I’ve been fortunate to have had one of of your bucket list items, #10 ema datshi, in Bhutan. We absolutely loved this chili/cheese concoction. We were so surprised by the extensive use of cheese in Bhutanese cuisine and the amount of peppers that are consumed is astonishing. Roof after roof would be covered with chilies, out drying under the sun.
I heard that Bhutan is the only country in Asia where chilis are regarded as a vegetable, rather than as a condiment!
I’d have loved to try and cook ema datshi myself, but I don’t know what kind of cheese here would be a good substitute for the “yak cheese” the Bhutanese use.
A ubiquitous dish, not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia and Singapore. I guess it’s because every Southeast Asian country will have its own iteration of the dish: sinangag in the Philippines, khao pad in Thailand, etc. The list tried to highlight somewhat “unique” di shes.
The header on the CNN original is ‘50 of the best street foods in Asia,’ not "the 50 best.’ So, some subjectivity, maybe going-to-press deadline haste, involved, no doubt. I still find it very interesting.
I found 12 on the list I’ve had (all here in Houston) just scrolling through and added one more when I looked up the terms I am not familiar with. Looking through the picture gallery on CNN, I couldn’t add any more, but that list has only 40 entries.
Only one of the 13 I’ve had was actually from a street vendor: Vada Pav, the first time.
Anyway, very interesting list and discussion to me. I’m going to have to get a bigger bucket, though, for my Asian Street Food Bucket List
