordering a combo with a beer, so I stand by that one.
Nomad in Ubud is an institution, operating since 1979 and always packed, for good reason, the prices reasonable, the service great, and above all the food delicious and authentic. Would highly recommend the Balinese 'tapas' about two dozen delightful morsels of Balinese samplers and rice.
Ignore the pic of the burger there haha, yes they also do western, but the Balinese they do is top notch...
Every meal I had in Bali was great, pretty much. We ate at restaurants that were more on the exxy side catering to tourists, but the food was authentic and good.
^ and don't forget that awesome ribs restaurant in Ubud, it was simply wonderful... the seafood are also delicious, we used to eat at Jimbaran whenever we go to Bali, but quality have dwindled there...
^ and don't forget that awesome ribs restaurant in Ubud, it was simply wonderful... the seafood are also delicious, we used to eat at Jimbaran wherever we go to Bali, but quality have dwindled there...
Yeah i wonder what kind of places justanokie ate at because virtually every meal I had in Bali was fantastic.
Yeah i wonder what kind of places justanokie ate at because virtually every meal I had in Bali was fantastic.
Well I mighy have exaggerated a little....but only a little. It was bland. Only been there a few times and the main reason I am gonna go back is because I have access to a sweet villa in the country side that comes with cooks maids and a driver. The food they cooked was very bland and I suspect they altered it to what they think tourists like. Hired a different chef for a night and got the same result. As for restaurants I cant recall names specifically but a few times we just asked the driver to take us somewhere that has good Balinese food. One of those was actually decent but still a bit bland when I compare it to other Indonesian food. Other places we just picked out of the blue that looked good.
I usually only stick to local ethnic restaurants when on short stays of a week or so in one place. If I am there longer I will venture out to other types of restaurants, just not any american chains. I don't research out places to eat unless something special is there. I also rarely eat at touristy locations unless its a snack. I havent ever really had a problem doing things this way before except in Bali. Left me with the impression that its jist Bali food in general.
They're just different, although similar. I prefer Malaysian probably a little more because it's a little more diverse and has a few Indian-influenced dishes you can't find in Thai (I mean really Indian food) but overall it's almost a dead heat. Either way, those who KNOW hold Malaysian food in very high regard, at least on equal pegging with Thai. But everyone has their own opinion, no point arguing about subjective opinions any longer.
I generally find Thai a lot more diverse and intricate. I think it's probably because Thailand has a mostly sustained lineage of development with a large class of people who can support different cuisines while also inhabiting a fairly large and diverse land area which means different crops and cooking styles.
That or I tend to like spicy foods. I really like Thai food. Malaysian food is great--just prefer Thai.
Here is southeast asian cuisine for me:
Thai
Vietnamese
Indonesian
Singaporean/Malay
Cambodian
Filipino
Can't tell you much about Laos and Burmese. I've had them, but just one or two occasions. Seemed good, but can't really make much of an opinion based on having tried so little. I did love this smoky tea leaf salad in this Burmese restaurant in Shanghai though.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 04-24-2014 at 09:00 AM..
I generally find Thai a lot more diverse and intricate. I think it's probably because Thailand has a mostly sustained lineage of development with a large class of people who can support different cuisines while also inhabiting a fairly large and diverse land area which means different crops and cooking styles.
That or I tend to like spicy foods. I really like Thai food. Malaysian food is great--just prefer Thai.
Here is southeast asian cuisine for me:
Thai
Vietnamese
Indonesian
Singaporean/Malay
Cambodian
Filipino
Can't tell you much about Laos and Burmese. I've had them, but just one or two occasions. Seemed good, but can't really make much of an opinion based on having tried so little. I did love this smoky tea leaf salad in this Burmese restaurant in Shanghai though.
Yeah, I mean, it depends on my mood...although usually when I'm in the mood for Malaysian I could also do Thai and vice versa. It's in the same sort of ballpark for me. I guess Thai food has a lot of sweet/sour tastes too.
Hard to imagine any cuisine more diverse than Malaysian, though...also I'm not sure if you've tried classic Peranakan/Nyonya cuisine. If you talk about intricate and diverse...
Yeah, I mean, it depends on my mood...although usually when I'm in the mood for Malaysian I could also do Thai and vice versa. It's in the same sort of ballpark for me. I guess Thai food has a lot of sweet/sour tastes too.
Hard to imagine any cuisine more diverse than Malaysian, though...also I'm not sure if you've tried classic Peranakan/Nyonya cuisine. If you talk about intricate and diverse...
I am sure there are many other countries who have richer history of cooking technique that resulted much more variety of food available, in Malaysia you can have 3 different kind of main food which is pretty amazing discounting the types of food from east Malaysia (though seems not to be that popular) but after a while i lived there it's just that this feeling of diversity is just lost, basically what you have in Penang could be experienced in KL, Singapore, Malacca or Ipoh too and for most of the time they are all alike, to me that's like where is this variety? as compared to Thailand where the food could really actually vary regionally from south to the more colder north or Indonesia from isles to isles.. and the world of gastronomy itself is wide and i mean you must admit it that there are many country with good deal of varieties of food, what is Malaysian cuisine anyway? is it Malays? or Chinese or a mix of them? what kind of varieties are you seeking? Peranakan food do have good numbers of dishes but i think we could still find a better variety deal in many other country.
I still think there is an uneasiness on the part of Americans to visit Malaysia & Indonesia because of the predominant religion there...I heard as much from many before/after visiting there. And there have been bombings in Bali attacking Westerners.
As much as I love Thai food, Malay food is better imho.
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