Rolling Tales:Small adventures by bicycle » day of food

Day of food – Cambodia

Emma — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:40:00 +0000

On the all important food front, it has been thoroughly enjoyable to cross into Cambodia. An abundance of fresh fruit, what we call ‘pot-luck’ dinners (where you pick what you want to eat by seeing what is in each pot) and Cambodian-style icy desserts in all but the smallest towns means we’ve rarely gone hungry. If it wasn’t for the heat regularly robbing us of our appetites, I’d have some concern about the balance of calories eaten vs burnt.

On this day of food we said farewell to a comfortable guesthouse in Kampot with one last Western breakfast, stopped for a snack just before 12pm which made do for lunch, cycled almost 150km when we’d intended to do 100km and ate dinner in near darkness. As you do.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Cambodia.

Breakfast

Two banana pancakes each (sold at a bargain US$1.75) and we figured that we also needed the omelette and potatoes (Justin) and peanut butter and toast (Emma).

Drinks

Sugar cane juice in crushed ice, and iced coffees – typical of our on the road fuelling in Cambodia’s heat.

Lunch

Fried rice with pork and vegetables with both brown and chilli sauce.

Snack

Sour mango and plain muffins (pictured half devoured).

Dinner

Sour fish soup (tastes better than it looks), chilli and fish sauce dipping sauce and steamed rice plus remaining muffin and packet of wafers. Dessert consisted of shaved ice, condensed milk and random jelly stuff not pictured as it melted too quickly!

Day of food – Laos

Justin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:43:00 +0000

The food in Laos outside the more touristic towns consists of the staple noodles and rice prepared in a few different ways. In small villages the options are normally limited with us taking whatever is on offer supplemented with our own supply of biscuits and fresh fruit. The addition of sticky rice to the stir-fried and steamed variety has been great with us often carrying a plastic bag of this as snack food. On this particular day of food we were cycling an unsealed dirt road 95km between Lak Sao and Gnommalath. The road passes through pristine jungle and then alongside the recently created Nam Theun 2 Dam. It was a tough day of cycling and with our lunch in a tiny village and dinner eaten for fuel rather than pleasure the food wasn’t among the best we’ve enjoyed in Laos.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Laos.

Breakfast

Bowls of vegetable and pork fried rice plus a fried egg for Justin. Deep fried spring rolls filled with things like lettuce, rice noodles and mystery meat on the side. Not pictured is some very spicy dipping sauce for the spring rolls. N.B. We didn’t eat all of the spring rolls, eggs and rice pictured!

Snack

We snacked on bananas and biscuits all through the day. The bananas are the tiny sweet tropical variety while the biscuits are our favourite “Jam O’Jam” (similar to a New Zealand Shrewsbury) or the less nice (but hey 12 to a packet can’t be that bad) Jack N Jill plain chocolate.

Lunch

Vegetable noodle soup with our own selection of chilli, fish sauce and MSG added from the table condiments. Accompanied by a side of mint leaves that we added to the soup and ate raw, unsure which style of eating is correct. Drinks of two different iced coffee brands for a taste comparison – Justin preferred Nescafe and Emma the Birdy.

Dinner

A repeat of breakfast – more stir fried rice but this time vegetable for Emma and Pork for Justin (takeaway as our hotel was more than 1km from the only eatery around). Justin had double fried eggs to top his rice. Justin also ate two steamed buns filled with mystery meat and egg that had been floating around our panniers for a few days. That’s a lot of egg!

Day of food – Vietnam

Emma — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:18:00 +0000

With just 11 days spent cycling in one of the more remote corners of Vietnam, we missed all the big cities, so didn’t have a chance to sample a wide range of the country’s kitchen skills. From our brief investigation we can report that the tang of Vietnamese fish sauce was refreshing after the sometimes oil-laden dishes of China, but some days it was difficult to find a variety of vegetables to supplement a meat heavy diet. Despite a few serious food miscommunications (rice served with noodles? just noodles?), the rice bowls of Vietnam fuelled us with enough carbs for a hilly ride to the border.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Vietnam.

Breakfast

Sticky rice with ‘flossed’ meat on top (could be chicken, could be pork) served at a roadside stall outside our hotel. Followed by banh cuon (rolled rice pancakes) accompanied by meat rissoles in fish sauce.

Snack

After 18 months of cycle touring we’re still eating Snickers bars (considering an appeal for sponsorship!)

Lunch

Pho bo (noodle soup with beef) and a plate of scrambled eggs.

Dinner

Stir-fried beef and greens, cabbage, sliced cucumber ( with cabbage soup and bowl of rice not pictured). All other tables at our restaurant served pretty much the same meal.

Dessert

Nine bananas and the rest of a packet of ‘Good Choice’ biscuits. Hunger abated.

Day of food – China

Justin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:03:09 +0000

When we arrived in China we were looking forward to a big change from our Mongolian diet and we weren’t disappointed. Most menus offer a bewildering array of options all of which we are unable to appreciate not being able to read more than a few basic Chinese characters. Our ordering tactics include pointing at dishes that other diners are eating, wandering into the kitchen and selecting from the food on display or using our trusty point and show phrasebook. The cooker is remaining idle as we eat mainly at roadside cafes for prices cheaper than we can buy raw ingredients. Most days include at least one serving of baozi (steamed dumplings), miantiao (noodles) or mifan (rice) with side dishes and this particular day cycling the road between Dali and Kunming was atypical on that front.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in China.

Breakfast

A double portion of baozi filled with minced pork, side dishes of chilli, salt and vinegar and for Justin a bowl of warm milk.

Snack

Wheat digestive biscuits that have a bit of substance in comparison to most Chinese biscuits and some bready twists that were recommended by the customers in a small shop we stopped at.

Lunch

Bakery products including soft white rolls filled with the ubiquitous red bean paste and a sweet crumbly pastry followed by a big bowl of noodles in a spicy broth topped with minced pork and spring onion. Also ate one super-sized baozi each by dipping in the noodle broth, although not sure if this is the normal approach to eating.

Dinner

A couple of our regular dishes including fried aubergine, pork and spicy green peppers and cucumber salad (warm in this case but not usually). A big bucket of rice, a bowl of pickled root vegetables and a dish of sunflower seeds were all served as accompaniments.

Dessert

Half a packet of original flavour Oreo cookies was all we could muster for dessert in the small town we were staying in. With sweet desserts relatively uncommon in China we eat a lot of Oreos.

Day of food – Mongolia

Justin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:26:00 +0000

Our diet in Mongolia has become similar to that of local people with meat high on the ingredients list and few vegetables. As we find it hard to source fresh ingredients we are eating a lot more sugary junk food and as we did in Russia taking every opportunity we can to order food from any roadside cafe we pass. Using the staples of potatoes, carrots and onions in original ways has challenged our cooking skills but on this particular day a can of peas made all the difference to our evening meal.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Mongolia.

Breakfast #1

With oats unavailable in Mongolia outside the bigger towns we have switched to eating Semolina. This morning it included dried apple, fresh apple and honey.

Breakfast #2

Chocolate coconut biscuits and a bar of chocolate that smelled like coffee but tasted like rice crispies. Moving onto a second cafe we had some fresh buuz (Mongolian dumplings) smothered in the always present ketchup.

Snack

Jam filled biscuits and flaky pastries that are a bit like tiny croissants. We are increasingly suspicious that the tiny croissants might be made with mares milk. Yuk!

Lunch

We carried a take-away bag of food from our second breakfast stop containing a mix of rice, beef, potatoes and carrots. This was followed by some plain biscuits not to be confused with the jam filled biscuits from the morning snack.

Dinner

Potatoes, canned peas, carrots and cherry tomatoes were cooked with curry powder and a grain similar to bulgur wheat to make our version of Indian Saag Aloo. A handful of dried apple and apricots was our meagre dessert.

Day of food – Russia

Justin — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Our cycle tourist diet in Russia has swung between feast and famine as we adjust to the growing distances between amenities, the further east we cycle. To counter lack of regular shops, we have started eating lunch out at Russia’s roadside cafe’s and this day was no different with a small snack of left-over lunch ingredients followed by second lunch not long after. From our extensive survey of Russian cuisine, we can report we like it very much!

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Russia.

Breakfast

Still eating morning Porridge – this one with banana, fruit and nuts and cookie crumbs on top.

Lunch #1

Not much bread left, so snack / lunch of cheese, cucumber and salami followed by left over chocolates and sweets. Most of the bread we eat in Russia is darker and denser than the one pictured below.

Lunch #2

Roadside cafe meal of meat and vegetable salad (a-lee-vye) and sweet fritters (a-la-dee) topped with our new favourite condiment, condensed milk!

Afternoon snack

Ice-creams! In cups! Eaten with ice-cream sticks instead of spoons. Two pastries eaten a little later- one with typical meat and onion filling, the other was fish flavoured.

Dinner

Fried Russian dumplings with sour cream and side salad. Possibly our favourite Russian food. Dessert of Russian baby biscuits (the picture, not the potential customer) and bananas.

Day of food – Georgia

Justin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Being in Georgia for five days we thought would give us ample time to document a day of food however as the days ticked by and we forgot to take photos of what we ate we only managed to capture the meals from our last full day. Even on this Easter Monday breakfast had to be quickly recreated once the dinner dishes had been cleared away. Georgian food has some similarities with Turkish food but was different enough to stop our stomachs from getting bored especially with ample supplies of pork products and giant dumplings on offer.

Breakfast

Each morning in Tbilisi we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of yoghurt, muesli, bread and cheese while chatting with our Couchsurfing host.

Morning snack

With only a handful of snack food places open we ate a pair of sub-standard cheese and bean filled pastries.

Lunch

A bar of chocolate for an appetiser followed by toasted sandwich filled with salami, spinach and tomato. Left over cold Khinkali (Georgian dumplings) and Khachapuri (cheese pie) on the side.

Dinner

We cooked our Couchsurfing host Eveline a farewell dinner of baked aubergines filled with mixed vegetables, topped with cottage cheese and bread crumbs. Fried rice with spinach and a mixed salad on the side.

Day of food – Turkey 2

Justin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Our day of food began well with breakfast at our free camp wedged between a newly blossoming hazelnut grove and a slow flowing canal. The weather was warm enough that we could afford a leisurely start to the day enjoying the early morning sun and having a dry tent to pack away. At lunch time the sun was still shining for our stop in the town of Unye before we headed out on minor road around a peninsula to Persembe. Our evening free camp was a different story with a strong wind making cooking difficult as sand quickly filled our pots and pans. In the darkening evening we quickly ate yet another delicious curry prepared by our travelling companion Fred but forgot to photograph it, so below is a picture of an equally delicious curry he made a few days earlier.

Breakfast

Our staple breakfast fare so far is porridge with assorted nuts, dried fruits, cinnamon and on this occasion two bananas.

Morning snack

Cheese and meat borek (in the unusual shape of long fingers for a change) washed down with cay in Terme.

Emma’s secret morning snack

Emma enjoyed a Maximus bar the local equivalent of a Snickers on the sly but did photograph it for the purposes of this post.

Lunch

A mixed picnic lunch with bread, crisps, cheese, green peppers, spicy pepper paste, apple and a can of aubergine dip drenched in oil. Followed by a packet of the new official (in Justin’s opinion) best Turkish biscuits – Tamdabu!

Dinner

Dinner was an Indian style vegetable curry prepared by Fred with potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and rice on the side. Not pictured: best corn bread we’ve ever tasted, sandy side salad of tomatoes and cucumber with free lemon dressing.

Day of food – Turkey

Emma — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:48:00 +0000

This was the final day of Bayram, meaning we were low on food supplies as many small shops were shut. Our shopping list has shrunk a bit in rural turkey with muesli, chickpeas, jam, couscous (and of course pork products) all off the shelves. We spent our second to last day on the road cycling from the edge of Tuz Golu (Salt Lake) then turning East to follow the silk road route passing a number of caravanserai along the way.

The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate in one day in Turkey.

Breakfast

We’ve been eating porridge again lately as the weather is getting a little colder in the mornings it’s a nice warm start to the day. This batch includes pears, dried fruit and nuts and lashings of chocolate spread.

Mid-morning snack

Metro Nuts chocolate bar (Metro! Nuts! It was ok).

Lunch

We started lunch with bread dipped in chocolate spread followed by cheese, tomato and chilli sandwiches.

Afternoon snack

Ice creams similar to Trumpets (or Cornettos for UK readers) eaten in a BP gas station and an over-ripe pear.

Dinner

Beans in tomato sauce with added vegetables served on potatoes with cheese on top and bread on the side.

Moment of food – Greece

Justin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:37:00 +0000

Being in Greece for less than 24 hours as we transited from Bulgaria to Turkey we only had time to document one meal along the way. We ate lunch in the town of Kastanies which was largely deserted on a hot Saturday afternoon before we headed down the road for a cool swim in an empty music festival site next to the Ardas river. The below documents what two hungry cyclists ate for one meal in Greece.

Lunch

Two Giros filled with pork, french fries, lettuce, tomato and mustard washed down by an ice cold Amstel.