All About the Food

Travelling to Japan and Thailand has been an unforgettable gastric journey, exceeding our expectations. We chose to travel to these countries, in part, for this very reason – we love their food!

Our goal in Japan was to eat sushi and ramen, ramen and sushi – we had overwhelming success. Noodles and/or rice became our staple for most meals. At breakfast, we struggled to find appealing options. We could not get past wanting yogurt and muesli or eggs and toast, and when did find a place that offered a quasi-Western-style breakfast it was not what we had hoped.

Menus and signs resembled abstract paintings (even with Google Pictures), so we relied on bright-coloured pictures and bold English lettering saying ramen, noodles and sushi. We often had to order our ramen via a vending machine, which was tricky due to the lack of English lettering. It was always a nice surprise. We ate at conveyor belt sushi as it was easy to order, visual and who can resist watching your sushi zoom by!? We loved it.

We stuck to restaurants where we saw many locals eating; we never had a bad meal! Everything was fresh and super tasty. Peter got tired of the rice, I got tired of the noodles. I would have eaten sushi for every meal (I thought I was on my way to getting scurvy by the last day). I miss Japan.

We were very excited to experience all the tastiness of Thailand. We both LOVE Thai food. The food here in Southern Thailand is bolder and spicier than in the north and suited us just fine! The choices are overwhelming, and tastes are a true delight to the senses. We have not been disappointed! Tremendous variety, pages and pages (in English) of dishes, and we struggled with every meal trying to decide which delectable dish to choose.

We had thought we would eat more street food, but we have not seen much of that in the areas we have stayed except at street markets and in one area of Ao Nang. We clued in (duh) and started using Mr. Google to help us choose our places to eat. We only winged it a couple of times; one of those times Peter prayed all night to the porcelain gods (It was pizza).

Food in Railey Beach was meh, better in Ao Nang and to die for here on Koh Lanta. We found a lovely family off-the-beaten-path restaurant where we ate 3 to 4 times while in South Lanta. Best pad Thai ever (sorry Juanita:) We have enjoyed fabulous Indian Food, some of the best we’ve ever had. Most establishments are open-air spaces with maybe three walls and don’t quite have the ambience or comfort to stay past the end of the meal. Everyone is all so kind and the food leaves a lasting impression and that is enough for us.

Our food and drink costs in both countries, especially Thailand, have been extremely reasonable. We have eaten out for most meals (breakfast we usually ate at our Airbnb, and surprise muesli and yogurt!!), but we do often share meals or order an appy and one meal. We were paying, on average, 35$ CAD a day in Thailand, and 100$ in Japan. This is for all food and drink. We can’t go out for pizza and a beer each in Campbell River without leaving 60$ CAD behind.

Sadly we are in the final week of our yummy food tour. We are looking forward to having our variety of choices back but are greatful to have been able to embark on this culinary adventure. Both of these countries have left an indelible mark on our taste buds. We hope to one day experience it all over again.

Koh Lanta Pictures

**I am not a food photographer by any standards**