The Southeast Asian country of Laos is home to the serene 4000 islands, locally known as ‘Si Phan Don’. This dreamy destination is complete with spectacular waterfalls, rare wildlife, rich history and an abundance of palm trees. Here’s everything you need to know about the 4000 islands of Laos.
Food and drink experiences in Asia
Asia is home to some of the most delicious and dynamic food in the world. From the world-renowned dishes of Thailand, Vietnam and India to the lesser-known but equally mouthwatering cuisines of Sri Lanka, Laos and Malaysia, the flavours of Asia need to be experienced to be beleived. Here we talk about our favourite food and drink experiences in Asia.
Covering everything from street food to Michelin star restaurants, you’ll learn about favourite places to eat and drink in Asia. From Pad Thai to Kathi rolls, to Pho and dosas, we know the scoop. We also know where to find the best gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian delights.
And it’s not just the food. You’ll find tea plantations in Sri Lanka, India and Southeast Asia, as well as coffee farms (Vietnamese coffee is definitely worth a try) and cocktails galore across the region (mixology is big in Hanoi and Bangkok, and we love arrack, the local tipple of Sri Lanka). And you can’t beat a G&T after an amazing day of experiencing the destination you’re in.
Are we missing any of your favourite food and drink experiences in Asia? If so, we NEED to know them!
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The food from Laos, a Southeast Asian country located between Thailand and Vietnam, is a cuisine we generally hear very little about. Laotian cuisine deserves to be appreciated for its fresh, strong flavours and variety of textures. If you’re thinking about holidaying in Laos, these are the delicacies you need to try.
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Borneo is a cultural melting pot and its food is a reflection of this. With Chinese, Malay and indigenous Bornean influences, there’s a variety of things to try. Here, country expert Lauren shares the favourite dishes she recommends sampling when visiting the island.
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Concerned about ‘Delhi belly’ on a trip to India? India specialist James shares his top tips to staying safe and healthy while travelling.
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Curious to know when to try your favourite tropical fruits in Sri Lanka? Discover when you’ll get the best coconuts, mangoes, bananas and more, and how to best enjoy them.
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Fresh, aromatic and searingly spicy, the ‘real deal’ Thai food is probably nothing like what you have experienced at a local Thai restaurant in the UK. While Thai cooking varies…
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Southeast Asia is a foodie world capital. Yet compared to the exalted cuisine of its neighbours, Indonesian food is often overlooked. So we decided to showcase some of the distinctive…
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ETG travellers John and Lesley recently visited, Chiang Mai where they enjoyed our ‘Thai for a day’ experience. Joining a local family for a tour of their stilted teak Ruen…
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Malaysia
Street food and art in UNESCO heritage George Town: an insider’s guide
by Guest Post & Amelia CurranOur in-country expert, Richard, shares his insider suggestions for a day’s exploration of UNESCO heritage George Town in Penang. Sampling the best street food and art the old quarter has to offer, he makes some fantastic suggestions to help you plan your trip to Malaysia.
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The first time I saw Lucknow was on route to Varanasi – a fleeting visit while I waited for a delayed train – and all I saw of the city was its beautiful railway station. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to experience it a second time. We love the city so much here at Experience Travel Group that we have created our very own signature experience there.
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In 2011 Myanmar (Burma) opened to the world but there was little infrastructure to cope with the influx of tourists and few had had the chance to research experiences beyond the main sites. Five years on, this has all changed. Across the past few years, we’ve sent five of our country experts on reconnaissance missions to explore the best ways to get you under the surface of Myanmar, here travel specialist Matt shares his top 5 new experiences.
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Mark is our expert streetfood tour leader. Made famous within his field by his blog ‘Sticky Rice’, now he and his team of foodie experts guide our travellers to the best stalls to try the most delicious food. Here he explains how he became interested in Vietnamese cuisine and why he does what he does.
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Few days are more important in the Experience Travel Group office than World Gin and Tonic Day. When I asked travel experts for their nominations, a buzz of excitement like electricity burst through the room whilst murmured whispers to each other about not doubling up nominations ensued. Safe to say, we’re passionate about this drink and know a good GnT when we taste one. Here’s our guide to the best in Asia.
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Vietnam
Dinner with Quan, Gordon Ramsey’s Vietnamese Friend and Culinary Expert
by Guest Post & Amelia CurranOn the final night of Philly’s trip to Vietnam she had the pleasure of sampling the culinary delights of Gordon Ramsey’s friend, Mr Rice’s, delicious food at Old Hanoi Restaurant. From succulent ribs to fragrant noodles to musical renditions of Elvis Presley, here’s her review.
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As part of our Christmas menu series, we’re featuring Coconut rice with Mango as our next recipe. It’s light, refreshing and healthy, known in the office as ‘heaven on a plate.’ It’s suitable for vegetarians and with only a few ingredients, is easy to make.
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As the Christmas season fast approaches, we thought we’d divert your mind away from the potatoes, brussel sprouts and turkey with some of our favourite Asian culinary treats. That’s why, over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some brilliant festive recipes with an Asian twist.
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We asked some of our favourite hotels in Vietnam to give us their favourite recipes for classic Vietnamese dishes. Here is what they came up with! Ca Kho To…
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Latest Travel News and Views from AsiaVietnam
Michel Roux Senior and Experience Travel Group!
by Sam ClarkWe are absolutely delighted to tell you that the full article of the trip we organised for Michelle Jana Chan of the Sunday Telegraph to visit Vietnam with the culinary…
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[cycloneslider id=”test-cyclone”] Burma is well known for many things – the friendliness of the locals, the magnificent sight of thousands of temples at Bagan and rural life by Lake Inle…
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Our Travel Consultants regularly travel to the destinations they specialise in. Here David Gookey, one of our Travel Consultants shares his foodie experiences in Thailand…
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In our ‘Travel Tales’ series, our Travel Consultants share their travel stories. Our Travel Consultants regularly travel to the destinations they specialise in. This is how each hotel, experience and…
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Vietnam has some of the most exciting and varied cuisine in Southeast Asia, with stand-out specialities such as shrimp spring rolls, sticky rice and pork belly rolls and the infamous…
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We are super excited here at the Experience Travel ‘traveloplex’ as we’ve finally able to announce our new street food tours in Bangkok. We’ve been trying for years to find people able to help us offer a safe way for our clients to experience the wonder of Thai street food and we’ve finally found the right partners.
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We’re a bit late reporting on this one but it’s still worth mentioning for those of you visiting Thailand this week and next (and in the weeks following too). From…
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Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that some of the contributors have a natural bias toward food-orientated stories. From the start of our very first adventures in Asia,…
Discovering new food is one of the greatest pleasures of travelling – and Sri Lanka is no exception when it comes to tantalising those taste buds.
Indian food enthusiast and travel expert James shares his top 5 recommended food experiences in north India. The restaurant curries in the UK are totally different to authentic Indian cuisine and tasting the real dishes is an enlightening experience. From mouth-watering, juicy chicken and beef kebabs – seasoned with spices – to tapas style potato and chickpea dishes, and lightly fried pakora, there’ll be something for everyone.
We asked the resident chef of Jungle Beach on Sri Lanka’s east coast to share his favourite recipe with us. He chose Trincomalee crab curry, a delicious dish best served with a beautiful view over the sea and a cold drink.
As the Christmas season fast approaches, we thought we’d divert your mind away from the usual festivals foods and introduce to some of our Asian favourites. This week, it’s Sri Lankan hoppers.
Something you hear all over Vietnam is “same same but different”. This means things are familiar but not the same.
In our ‘Travel Tales’ series, our Travel Consultants share their travel stories. Our Travel Consultants regularly travel to the destinations they specialise in. This is how each hotel, experience and…
Nick, one of our Vietnam specialists, went on our evening vespa tour of Saigon. From sampling frog, to secret cafes to learning to maneuver through busy streets, here he shares…