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Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos
Natacha Du Pont De Bie is no ordinary tourist. She'll trek for hours or even days in search of a good lunch. Ant Egg Soup is the result of her adventures in Laos, the stories of the people she met, the places she visited and, of course, the amazing food she tasted. Drinking raw turkey blood with herbs in a tribal village, cooking Paradise chicken in a little guest house by the Kung Si waterfalls, and sampling fried cricket during the Festival of the Golden Stupa are just a few examples. Funny and refreshing, with recipes and lines drawings, Ant Egg Soup will awaken the senses while redefining the art of travelling and eating abroad.
342 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 20, 2011
I am glad that I found this book prior to a trip to Laos. There's a dearth of books about the country, despite it having a complex and turbulent history and a rich culture. One can't help but wonder if that's a side effect of the United States' covert war in Laos, the repercussions of which have continue to be deadly today, as unexploded cluster bombs litter the countryside. The author brings up that difficult topic, but the real focus is celebrating Laos' unique food culture.
The author eats her way through the country in search of the elusive culinary ant eggs, and along the way, creates a fun travelogue that will whet your appetite for traveling to Laos. The recipes added to the book give you the opportunity to make the book a more interactive experience - if you can find the ingredients.
I highly recommend this as a fun supplement to your reading about Laos before taking a trip, or just to learn about a wonderful place that's not often in the spotlight.
The author eats her way through the country in search of the elusive culinary ant eggs, and along the way, creates a fun travelogue that will whet your appetite for traveling to Laos. The recipes added to the book give you the opportunity to make the book a more interactive experience - if you can find the ingredients.
I highly recommend this as a fun supplement to your reading about Laos before taking a trip, or just to learn about a wonderful place that's not often in the spotlight.
December 17, 2012
This book is much more than just a travel story. It interweaves food, history, travel, personal awareness into one cohesive tome. The author, a foodie at heart, had the travel bug from an early age and was excited to visit Laos after acquiring some recipes popular with the royal court previous to the overthrow by the Pathet Lao. She writes not only of royal dishes, however. She visits towns and villages and eats foods most of us would not dare try, including ant egg soup.
Eating is a whole-body and whole-spirit experience for the author. She goes into detail of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and visual qualities of the foods she tries, and brings it all together as an entire experience, including interactions with the locals and having to smile through culinary adversity.
I loved this book. The style of writing is smooth and brings forth images that linger with the reader, like the morning fog of Luang Prabang. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Southeast Asia, Laos, or foreign travel.
Eating is a whole-body and whole-spirit experience for the author. She goes into detail of the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and visual qualities of the foods she tries, and brings it all together as an entire experience, including interactions with the locals and having to smile through culinary adversity.
I loved this book. The style of writing is smooth and brings forth images that linger with the reader, like the morning fog of Luang Prabang. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Southeast Asia, Laos, or foreign travel.
August 6, 2017
An interesting read and especially informative as a book to read while traveling to/in Lao. As someone who is in Lao for a month specifically to work in the area on nutrition, this book served as a great introduction to traditional foods eaten within the different regions of the country, with a particular emphasis on wild/foraged foods. I also appreciated her insights into some of the Lao festivals, the problems with unexploded ordnance (UXO), and even highlighting some of the issues with malnutrition faced by many in the country. The only thing that really bothered me was her occasional rants about other tourists, which appeared out of place with the rest of the book. Overall, I recommend this book for people traveling to Lao, foodies and adventurous eaters, and people who love to read travel memoirs.
April 20, 2012
Interesting for a while but I ended up not finishing it. I enjoyed the recipes and thought the concept of the book was great, especially as I have a keen interest in travel and food, but nothing really happens. I would argue that to refer to the book as the "adventures" of a food tourist is way off the mark.
August 16, 2018
Loved this book.
September 14, 2011
I was not a fan of this book, which is quite surprising as I currently have an Asian food/travel obsession.
I didn't actually manage to finish the book. I just did not believe the writer.
It seemed to be at best a "rose tinted" look at the country, and made me feel like I was in a romantic film that was based on a very thin plot.
Everything just seemed to be such a coincidence, and all of her experiences seemed to fit so perfectly into this book.
I hope that I am being cynical, but I felt that the writer wrote this book as a piece of fiction which she could pan off as factual due to an opinion that not many people have been to Laos.
I have traveled through Laos myself and found it to be a great country with lovely people.
I love Laos, but unfortunately I don't love this book.
I didn't actually manage to finish the book. I just did not believe the writer.
It seemed to be at best a "rose tinted" look at the country, and made me feel like I was in a romantic film that was based on a very thin plot.
Everything just seemed to be such a coincidence, and all of her experiences seemed to fit so perfectly into this book.
I hope that I am being cynical, but I felt that the writer wrote this book as a piece of fiction which she could pan off as factual due to an opinion that not many people have been to Laos.
I have traveled through Laos myself and found it to be a great country with lovely people.
I love Laos, but unfortunately I don't love this book.
July 15, 2010
it was ok.
not often that i read 275 pages of a 334 page book then decide that i can't finish it.
negatives:
it isn't going anywhere. just a journal, too many details presented in a ho-hum fashion. at the end of the day, a book that's mostly about a person wandering around loving all the food she eats isn't that compelling.
positives:
its about laos. not many books can say that.
neat sketches
recipes
it might help stir up some nice memories if you've been to laos.
captures a lot of nice details, if not too many.
not often that i read 275 pages of a 334 page book then decide that i can't finish it.
negatives:
it isn't going anywhere. just a journal, too many details presented in a ho-hum fashion. at the end of the day, a book that's mostly about a person wandering around loving all the food she eats isn't that compelling.
positives:
its about laos. not many books can say that.
neat sketches
recipes
it might help stir up some nice memories if you've been to laos.
captures a lot of nice details, if not too many.
July 23, 2010
Almost as much a travel narrative of the country as foodie porn. Author has a good sense of humor; she does occasionally slip into West-bashing (Laos-on-a-pedestal).
April 21, 2014
Despite being heavy on the food side, still contains a lot about the culture and sights of Laos.
Really well written, very descriptive.
Really well written, very descriptive.
November 16, 2016
This is my second time to read the book all the way through--inspired by having just taken a short trip to Luang Prabang. Terrific read. Her curiosity and affection for Laos are infectious. Not much has changed since she wrote the book, and her vivid stories do justice to the friendly, kind people -- and amazing food. Truly some of the best of SE Asian cuisine-- I can't get over how Laos food remains largely unknown in much of the world, overshadowed by Thai. A charming read, and a must if you travel in Asia.
January 6, 2008
A neat little book. Warm, inspriring, funny at times and makes you want to rush straight to Laos. The author compiles a collection of recipes in there too and they are not bad.. I have tried some out.
If I was going to Laos I would be glad that I had read this book. It gives good advice but in story form on where to go and where not to go, local customs and the type of food to expect there. It is sprinkled liberally with humour but not at the locals expense.
If I was going to Laos I would be glad that I had read this book. It gives good advice but in story form on where to go and where not to go, local customs and the type of food to expect there. It is sprinkled liberally with humour but not at the locals expense.
January 17, 2016
I'm not really a fan of travel books, or cookery books, but as I'd like to go to Laos one day and it's where my friend Sophy was born, that all added interest. Plenty about the land, the history and culture that I found fascinating, though at times the writing was slightly clunky I thought. Obviously all the meat and fish cookery details were of no use to me, but enough other things in there for an interesting read.
January 31, 2017
I read this book in preparation for a trip to Cambodia and Laos. You can tell a lot about a people from their food and the care they take preparing it. The Laotians are known for their food which is reflected in this British tourists trip around the country. Along the way the reader gets a good sprinkling of the culture. I'm really looking forward to experiencing it first hand.
June 17, 2012
I would like, at some point, for my library to come up with books about other countries by people from said countries. In the meantime, I read the few travelogues that don't make me want to throw them against the wall.
This was better than I thought it'd be, though a bit starry-eyed.
This was better than I thought it'd be, though a bit starry-eyed.
August 16, 2009
Can't say I'll ever make ant egg soup, but it was definitely a fun read.
October 5, 2009
If you plan to visit Laos, enjoy "armchair travel" or enjoy reading about food then this book is well worth reading.
July 29, 2011
I really loved ready this in preparation for my trip to SE Asia--great stories and kept me engaged thoughout
August 1, 2013
Read it, went there, read it again and cooked. A lovely travel book.
December 10, 2019
DNF - I managed to get to the end of chapter 9 before giving up on this uninspiring and unengaging tale, but I'll most likely go on to the final chapter - Ant Egg Soup - to find out if eating soupy ant eggs are all that. The writing... oh brother... it was like hearing someone daydreaming out loud. The repetitiion of words like really so early on in the book; points that she wanted to get across - I had to find out more. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more. (all within the distance of a few pages or paragraphs); and subject discrepancies (who the hell is Tony in Starving in Udomxai when there was only Marge and Terry?) all made it that much more annoying to spot.
The last straw was the author's disapproval for America/Americans. It starts off thinly disguised with the , then reveals itself in obvious disdain at the end of chapter 9 when she writes I mean, WTF man? What's that got to do with a food tourist book?
One star for the recipes, but really, Ant Egg Soup could have done without the snide political asides.
The last straw was the author's disapproval for America/Americans. It starts off thinly disguised with the , then reveals itself in obvious disdain at the end of chapter 9 when she writes I mean, WTF man? What's that got to do with a food tourist book?
One star for the recipes, but really, Ant Egg Soup could have done without the snide political asides.
February 20, 2020
This was really interesting! I'm doing Book Riot's Read Harder challenge this year, and one of the tasks was to read a food book about a cuisine I hadn't tried before. I don't think I've ever eaten food from Laos, so I was lucky to come across this. The author, who is a food obsessive on a level far above even me, goes to Laos for what is essentially a food holiday: the entire purpose of her trip is to seek out new food and new civilisations, and to boldly eat what they've all been eating for some time now. There are small bits of history and culture thrown in there, as you would find in most travel books, but really there is a mono-focus on cuisine. There are also quite a few recipes scattered through the book, gleaned after the author has talked her way into many a professional and domestic kitchen to observe. Helpfully, in a lot of them she gives potential (and more easily available) substitutes for ingredients that it might be difficult to source in other countries. But as entertaining as this book was, I don't think I'll be trying them. (Maybe if she'd put in the recipe for green coconut jelly.) My vegetarian self is not going near pig lung salad, for instance, no matter how much the author enjoyed it.
January 7, 2023
Recommended as a way to learn about Laotian food before a trip. An English 'food tourist' spent 4 months in Lao, exploring the indigenous food (ie not influenced by the various colonisers). It gave some interesting background, history, and politics highly summarised, so useful. The food adventures were pretty interesting. But the longer the book went, the more pompous she became. The low point was while lecturing others about their position on smoking, she lit up a cigarette. Dont know how she can call herself a serious food tourist, and perhaps that is why she could tolerate increasingly hotter and more pungent dishes. A bare 3.
February 20, 2021
This is a beautiful book about Laos, its people, and their customs. The descriptions of the food are spot-on and the recipes are a great bonus. I read this book several month after i came back from Laos and felt like I’m there again. If you have any interest in Southeast Asian culture, you definitely must read this. The parts about Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars will have you googling airfare to Laos in no time.
December 20, 2018
I enjoyed this book. I felt like I traveled with her.
March 6, 2019
A frustrating read. Exciting, intriguing and sometimes hard to put down. But ultimately this book saddened me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2021
Fun anecdotes with traditional recipes sprinkled through. It was a bit insightful and definitely made me long for travel again, and added Laos to my list of places I want to visit.
June 30, 2021
Interesting book, but could have used tighter editing. Includes recipes throughout for those interested in trying their hand at Lao cuisine.
Want to read
October 17, 2022THIS BOOK IT´S ABSOLUTELY GREAT.
December 21, 2022
Poetic, funny, transportive. Superb writing.
April 20, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed this, and perhaps more so as we're planning a trip there. Natacha makes the food sound so enticing, so I'll have to be extra brave...although I have tried frog in Thailand!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews