Some of my favorite past photos to whet your appetite. 

Cuy in Arequipa, Peru

In case you don't get the translation of "cuy" or can't see what's in the photo this is in fact a guinea pig.  Correction, it was a guinea pig until I ate him/her.  It really didn't taste that good.  Was it gamey?  Yeah, kind of.  It wasn't bad, but it's not something I'd do again soon.  The worst part was that it didn't have much meat to it.  Neither do I, so I guess I shouldn't complain.  Here's some interesting background to cuy.  Cuy is a traditional, pre-Columbian dish for the people in Andean Mountains.  Back before Columbus sailing the ocean blue, there were no cows or pigs in the Americas.  Guinea pigs, however, were available.  More importantly, guinea pigs were easier to raise and grow in the mountains.  Or anywhere for that matter.  Try raising a cow in your back yard.  On another side note, Peru has hundreds of different varieties of potatoes.  If I asked where potatoes came from, you would most likely reply with Ireland.  Nope.  Before the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria visited the nice folks of the Americas, potatoes did not exist in Europe or anywhere else.  So in exchange for french fries, baked potatoes and chips, Native Americans received boatloads of small pox. 

Various insects in Bangkok, Thailand

I can lie and say that I ate bugs in my various trips abroad, but I do have some culinary limits.  Call me insectist. In complete defense of bugs, the majority of people in the world do it them.  They are indeed nutritious, more cost-effective, and less destructive to the planet.  More importantly they can't give you silly diseases like mad cow, avian flu, swine flu, or chicken pox.  Really, the further you are away from digesting your own DNA, the more likely you'll avoid serious food-borne illnesses.  Aside from not being cool for the person you're munching on, cannibalism causes essentially the same thing as mad cow disease.  With that said, I can't see eating insects any time soon.  Knowingly.

Fried chicken in Medellin, Colombia

Yes, I ate fried chicken in a foreign country.  I went to a pretty fancy mall in Medellin and noticed quite a few people eating this from what appeared to be a local chain.  How fancy was it?  Well, you can see the plastic glove I'm sporting, right?  I think they only gave me one glove, so I went Michael Jackson on that chicken.  It was good; glove licking good.  Obviously it wasn't KFC I went to.  KFC is huge internationally in case you're wondering.  I went to one in Guadalajara, and it was packed.  The even weirder thing was that it was really nice and two stories tall, unlike the dumps that populate the States.  Okay, enough free advertisement for Colonel Sanders.  At this point, I would like tell anyone who cares about fried chicken like I do living within the Tucson area that Lucky Wishbone is the place to be.  They don't offer gloves, though, you have to provide your own.

Tacos in Guadalajara, Mexico

This is actually round two from a street-side taqueria in downtown Guadalajara.  The fried tacos in the bowl of salsa was freaking awesome.  I literally had a tacogasm right there on the spot; I was like Meg Ryan from that scene in "When Harry Met Sally."   Except I wasn't faking it like she was.  Seriously, words cannot describe what pure, heavenly bliss this little taco transcended upon me.  There is something just quintessentially good about tacos.  They're pocket sized, portable, quick to prepare, inexpensive, offer a huge variety of tastes, and just so delicisoso.  Delicioso means delicious in English.  And tacogasm means....  I'm not sure.   

Singapore Sling and peanuts in Singapore

The Singapore Sling is supposedly a famous drink, but honestly I had never heard of it before going to Singapore.  The bar was pretty cool and had a Colonial era, old-school vibe.  The drink was very much like me:  cringingly sweet at first, but overpowering and intoxicating after a while.  Even though the place was really swanky, they let you toss empty peanut shells onto the ground.  Walking around the bar, you constantly hear crunchy noises; not unlike my place.  So what exactly got me a bit buzzed?  The answer lies in gin, cherry brandy, Cointreau, Benedictine, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and Angostura bitters.  This drink wasn't too cheap, like $12 if I recall.  All alcoholic beverages, as well as tobacco products, are heavily taxed in Singapore. 

BBQ duck, roasted chicken, and vegetables in Hong Kong

I love duck.  I love duck so much I would marry it in a heartbeat and would do it every night.  Sorry about the vulgarity, but I'm professing true, unequivocal love here, people.  You should count yourself highly fortunate that I didn't use a word that rhymes with duck as a verb.  Oh yeah, I would pluck that duck nice and good all right.  This dinner has a unique background story for me because I actually met a Palestinian guy from Israel earlier in the day while visiting Victoria Peak.  We hung out the rest of the day, and I even met some of his family.  He was a cool dude.

Seafood, plantain, and fried something in Lima, Peru

As much as I love living in the land-locked, desert valley known as Tucson, I hate that seafood isn't available; fresh seafood, that is.  I have no idea what I ordered in that picture, but it was the singularly best seafood dish I have passed my lips.  It must have been swimming in the Pacific just moments before cooking because it tasted sooooo fresh.  The sauce was exquisite as well.  Interestingly, I went to another, much more high-falutin seafood place at the end of a pier a few nights later.  It wasn't nearly as good as this dish, and it set me back like $40. 

Shrimp and vegetables in Phnom Phen, Cambodia

Did I mention that I like shrimp?  I think I went to a Chinese restaurant, so this is isn't representative of traditional Cambodian cuisine.  I asked the server if I could get some shrimp with my garlic dish, and I was denied.  If you notice in the picture, there is a ton of garlic with the shrimp.  No wonder I couldn't land any dates on that trip because with a gorgeous face, winning personality, charming smile, and mischievous sense of humor like mine, no woman can resist the temptation of me.  On a more serious note, Cambodia was definitely an eye opening experience.  It was the least economically developed country I have ever visited.  All of your senses are essentially assaulted by the resulting poverty and tragedy that envelops Cambodia.

At this point, I feel the need to take a moment to segue from my normal, light-hearted approach to my travels and focus on something that truly matters to me.  Namely the lives and future of children.  I am a teacher and the education of youth shall always remain foremost in my heart.  These two photos represent some of the most moving and touching experiences in my life.  The photo above was take in a school just outside of Angkor Wat.  I had brought a bunch of supplies from the States with the specific intention of visiting a school like this.  The guy standing towards the right was my tour guide and was extremely helpful in arranging this.  The photo on the bottom was taken at an orphanage in the capital.  This trip was spontaneous, and I had nothing to bring.  I was able, however, to buy some rice for the kids.  These are just a couple of examples of what I witnessed involving children and understanding the absolute true meaning of having nothing.  There are other stories I wish I could impart to convey the depth of what the surface of these photos can only offer.

A little bit of Ethiopian food from Los Angeles, CA

Okay, so LA isn't a foreign country.  However, I wanted to include this because it is perhaps one of my most favorite places to eat when I visit LA, Nyala.  Invariably when I travel to other countries, I do tire of eating same kind of cuisine all the time.  Accordingly, I try to branch out to other types of foods after a while in one area.  I think I've had Chinese in all of the countries stamped in my passport.  Some, like Colombia were excellent.  Some, like Peru, were not so much.  Anyway, I bring this up because I've never seen Ethiopian fare offered elsewhere.   I've actually came across a Mexican restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia and was very close to eating there.  Japanese food is also quite readily available in many places.  While fusion Peruvian-Chinese wasn't too appealing to me, the fusion Peruvian-Japanese was pretty good and had a unique taste.  Like I mentioned earlier, nothing beats fresh out the ocean seafood regardless of how its prepared.  By the way, if you've never eaten Ethiopian, I want to forewarn you of two things.  One is to be prepared for an explosion of flavors dancing on your taste buds.  The other to be ready to use your hands to eat everything.  Rather than forks, knives, or other such fancy cutlery, you will use a sort-of-bread, called injera, to pick up any yummy goodness that is before you.  If you're in Tucson, I would recommend Zemam's to make a bloody mess of yourself.  I have many times and always with a grin from ear to ear.

 Bandeja paisa in Bogota, Colombia

If you asked me WTF is all of that I ate, I would reply to you WTF didn't I eat.  For dessert they serve a defibrillator.  In the bowl in the corner of the photo is soup, I believe.  Though, it could very well be pure lard.  So what is a bandeja paisa?  It is purely Colombian and a fusion of cuisines from  indigenous people, colonial Spaniards, and Africans in a particular region of Colombia.  The mound of protein on the plate includes pork, sausage, pork skin, and an egg.  My cook was nice enough to balance the "health" factor by adding a fried plantain, cole slaw, steamed rice, and a piece of bread.  I actually ordered this dish twice while visiting the country, and I do believe that it almost doubled my weight.  To a whopping 200 pounds.  The other bandeja paisa I had in was in Cartegena and was a little different, but just as pork-laden.  I've read somewhere that some places serve an "extended" version that includes seven meats.  Yeah, that's the first thing I thought when I finished this plate; there's simply not enough meat.  I've never heard those exact words uttered to me, by the way.  Stop the porksanity....

Dim sum in Hong Kong

If I had to  pick one dish that represents the essence of who I am, it would have to be dim sum.  Really it all comes down to the whole variety aspect of dim sum.  I always tell people that the only reason I am still single is because I love variety in everything I do, including women.  Yeah, that's the reason.  For the few of you out there who have never eaten or seen dim sum, you will invariably encounter little, old ladies pushing around carts with numerous and varied kinds of foods.  Dumplings, filled buns, rice rolls, and porridge are some of the things one can nosh on.  Dim sum has a more direct connection to me in that it originated in the same area as my ancestors, southern China.  There's nothing like reconnecting with my roots by eating food straight from the hood.  The literal meaning of dim sum is "point of the heart."  Food in general for the Chinese, including myself, is more than providing sustenance for the body.  Rather it sustains the spirit and soul.   That is why eating, for the Chinese, is always a communal experience.  Life is truly about making those connections with loved ones over a shared meal.  Even in Colombia, I recall a huge family or group of twenty-something Mandarin speaking people eating in a nice Chinese restaurant.  It was kind of disconcerting at first, but that quickly turned into a source of comfort.  It made me think of my own family and how much I missed them, as it was towards the end of my three week trip.  Dim sum is strictly Cantonese, by the way, which is very much different than Mandarin.  Hooray for Cantonese....    

Indian food in Singapore

I've been asked on a few occasions which country is my favorite for food.  Without equivocation, I would reply with the tiny city-state of Singapore.  I am not alone when I say that Singapore is an epicurean heaven unto itself.  Please do not let this diminish the cuisines of the other places I've sampled; I've had many, many great dishes outside of Singapore.  It's just that in overall terms of quality, variety, and price, Singapore is pretty close to the top in each.  Allow me to elaborate for just a bit.  As you will assuredly see soon in future postings, there are something called hawker centers that put Singapore on the culinary map.  Think of an outdoor food court but without the chains or disgustingly, crappy food.  There are a bunch of essentially food stalls that may sell just one or two dishes.  But herein the beauty:  these people only make one or two dishes EVERY DAY they're open.  They have become expert specialists in the food they sell.  Prices at these places are like $2 or $3 for a filling plate of food.  Now as for the variety, Singapore's main ethnic groups are the Chinese, Malays, and Indians.  Accordingly, there are three main types of cuisine offered everywhere.  As you can see, Indian food is one the great foods that can be enjoyed.  Several places, like the one in the photo above, have lunch deals where they plop down a banana leaf and a heaping of rice on top.  Then guys come around with buckets of curries and vegetables, which are also on my "plate."  I also ordered something else, but I can't remember what exactly now.  It is traditional for South Indians and Sri Lankans to eat with their fingers.  At first I was tempted to so for this meal, but I was unsure where my fingers have been that day.  No, I used a fork and spoon like a noob tourist.  On one last sidenote to this endless blathering post, people in Singapore, Thailand and some other countries typically use a fork and spoon to eat.  They use the fork to push food onto the spoon, which is then used to transport the food into the mouth.  See, you gained some useful knowledge from this otherwise useless blog.

I'm getting tired of pasting photos and making witty remarks about food, so I'll stop here.  More is to come, however, as I will depart for Asia soon.  I may have one more pre-trip post when I'm in L.A.  Unless one of my disgruntled students takes my life during finals week.  Believe me, I don't have many gruntled students in my classes who appreciate a true professional educator such as myself.  Hey, why is there a squiggly red line under gruntled?  There it is again...