ASIA - Which country has the best cuisine

Tajikistan - 15 votes

THAILAND

Do not mock the cuisine of Tajikistan - I was talking to someone who worked there for six months and apparently it can be pretty good.

Also I draw your attention to my favourite useless bit of trivia of three months ago, in this Wikipedia entry, namely:

Meals are usually served with нон, flat bread found throughout Central Asia. If a Tajik has food but not naan, he will say he is out of food. If naan is dropped on the ground, people will put it up on a high ledge for beggars or birds. Legend holds that one is not supposed to put naan upside down because this will bring bad luck. The same holds true if anything is put on top of the naan, unless it is another piece of naan.

In Tajik food Top Trumps, clearly naan wins.

Also Malaysian >>>>>>> Thai.

Dude I wasn't mocking Tajikistan, I voted for it.

I'd've gone Japan, but the puddings suck. Akshully is there any Asian country that does a decent dessert?

Gotta be Malaysia. Yummy and cheap, and they do yer other Asian cuisines with their own little touches.

India does good puddings, not a fan of jelebi, buy khir rules, as does sevai payasam.

Indian puddings are usually a bit sickly for me. Mango Kulfi is a-okay tho.

I am torn though - there's India (hello!) but I used to live with a girl who was Sri-Lankan-British and her mum used to bring us massive amounts of food everytime she visited, really great noodle dishes and these amazing fish balls we all used to fight over. And then there's Japan.

Australia has Sausage Rolls, Twisties and Tim Tams. How can we lose??

Australia isn't in Asia, I call foul.

Noodle Vague, remind me never to take you out to dinner with Sepp Blatter then.

Sri Lankan is about on a par with Southern India I think - the food gets better in India the further south you go IMO. Never been that keen on Japanese.

Interesting strategy, taking the position of Australia bigots there! (xpost)

Don't be dissing our noodle shops please, they are quite good.

Playing footie in the Asian group cos you're too shit to go anywhere else doesn't equal being part of Asia. Unless you're saying Israel is in Europe, guys.

In terms of quantities I eat

Indian = Chinese > Japanese > Thai > Vietnamese = Korean

But I'd probably vote Japan>China>India. Donburi & Japanese curry = great comfort food, and Sushi is just the best foodstuff ever. Dim Sum a close runner up.

Israel is in Europe, so is Kazakhstan. I thought Australia went in Asia because they would otherwise on have to play teams like Tonga and New Zealand and therefore beat everyone they ever played in qualifying?

The Middle East might get unjustly diddled a bit here, although I'd struggle to tell you much about the food in several of those countries. Lebanese rules though.

I pity the fool who teached you geography, Matt.

geography pedants are the worst

voted Japan but can't be bothered with they why and wherefore much this time

If there's one thing Australians hate, it's being beaten. They'll get over 20 votes in this poll for the plain and simple reason that they're there.

wait.. doesn't Australia belong to the oceania group that plays off with south america?

xxpost

lol i was waiting for that one. But I can't allow this Rong to go unchallenged.

Australia was transferred from Oceania to Asia in 2006.

Australia was in Oceania but went to Asia because playing Japan, South Korea, et al on a regular basis will improve the quality of Australian football rather than beating Tonga 15-0 on a regular basis. Thanks for your interest!

tempted to vote hong kong for its array of local cheap and dirty foodstalls and no-nonsense probably made of offal and crap but fuck it's tasty cusine.

but then japan do do nice food. but then.. dim sum vs sushi. hard choice. ramen is basically bastardisation of chinese noodles. mmmmm.

and you get to eat pretty much all the fare of China (and Japan! and Korea!) in Hong Kong.. but not as true the other way round. but should that influence a decision??

but then there is SINGAPORE!

Tough. I will probaly vote for India in the end, despite having never been there, though I love Middle Eastern food as well. Of the Asian countries I've actually visited, Vietnam had the best eating.

btw what's the ordering of the countries in this poll?

Grouped by region innit.

i see!

Referring to the debate on the Europe thread, if we're talking quality of available meals in a given place, I'd go for Singapore. If we're talking indigeneous, I'll go for Thailand.

We're going for indigenous really - I'm sure you can get a brilliant pizza in Hong Kong but I'm not going to vote on the basis of it.

Malaysian cornish pasties put the nom in phenomenal

what about hainanese chicken rice? which came from china but the best are the ones you get in singapore?

I eat and cook Vietnamese and Indian the most by far, but I figure if I had to pick one country forever it might be Singapore or Malaysia due to them seeming to combine a lot of different cuisines very well.

Of course this is all based on reading as I've never actually been to any of these places.

this is tough. probably india for me, but malaysian, vietnamese, cambodian, and korean cuisines are phenomenal. i love japanese food too. thai is good but it but it doesn't compare to those other ones, i think. i love middle eastern food too, but the south & southeast asian cuisines are the best.

I think the Southern Mediterranean will need its own poll. Apples and pears and all that.

Although I guess Lebanon will win that one quite easily.

"We prefer Indian"
http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/artists/images/asia.jpg

Was it ILX that introduced me to the (apparently) Australian concept of a meat pie, floating in pea soup? Please tell me this really exists.

Will probably have to go for Thai or maybe Chinese (ok, I have never been to China and most Chinese food I've ever had is probably Anglicised as hell and mostly made by people from Hong Kong anyway so maybe that would be a more accurate but still inaccurate vote) but am sad I haven't tried more of them.

(Actually I've never been to Asia at all and so should maybe not vote - I never got round to voting in the Euro one but the countries I've had the nicest food in were not the countries I'd expected to or would eat in restaurants in the UK)

i wld eat all this asia food

yeah there is no way that i can choose.

hong kong 4tw!

I'd've gone Japan, but the puddings suck

You haven't lived till you've tried green tea ice cream.

North Korea? What is their cuisine, stale bread and contaminated water?

tough poll... i haven't been to india/china/japan, but their food certainly is a front-runner. i have travelled and eaten in southeast-asia, and i loved it all! malaysia in particular. although cambodia might get my vote - khmer cooking is amazing - mmmm... i want some amok trey right now...

indonesia has some really awesome and some really dull food.

Although it's practical for the climate, Tibetan cuisine must be about the world's worst. Parched barley and yak butter tea. That pretty much sums it up.

nepalese food and afghan food seemed like less interesting versions of indian food, but i admit i've had very little of those cuisines (excluding indian food, which i eat quite frequently)

1. Indian
2. Chinese
3. Thai
4. everything else

and everybody who doesn't vote Indian can just please overnight all your samosas to me because you are not worthy of them

Is it true most Indian restaurants have Bangladeshi chefs?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

gotta go with Lebanon, home country and all =P

Dude Surmounter yours is the BITCHINGEST Human League song!

india, the jewel in the crown of asian cuisine.

I never feel full after eating Indian.

Not even like half-full.

You need to eat more. I hafta be rolled out the door.

LOL who voted for australia?

oh yak. Worst result ever.

this is so bollocks

would've thought it would be much closer between India and China

Single person who voted for Northern Mariana Islands, what is the food like there?

Have no idea what I voted for, but I'm fully in China's camp now.

Vietnam: ROBBED.

It's true; I figured it would do much better.

Also: Japan should be much lower on the table.

really cannot believe that someone (ken c?) voted for Hong Kong

As opposed to, what, the Northern Mariana Islands and Kyrgyzstan?

East Asia & Southeast Asia and the subcontinent...plus, HK food is really just a subset of Chinese food, since it's all just Cantonese cuisine one step removed. unless you're talking about all the wacky cafe inventions of HK like fish balls and milk tea.

expensive, high-dining Hong Kong-Hong Kong food is an exercise in sourcing rare, high priced and absurd ingredients like shark's fin, sparrow's nest and abalone, while working-class staples like dim sum/noodle/Chinese BBQ stuff is done much better/much cheaper in Guangdong

Would have voted Afghanistan just to spite Indian food juggernaut.

Afghani food stunning though... Worth the stop at Fremont, CA - tons of Afghan places there.

Nice to see Lebanese picking up a couple.

i had burmese food on friday and it was rad.

Vietnam got completely jobbed.

Burmese food is awesome.

mmm, i like burmese food a lot. or at least what passes for burmese food in nyc restaurants, i have no way of assessing its authenticity.

i should not have opened this thread before lunch, so hungry right now.

i didn't see this poll! i can't believe vietnam only got 2 votes. heck, i'd rather eat in a good vietnamese restaurant than a good FRENCH restaurant.

Or you can get Vietnamese in France at one of my favorite restaurants:

http://image53.webshots.com/153/5/77/64/393157764nKdTzR_ph.jpg

Nice to see Lebanese picking up a couple.

― chap, Monday, August 17, 2009 4:25 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that's what i was thinking!

i'd rather eat in a good vietnamese restaurant than a good FRENCH restaurant.

Total concurrence with this. Lately though, I've been craving Korean food so much that there's pretty much always a large jar of kimchee in my fridge.

i'd basically take any asian cuisine over european cuisine

^^^ ding ding ding

But Vietnamese is probably my favorite Asian cuisine. Certainly it's a fuckload better than India. Stupid brits.

Indian food has to be my all time Fave, especially vegetarian south Indian so many delicious spices all mixed into mind blowing super spice combinations.

Dosas: giant potato crepe sandwiches served with coconut curry and lentil sambar are awesome.

The Burmese food that i have had a chance to eat has been super delicious, combining a lot of what i love about Indian and Thai, great samosas in a sweet and spicy red sauce, lots of spicy egg and bean thread noodle dishes. (anyone in the DC area should check out mandalay in silver spring)

About Filipino food, Not much for vegetarians here, my gf's mom when informed of my Vegetarianism has on multiple times asked to make me dishes that "just have fish" or chicken. Filipinos eat some bizarre stuff, Kare-Kare: oxtail stew with peanut butter and fermented shrimp paste, Halo halo: like an italian ice buffet line containing mysterious gelatinous cubes, and bits of corn, cheese and avacado. they also have a thing for spam, perhaps dating back to WWII influence. Lumpia, The most delicious form of Eggroll/Spring roll i have ever had, served with a garlic Vinegar sauce is great. as are some of the noodly dishes, they are big on whole fish and whole Pig on a stake BBQ. Thinking about ditching my vegetarianism when i visit, need to start training.

But Vietnamese is probably my favorite Asian cuisine. Certainly it's a fuckload better than India. Stupid brits.

― Alex in SF, Monday, August 17, 2009 4:08 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark

Maybe a fuckload better than the Indian you get over there. nb I love Vietnamese, but Indian in king.

sadly, i've never eaten in a great or even very good Indian restaurant. i would love to! most of the places i used to go to in philly were of the all you can eat lunch buffet variety. i mean, i love that stuff too, but i've eaten in great chinese, thai, vietnamese places that would never remind anyone of a cheap take-out joint. and i kinda wish i could have a transcendent Indian meal some day. (also, as i get older, my body is increasingly anti-ghee. especially in some of the cheap places where they re-use the stuff over and over.)

Nope, brits are stupid about food. Sorry it's been proven by science and 100s of years of crappy pub food.

and the brit contribution to haute cuisine over the last ten years or so: love of offal. hey, thanks! always wanted to know what marrow-encrusted tripe on a bed of entrails tasted like.

just kidding. got lotsa love for you:

Hey, Thank The British For Something!

ok so this thread was directly responsible for me ordering papaya salad and green curry w/tofu for lunch.

thanks thread.

Indian food juggernaut

well played

dsb - I hope they don't make you eat balut!

Macau has some interesting food, deserved at least one vote.

Yeah, that looks rather unappetizing! not a good way to ease back into meat eating.

yeah Indian is the only way i can go vgetarian and not feel cheated in some way.

(but Vietnamese wuz crazy robbed in this poll)

Every time this thread crawls up Site New Answers, I expect to see Roger Dean artwork.

So the bulgogi beef recipes I see online look pretty easy. I marinade and grill meat a few times a week. But once I have the bulgogi, where do I bulgogo (kill me) from there? Tacos sound interesting. Over rice with veg sounds safe. I've only ever had bulgogi beef once. It was on a sandwich in LA, and I loved it. I forgot about it, though. Is "bulgogi chicken" a real thing? Please tell me the best way to prepare and eat bulgogi. Or don't, and I'll just bulgoogle it (seriously, fucking kill me).

ssam

lettuce wrap