Flavors of Southeast Asia

The morning market teaches more than the review. There you see what is in season, what people eat standing up, and which stall has a line of locals. Start there, even if you sit down to eat later. The judgment stays with you for the rest of the trip.

Bring a little cash and go back if the stall is worth it. Buying everything on the first pass fills you up and wears you out. A juice, a fruit, and one plate are enough to know whether you want to repeat it in the afternoon.

A useful rule: one spicy dish, one fresh dish, and one that feels like breakfast even if it is night. Then the table has contrast and you are not stuck with four versions of the same thing. If you are somewhere for noodles or soup, share one and order something beside it.

Ask for the real heat, not the heat for tourists, and start low. You can add. You cannot take it out. Water and something fresh should be on the table before the first bite surprises you.

Note the stall you want to return to: the corner, the color of the awning, the dish. The trip is remembered for a broth, a fruit, or a sauce more than for the list of cities. Without that note, two days later you no longer know which one it was.

Leave one meal unplanned so you can repeat that stall. The famous restaurant can wait. The stall that changed your afternoon is not always there tomorrow, and that second visit is how the trip closes.