[PER]∎ Download Ant Egg Soup The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos Natacha Du Pont De Bie 9780340825686 Books

Ant Egg Soup The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos Natacha Du Pont De Bie 9780340825686 Books

Download As PDF : Ant Egg Soup The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos Natacha Du Pont De Bie 9780340825686 Books

Ant Egg Soup The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos Natacha Du Pont De Bie 9780340825686 Books

This book was a pretty interesting read and kept my interest through its entirety. I have the attention span of a fly, but was able to read it continuously on a 4 hour flight. There were some things that irked me about the editing, but that is rather minor. Some of the spellings were not consistent or phonetically correct, in my opinion as a Lao person. Also, she called Lao people "Laotians," which I'm pretty sure, is not the correct term. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book, especially the history of Laos and its people. I probably will not try the recipes though, since I grew up on "Americanized" Lao food, i.e., with more meat and less fish/frogs/veggies. Plus, I have my mom and grandma.

Bottom line, I would recommend this book.


Tags : Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos [Natacha Du Pont De Bie] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><div>Natacha Du Pont De Bie is no ordinary tourist. She'll trek for hours or even days in search of a good lunch. <I>Ant Egg Soup</I> is the result of her adventures in Laos,Natacha Du Pont De Bie,Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos,Hodder & Stoughton,0340825685,Asia,East Asia, Far East,Asia - Far East,Classic travel writing,Cooking Regional & Ethnic Asian,Cooking Wine,Customs & Traditions,National & regional cuisine,Regional & Ethnic - Asian,Regional & Ethnic - Thai,Travel,Travel & holiday,Travel Asia Far East,Travel Essays & Travelogues

Ant Egg Soup The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos Natacha Du Pont De Bie 9780340825686 Books Reviews

"Ant Egg Soup" is not merely food writing--my fear is that a lot of people who would love this insightful, fascinating description of a journey through Laos will not read it because, not being very interested in food, they will assume there's nothing in it for them. On the contrary by the time we finish this book art, politics, agriculture, all the essential features of human life will have been touched upon; mostly, however, it is the lives of the people the authoress met, sketched with wit and warmth, that one comes away from this book with. Miss DuPont de Bie seems to have been able to penetrate the interior life of the people she met; rarely have I read a travel book which felt less like peering dimly at the incomprehensible through frosted glass.

Of course food is the constant unifying theme of this book. I was moved by it to buy a fairly full set of Lao cookery and ingredients (possible, more or less, here in New York) and try out some of her recipes, and they really are great. But--and I'm really not exaggerating when I say this--the non-foodie reader who really wants to know about life in Laos today will get more from this book than from almost any other book on the subject.

This book is largely the record of a love affair that of the authoress with a people, culture, and lifestyle she is clearly crazy about. But it is not naive on the contrary there is throughout a very open and realistic description of all the evils she comes across. Litter, dishonesty, corruption, even, in one horrifying passage, an attempted rape, all put in an appearance and it is because her love for Lao culture survives these encounters that we believe her, that we accept her overwhelmingly positive account as mature judgement rather than infatuation.

One last point Ant Egg Soup is probably best read, like most books, from beginning to end, but it also lends itself very well to excerpting, so much will not be lost if you want to simply sample bits here and there.
Natacha Du Pont De Pie's grass-roots-level account of her culinary expedition through Laos is fascinating, enthralling, inspiring, delicious, and well written. She evokes her (mostly) warm interactions with local residents, culture, and the natural environment along the way as skillfully as she brings to life the essential smells & combinations of Lao flavors. All these things earned her deep affection, which she conveys with enthusiasm and a refreshing lack of pretention. She also adds sufficient cultural and historical context to serve as an excellent teaser for those readers for whom this book might be an introduction to this country of material poverty and human riches.
Although the treatise of a royal chef (Phia Sing, Traditional Recipes of Laos) is a touchstone for her journey, more often the passport into ordinary kitchens and family dinners is her genuine curiosity and readiness to roll up her sleeves to chop, pound, simmer, and taste. Her experiences certainly ring true and at least partially timeless; in 2014 I could easily identify some of the specific places, situations, and foods described in the narrative from 2000.
The context for this exploration of cuisine is a backpacker-style trip of simple pleasures and no frills, which accords with the author's bohemian upbringing. This approach also meets Laos on its own terms - humble and full of life. If the annoyances (bugs, no mattress, Golden Triangle drug tourists, a loathsome millionaire sexual predator) seem too daunting, people with an interest in following her footsteps should know that it is also possible to journey in greater comfort and still eat authentic food in selected locales that have more tourism infrastructure. If using the book as a guide to specific foods, one could wish for an index. In compensation, there is a helpful appendix to (UK) sources of ingredients for those wishing to recreate the numerous recipes, and a list of reference works for further exploration.
The author loves food and loves Laos, which really helped me in a recent bike trip through the country. I followed her guidance and tried a few foods I would probably not have tried otherwise, such as kai pen (dried river weed with tamarind and sesame), pa dek (a seasoned fermented fish sauce containing chunks of dried fish), and laap pa (a spicy mixture of chopped, marinated fish) all of which became favorites. Her book also helped me forge a more intimate connection with the country and people that deeply enriched by travels. She is very adventurous and nearly fearless. I loved experiencing Laos and Lao food through her narrative.
This book was a pretty interesting read and kept my interest through its entirety. I have the attention span of a fly, but was able to read it continuously on a 4 hour flight. There were some things that irked me about the editing, but that is rather minor. Some of the spellings were not consistent or phonetically correct, in my opinion as a Lao person. Also, she called Lao people "Laotians," which I'm pretty sure, is not the correct term. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book, especially the history of Laos and its people. I probably will not try the recipes though, since I grew up on "Americanized" Lao food, i.e., with more meat and less fish/frogs/veggies. Plus, I have my mom and grandma.

Bottom line, I would recommend this book.