A city so modern, yet historic and traditional. Steam and various smells rising from street food stalls. Skyscrapers rising out of the smog. Shanghai isn’t known as a tourist city – which is most blatantly obvious in the difference in amount of people walking around during the week compared to the weekend. There aren’t tourists…

What’s it all about? Dim sum is a style of food from Cantonese China and Hong Kong. It originated in teahouses along the Silk Road, offering tea and a snack to weary travelers – giving birth to the tradition of yum cha. Yum cha today is most often used for the act of getting a group…

One of my top meals in Houston. Located in the Middle Eastern strip mall on Richmond, near Westpark Tollway and 59, and right next to Cedars Bakery – another favorite Houston spot of mine – Al Aseel caters to a wide variety of clientele. It focuses on Mediterranean food, in the broadest sense. You’ve got…

Morocco is a  part of the Maghreb region of Africa, which also includes Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania. This portion of North Africa is a mix of influences – ranging from the Roman Empire and the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate to French colonization. This region has fascinated me because of this rich mix of influences. My only…

Nam Giao, featured on David Chang’s Ugly Delicious, is in a run-down shopping center off Bellaire. I turned off a couple times too early before actually finding this place. Nam Giao specializes in cuisine from Huê. This is one of only a couple restaurants in the city that do, in addition to the bún bò…

Huê, in central Vietnam, was the imperial capital, ruled by the Nguyen Dynasty for over a century before French colonization really took over, forcing the emperor to abdicate in 1945. The city is particularly known for its imperial citadel – what’s left anyway after the Vietnam War and resulting neglect by the communist regime. When…

Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, is a food HAVEN. It’s located in southern Vietnam and is also the country’s crowded business center. You may have to dodge people riding their scooters on the sidewalks, because the streets are so packed, but it’s worth venturing out for the city’s incredible, and cheap, cuisine. Bun Mam…

Hanoi. The capital of Vietnam, and an absolute cacophony of sounds, sights and smells – a  true sensory overload. Walking along the beautiful tree-lined boulevards, you’ll have to dodge both the sparks from the welders on the sidewalk and the never-ending swarm of motorcycles. The museums and surrounding areas of Hanoi are spectacular – to…

I talk so much about Anthony Bourdain that I figured it was time to have an article dedicated to him. I love Bourdain. His ability to show a different perspective on misunderstood areas of the world such as the Middle East and Africa. His focus on food as a window into different cultures. His willingness…

The Myth of Authenticity When you visit an ‘ethnic’ restaurant, you’re often looking for it to be ‘authentic.’ You want the cooks to look ‘authentic.’ And the clientele to look ‘authentic.’ I’m guilty of it, too. If I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, and there are more white people than Vietnamese people, and the decor…