Adventures into Southeast Asia

As many of you know, I am headed to Southeast Asia later this year to visit good friends of mine who will soon move there for a couple of years. It has always been a dream of mine to visit SE Asia, but lack of substantial vacation time, life timing and lack of cash flow were always barriers. Well, as sad as I am to see two fun people leave the states for greener pastures in Malaysia, that means I get to go visit them!

Joining me on my trip--which will involve visits to Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand--are a close college friend and her coworker. In preparation for what will be my first-ever adult trip (adult as in, longer than 3-4 days and involving a passport), I have been researching accommodations, activities, food, flights--everything. I love handling the logistical aspects of vacation and can easily get mired in the weeds of details, details, details. In my downtime from planning, I have been sure to eat my fair share of Asian cuisine to prepare myself for 15 days of culinary bliss.

My latest exploits were at newly-opened Zensai Sushi in downtown Silver Spring, MD. While I would've normally gravitated towards pad thai, sushi, lo mein and a variety of curries, I decided to try something different off the noodle menu.

Called Chiang Mai Noodles, this dish featured a duo of crispy and soft egg noodles with chicken, onion, scallion, sour cabbage and bean sprout in spicy yellow Thai herb with turmeric and coconut milk. It was as good as it sounds! The chicken was tender and noticeably marinated with a memorable flavor. I hope noodle dishes like this are what await me in Chiang Mai. If so, it will be very hard to leave and head back to the states when the time comes. Maybe I should just buy a one-way ticket?

What I do find curious is whether these dishes I eat in the states will taste any different than food from the motherland. I recall my last international trip back in 2000 to Italy where I was initially disappointed by the cuisine since my palate was tainted by American Italian food. I really hope that I don't wish I was back in downtown Silver Spring eating this food (as wonderful as it is) when I am in Thailand. I remain hopeful that I will not be disappointed by the food--but maybe I should lower my expectations just in case?