N is for Noodle Soup

When backpacking through Asia, noodle soup is the perfect meal.

You wear the same four shirts for a month. You buy bottled water for brushing teeth. Your sleeping arrangements are constantly to be determined, and one night you slept upright in a train. You may not need a four star hotel, a translator, or air conditioning. But you still crave good food.

Noodle soup is the remedy. The broth is boiling. The noodles are filling. And the price is cheap. Your natural instincts might protest against a steaming bowl of soup during 100 degree heat. However, hunger for satisfying, healthy food will convert you.

Order from street vendors or an open air kitchen, but remember to do your recon. Inspect the ingredients on display. Observe the kitchen hygiene. Assess the number of locals slurping noodles, and most importantly, determine if the food moves.

There may not be a menu. You may not have a choice, or you may just need to point, but noodle soup may become your best friend.