Traveller's Story: My Exotic Food Adventures

During several trips to Asia, Odynovo (formerly Odyssey Tours) regular customer Elliott Brender discovered a plethora of new and exciting dishes and snacks. Here he shares his exotic food adventures in China,  Vietnam and Cambodia.

Who am I? My name is Elliott Brender. I am a retired general and colorectal surgeon. I am a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine.

In 2008 I began doing volunteer surgical missions to Cambodia and returning from my trips through either Hong Kong or Shanghai. This is where I got involved with China Odyssey Tours.

I have traveled 3 times now with China Odyssey Tours. The first time was after a volunteer mission. Instead of returning through Hong Kong I decided to go through Shanghai and make a side trip to Guilin.

I have been asked how I select my restaurants. With the help of the television food programs, such as Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Foods". I check the Michelin Star Ratings, and I use the internet.

Ever since I was a teenager I became interested in foods, foods of all kinds. I grew up in a Jewish-Italian neighborhood in Queens, NY. There were many Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. I tried calamari (squid) and scungilli (octopus). I used chili flakes to enhance the flavor of the dish. We ate Chinese food every Sunday night. Shrimp and lobster sauce was a family regular. I experienced and liked hot Chinese mustard.

In high school, we studied Spanish so our class took a trip into the City (that is what we call Manhattan) and I had my first experience with Mexican food. Carne asada enhanced with tabasco, refried beans, rice, and tortillas. At the 1964 World's Fair, I went to the African pavilion and had cold peanut soup and lobster cooked with honeydew melon. Fantastic.

I went to college in the Bronx but got into Manhattan frequently. I discovered Indian food and shrimp vindaloo. I was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Vietnamese, Thai, and Southeast Asian cuisines were quickly added to my experience. I loved the food and I loved the spice. Thai food especially but Vietnamese can be quite hot as well. I went to Hong Kong in 1972 and I discovered real Chinese food. I learned there are 8 different varieties of Chinese food. I loved Sichuan because of the spice but Yunnan was quite spicy as well.

1997 was my first trip to China. The Great Dam was starting to be built and it was a see or lose forever the Great Gorges. We flew to Beijing, then Xian, then Chongqing where we boarded a riverboat down the gorges to Wuhan. Prior to boarding our boat, we ate at a Holiday Inn and I had the honor of being invited to a hot pot with the crew and the Chinese guides. Everyone else ran off to the French restaurant. I poked my nose in on the crew who were eating in a separate dining room. I asked "what are you guys eating?" hoping for an invitation which was politely offered. That turned into a fantastic evening. There was a big yin yang symbol and half the pot had boiling clear water; the other half had boiling red water, obviously spicy. I spoke no Chinese, the crew spoke no English, but the Chinese guides did. We spent the evening talking back and forth through interpreters and trying different meats and vegetables in the two sauces. The spiciest was soaking vegetables in the red water. They apparently absorbed the spicy fluids. The weirdest food I ate, the lining of blood vessels which cooked up like a chip. They were amazed by my spice tolerance and that I didn't react. We had a great time.

First stop - Shanghai, and soup dumplings, one of their local specialties. Din Tai Fung. Now with branches worldwide, they make excellent soup dumplings. I love Chinese dumplings. 

Left: Spicy Pork Noodles    Right: Soup Dumplings

Left: Giant Soup Dumpling    Right: Fried Dumpling

Left: Entrance    Right: Reception

Left: Thai Zeed    Right: Tea Leaf Salad

Left: Spicy Pork and Vegetables    Right: Dessert

Left: Jade on 36    Right: Interior

Left: Brandy Alexander     Right: Molecular Appetizers

Left: Soft Egg Cooked at 65 Degree with some Lemon Jelly and Homemade Sauce Lobster
Right: Foie Gras

Left: Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant    Right: the Chef Carvesa Peking Duck

Left: Chinese Bitter Melon    Right: Duck Feet

Left: Pickle    Right: Condiment's for the Duck    

Left: Goose Liver, Truffle Jelly, Avocado    Right: Spicy Beef

Fried Chicken

Left: Greetings from the Staff    Right: Appetizing Cold Dish

Left: Venison Brain with Chinese Herb Soup    Right: Bird-Shaped Steamed Prawns

Left: Braised Deer Pizzle with Hot Sauce    Right:  Fin & Shredded Chicken

Left: Sesame Cakes with Minced Meat    Right: Camel's Paw with Garlic

Left: Roast Beef Steak    Right: Braised 4 Kind of Treasures

Left: Deep Fried & Sauteed Fried Mandarin Fish    
Right: Braised Mushroom with Minced Fish & Vegetable

Left: Mixed Fruits    Right: Small Assorted Cakes

Mapo Toufu in Chengdu

Left: Entrance    Right: liáng cài   Cold Dishes

Left: máo bǐ sū  Crispy Calligraphy Brushes filled with ground    
Right: Pork fried taro root and Black Garlic

Left: Black Truffle on Egg    Right: Twist of Dough

Left: liáng fěn shāo bào yú  Abalone with Glutinous Rice Jelly
Right: A Gelee Based Completely on the Juice of Tomatoes

Left: yú xiāng duì xiā  Fish-flavored Shrimp    
Right:  Boiled Dumpling with Chili Oil, Ginger

Left: Rare Fungi from Yunnan    Right: Light Egg Custard with Rabbit

Left: cì guǒ xiǎo bāo  Steamed Bun with Red Bean
Right: diào piàn zhāng chá Ya Filling Tea Smoked Duck served with flatbread

Left: cì guǒ xiǎo bāo Steamed Bun with Red Bean    
Right: DelicateSkate with Chilis on Fine Vermicelli

Left: jiā cháng miàn  Home-style Noodles    Right: Fragrant flower soup

Left: Fruit + Flaky Dragon's Beard Candy    Right: Asian Pear

Left: The Dining Room    Right: Buttered Tea  
  

Left: Table Setting    Right: Barbequed Yak

The food can vary from squid, pork, beef, and chicken to more exotic items.

Bugs such as scorpions, spiders, centipedes are available.

Left: Huge centipedes    Right: I chose silkworm larvae.

Tasting Silk Worm Larvae

Left: Highway 4 Restaurant, Hanoi    Right: Sauteed Squid

Left: Cricket Spring Rolls    Right: Grasshopper Salad

Left: Signage    Right: Spicy Frog& a Spicy Tofu Dish

Left: Deep Fried Foie Gras and Squid    Right: Butter Figurine

Left: Dim Sum    Right: Spicy Jellyfish& Cucumber

Shrimp, Lima Beans served at my hotel and guide selected restaurants.

Zhangye Danxia Landform

Huangshan Mountain

Left: Scallion Pancakes, some of the best Scallion Pancakes I've ever had.
Right: Spicy Pickled Goodies, at Street Scene in the Town of Huangshan

Left: Wang Yi Tiao Wonton    Right: Assorted Wontons

Tarantulas & scorpions

I am currently trying to establish an International Surgical Residency Rotation in Cambodia for UCI surgical residents. Please go to Quality Surgery for Cambodia to learn more about what I have done and what I'd like to do to help improve surgical care in Cambodia.