Eating Locally

We are becoming quiet fond of the local food.  It's the first country we've lived in that we are excited to eat out.  Typically, in other places, we've looked for a good Italian or American restaurant and sort of avoided the local food.  Here, we may not recognize what we are eating, but typically, it tastes good!  

This is a typical restaurant that we ate in one day.  The first clue that it's truly local food is the lack of English.  No English menu, the staff does not speak English and there's not even a picture menu to help out.  Another sign that the food will be good is the crowd around the front waiting to order.

The menu looks long, but everything is simply a combination of meat, rice, noodles and vegetables.  We order through pointing and sign language, typically combined with the help of a sympathetic customer who speaks English.  We always need to have the attitude of "I may not get what I'm expecting so I need to just go with it."  Dining is always an adventure.  For example, the other night we went out.  The restaurant even had plastic molded copies of the entrees.  One looked amazing with beef stew around a pile of mashed potatoes.  As I sat waiting for my dinner to be ready, I kept babbling on about how good the mashed potatoes looked and how I was suddenly craving mashed potatoes.  Big mistake.  Never get your expectations up when ordering food in a foreign country.  My mashed potatoes turned out to be rice covered in a thin sheet of scrambled eggs.  It was rather disappointing.  I couldn't even imagine mashed potatoes while I was eating egg covered rice.  

Several people work up front, taking orders, boxing up meals to go and working the cash register.  The kitchens are typically tiny.  This kitchen was only the size of a typical bathroom.  The women seem to have a rhythm, moving in unison to prepare and plate the food.  

Although I have my days where I just need some good ole American food, I'm beginning to prepare a few local dishes at home.