Food Glossary: Bakso

An Indonesian meatball soup which is incredibly popular with the locals.  The meatballs are traditionally made from ground beef and tapioca flour, but you can also get chicken, fish or shrimp bakso.  The meatballs are served in a broth with yellow noodles and crispy wonton and sprinkled with shallots and celery on top.  I personally did not love the texture but I am not a huge fan of meats such as salami and different sausages which the bakso reminded me of so don’t let me put you off!

I sampled bakso at the Janur Cafe in Yogyakarta in Java Island where the staff were really friendly and let us watch the whole process which was fantastic!

Review: Mekong Vietnam, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

As mentioned in my previous post about ‘Your Thai’ on Swanston Street there are a cluster of Asian restaurants to pick from.  The second we tried out was Mekong Vietnam.  I have to admit we were drawn to the restaurant from the paper in the window stating that Bill Clinton loved the soup and had two bowls it was so good!

So we decided to see if the pho really was so good!  The place was pretty busy and had really friendly staff.  The soup came with all the usual dressings and was very tasty!  We all finished up our soups, however unlike Mr Clinton we were unable to squeeze in a second!

Food Glossary: Locro/Yaguarlocro

Locro is a typical soup found in Ecuador.  It is a thick smooth soup with potatoes and corn and then avocado and cheese floating on the top.  It is absolutely delicious and a must try on any visit to Ecuador.  I tried it in a café in Quito but you would also find it at the markets and street food stalls.

Another popular variant is Yaguarlocro which has chunks of fried blood sausage floating.

Food Glossary: Sancocho

Sancocho is a columbian traditional soup which I sampled in Cartagena.  It was really tasty!  The soup can be made using meat or fish and recipes vary from region to region.  The soup I tried had fish and an egg and was quite creamy.  Other core ingredients in the soup include plantain, yuka, potato and corn.  The soup is usually served alongside other ingredients - from rice or salad, to meat and arepa.  This hearty soup is very satisfying and delicious and certainly worth a try.