Travelling as a Coeliac

On a bit of a side note, I wanted to write a brief post about our experiences of travelling with people in South East Asia who had coeliac disease. As a dietitian, I took an interest in how they were managing on a continent where beer, bread and egg noodles are everywhere and language barriers often make it very difficult to communicate specific needs.

Some of the biggest grievances that travellers who we met with coeliac disease shared with us included:

1) Paying more for alcohol as beer is the cheapest drink across South East Asia.
2) Soy sauce (non gluten free) is in the majority of dishes.
3) Cross contamination at buffets/ restaurants/ street food stalls/  organised trips where food is included.
4) Language barriers: making special requests wasn't a problem and appeared to be well understood, however a meal would then regularly be served with bread on the plate, particularly in Laos.
5) Having a lack of variety as it is easy to chose the same dishes which are known to be gluten free over and over.

Coeliac UK offer some great travel advice for a number of countries, but there are no sheets specific to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam or Laos. Here are 5 top tips to help you if you are travelling South East Asia as a Coeliac:

1) If you are going on any organised trip or tours that include meals, tell the tour operator in advance. They almost always speak very good English and can translate your dietary needs to the chef for you.
2) Look out for restaurants with open kitchens. That way it's easier to point to ingredients containing gluten and ask for them to be omitted from your order, with less communication barriers.
3) Be aware of street food as you may order a dish that is gluten free based on its ingredients, but becomes contaminated by the single wok that is used, and very rarely cleaned between dishes. Some street food options are less risky such as BBQ'd bananas, fresh fruit and smoothies, and sauce free grilled meats.
4) Stock up on gluten free snacks when you find supermarkets in big city's. Many of these are imported from Australia and so come with a higher price tag, but can prove priceless in areas where you are limited to contaminated street food and have restricted choices.
5) Be aware that gluten free eating (and drinking, if you drink alcohol) is likely to be more expensive and factor this into your daily budget. It won't always be the case, but it helps to be prepared in order to maintain your health and a varied diet.

On a final note, seek advice from people who have done it before. There are a number of travel blogs dedicated to gluten free eating abroad, with some really useful hints and tips based on first hand experience. Some examples are listed as links below:

Coeliac Backpacker

Coeliac Travel
Gluten Free Traveller

Laos

We spent a total of 8 nights in Laos, cramming in as much as possible in our short time there. From bike rides to elephant training, spending time in monasteries to tubing, we covered a wide range of activities that were at polar ends of the scale, and left us wishing we had longer to spend in this beautiful country. Our trip was divided into three parts: Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang and the food differs greatly between these regions. 

Vientiane

We only spent 2 nights in Vientiane and therefore didn't have too much time to explore the cuisine there. It was Chinese New Year: not widely celebrated in Laos, however our hostel manager was Vietnamese and he put on a complementary buffet for all of his guests. It was very difficult to differentiate the food in Vientiane from Vietnamese cuisine, as it has also maintained its french influence, with baguettes being a staple street food much like Banh Mi. Noodle soup (see full image) and pork with sticky rice are also in abundance. Here we are enjoying some in Vientiane night market.

Vang Vieng

Our main reason for visiting Vang Vieng was to go tubing. Everyone who visits Vang Vieng is visiting to go tubing. Therefore, exploring the cuisine wasn't at the top of our priority list. We did however, try the fragrant, national dish, Larb. Served with sticky rice, this dry mix of spiced mince and fresh herbs is traditionally eaten with your hands. It would be easy to confuse with Northern Thai dishes, as bamboo sticky rice is served everywhere North of Bangkok. However, many of the inhabitants in these regions originate from migrating Laotians, explaining some of the similarities that are seen between the neighbouring countries.

Luang Prabang 

Our time in Luang Prabang started less than comfortably, as we arrived at 2am on a "sleeper bus" to a deadly quiet town with boarded up guest houses and nowhere to go. After passing multiple signs saying "no vacancies", we gave up on our search for accommodation, seeking solace at a monastery. I'm sure that the Monks would have shown us great hospitality, had we not been chased out of the grounds by guard dogs, which resulted in us sleeping rough on a park bench until dawn. Sleeping rough was actually a blessing in disguise as it meant that we were awake and in a prime spot as locals and tourists alike emerged to give Alms to the Monks. Sticky rice, chocolate bars, fruits, vegetables and biscuits were just some of the offerings that were piled into the Monks metal bowls. It's an amazing experience to encounter, and you can witness it if you head to the monastery at sunrise any day of the week.  Just don't be tempted to buy offerings from the opportunistic street vendors if you arrive unprepared. The Monks consider it dirty food and throw it away after receiving it.(see full image)

Much like Northern Thailand, in Luang Prabang BBQ's are everywhere, the best being those located near to the fresh food market. Live fish in buckets and chicken in baskets clutter the stalls and surrounding streets, creating noisy obstacles and an assault course type atmosphere. Some of the live stock are a little more exotic, including turtles and frogs which are butchered on site. It's not a pleasant thing to see and is a world away from the pre-packed meat that we are so used to buying from the supermarket. However, it guarantees fresh produce and every bit of the animal is always used!

The night market is an Aladdin's cave of hand crafted souvenirs, traditional dress and of course, street food. For less than £1 you can get an all you can eat vegetarian buffet, which you can easily add meat to by picking up a kebab, sausage or a pork chop from one of the many BBQ's.(see full image)

The baguette made yet another star appearance, with row upon row of neighbouring stalls with identical menus. A highlight for me was the tuna and avocado sandwich that I washed down with a fresh fruit shake. Delicious! 

Vietnam

Where to start with this one. Vietnam is a culinary delight and without doubt, my favourite place that we visited in South East Asia. Our journey here started in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) where we were lucky enough to stay with my friend from University who lives there. Exploring as a backpacker is a great way to discover a place, but if you're shown around by a resident, it opens up whole new doors. 

International cuisine 

Ho Chi Minh has a lot of expats and so international cuisine is everywhere. In fact, some of the best international cuisine that I've ever eaten is in Ho Chi Minh. There were 2 knock out places which blew the budget, but, we saved on accommodation and were assured that we wouldn't want to miss out. The first is an Italian called 4P´s.The wood-fired oven pizzas are delicious and taken to a whole new level when you add a huge blob of homemade, burrata cheese to the centre. This is lovingly spread across each slice by your waiter, leaving your mouth watering as you watch and anticípate taking a bite.(see full image)

The next place holds with it a rather huge claim... I ate the best burger of my life there. Granted, it was at 10am following a 12 hour karaoke stint, but, just to be sure we went back for a second time and were just as astounded. If you look past the retro decor of Mogambo, you won't be disappointed. The owner´s are a wonderful, eccentric couple who are happy to advise on the best dishes and take great pride in their food. Even so, my advice would be: don´t even bother looking at the menu. Just order a Coronary Bypass Burger and prepare to be blown away. (see full image)

Hoi An

Hoi An is a beautiful, historic town(see full image). By night it grows even more stunning, as the central canal glitters with floating lanterns, bobbing along under the colourful Japanese bridge. This was the setting for a rather special meal on board a canal boat at The Pink Flamingo floating restaurant. The food here is prepared in the open kitchen which is entertainment enough, but we were also lucky enough to be serenaded by an acoustic guitar as we watched the chef work at record speed. We only had a couple of beers with our meal which was probably a sensible move, considering that you have to walk a plank to enter and exit.(see full image)

 

Vietnamese food

So that's pizza and burgers covered, now onto Vietnamese cuisine itself. If I were to describe it in three words they would be fresh, fragrant and flavoursome. I really could talk about it all day, so instead I´ll summarise some of our favourites below:

 

Banh Mi

Bahn Mi is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread, but is most commonly associated with baguettes which were introduced here in French colonial times. Street carts selling delicious sandwiches are ten a penny, particularly at night when you find hoards of tourists chowing down on a pate and pork filled roll in the early hours of the morning. My favourite Banh Mi (and believe me, we tried A LOT) was in Hanói, in a small shop located a few doors down from the Downtown Vietnam Backpackers Hostel. But... if you´re nursing a hangover (highly likely if you stay here!) and that seems like too far to walk, the beef chilli nachos there are awesome.

Sizzling skillets

I don´t know the Vietnamese name for this dish and I don´t know the name of the restaurant that we ate it in, but I do know that this meal was delicious. It´s served as a red hot, sizzling platter of luncheon meat, sardines, egg and laughing cow cheese, with a side of bread, french fries (optional) and tender steak served in a flaming bowl of butter. Without trying it, I would contest that this strange combination would never work but believe me it does and for around £1 per person, it can´t be beaten for value. (see full image)

 

Phở

Pronounced ¨far¨, this herb enriched, fragrant soup is delicious and probaby the most famous Vietnamese dish. It also happens to be one member of the hungry backpackers favourite meal... he couldn´t get enough of the stuff. Personally, I prefer the slightly richer, stew versión, Phở Bo Kho,(see full image) but which ever you choose, be sure to customise it to your taste with the addition of basil, mint, chilli and sugar. It´s the perfect light lunch.

 Vietnamese spring rolls

Differing from their Chinese cousins, Vietnamese spring rolls aren´t deep fried. In fact they aren´t cooked at all and consist of rice paper stuffed with lettuce, herbs and veg or prawns. I would have really enjoyed them if they weren´t  full of corriander, but I´ll certainly be making my own version at home as they´re packed with goodness and would make a great packed lunch (see full image).
 

To wash all off this amazing grub down, what better than a glass of fresh beer.  Many restaurants and bars brew their own, selling it for as little as £0.06 a pint. Just be careful if you stop by for a beer on your push bike as it's easy to get carried away on these unregulated brews. 

On a final note, don't be misled that every street cart will be selling delicious treats. It took me almost 3 weeks to notice the flashing lights on some of the carts saying 'Chien'. For those of you who aren't familiar with French, that means dog and for sale are some rather innocent looking kebabs of mans best friend. We weren't brave enough to try them but they were selling like hot cakes (see full image).