I love Asian food, and whenever I travel, I try to eat what local people actually eat as much as possible. It has become one of the things I enjoy most about travelling. By the way, I have never had stomach problems from doing this.
This time, I was unexpectedly welcomed by local food from my second day there.
A security guard who lives and works at the hotel where I was staying treated me to a homemade meal he had cooked himself.
He even said, “I like drinking, so I’m good at cooking,” and he genuinely was an excellent cook. I honestly thought to myself that instead of working there, he should open a small local restaurant somewhere.
On another day, I was invited to lunch with him and his son-in-law, who works in the military.
We shared fresh duck dishes together with lots of herbs and vegetables. Meals like that often stay in my memory more than famous restaurants do.
On the morning I left the hotel, one of the cleaning staff took me by motorbike to a local noodle shop and bought me breakfast.
When I look back on a trip, these kinds of natural acts of kindness are often what I remember most.
There are also certain things I end up eating every time I come to Hanoi.
One is black silkie chicken herbal soup.
It looks quite intense, but it is deeply nourishing and genuinely delicious. It feels as though the warmth slowly reaches deep into the body.
Another is balut, which is also considered a nourishing medicinal food.
Many people associate it with the Philippines, but it is also eaten in Vietnam. People say it is good for stamina and energy, and someone even told me, “It’s good for the brain too.”
Foods like pho and bánh mì can easily be found in Japan these days, but unusual local delicacies like these are still difficult to find there.
At local restaurants, English is often not spoken very much.
But when you think about it, that is completely natural. People already have their own language and everyday lives there.
Sometimes we order with gestures, and sometimes we somehow communicate even without fully understanding each other’s words.
I think those slightly inconvenient moments are also part of what makes travelling enjoyable.
Since I love fresh herbs, I really can’t give up Asian food after all!