Well, my new book Down And Out In South East Asia
has been out for a week or so now, and I’ve been very pleased - not to say
hugely relieved - with the reviews so far. Even from people I didn’t pay to write them (I’m
joking of course - my ‘marketing budget’ wouldn’t keep Jay Rayner in L’Oreal
shampoo for a week).
It’s the sequel to my bestselling food book Down And Out In Padstow And London, and tells the story of how failed chef and hack
Lennie Nash sets off to eat his way through SE Asia, with a half-baked plan to
buy a restaurant.
Along the way, he encounters a host of weird characters from frazzled bar owners to Walter Mitty CIA agents to seedy sexpats to ice zombies four years over on their visa. The book is an adventure story, spiked with a heavy dose of backpacker noir, through the eateries, street food stalls, and hazy bars of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Along the way, he encounters a host of weird characters from frazzled bar owners to Walter Mitty CIA agents to seedy sexpats to ice zombies four years over on their visa. The book is an adventure story, spiked with a heavy dose of backpacker noir, through the eateries, street food stalls, and hazy bars of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
There is an edited extract on Khmer 440 if you
fancy a read - where Nash launches a doner kebab business in Cambodia with
mixed results...
But anyway, here are the reviews I’ve had so
far...
Chris How: “I loved this book, and it made me
slightly ashamed of my own rather pedestrian gustatory experiences in Asia. This
is no hippie-dippie 'how I found myself in Asia' travelogue: Alex shows us the
darker, grittier side of life in another world, generously spiced with
well-researched helpings of real Vietnamese and Cambodian cooking.
“I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Asian food or travel.”
“I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Asian food or travel.”
Christian Williams: “Down and Out In South East
Asia is a great read from start to finish. It takes you from the grim reality
of 'The Hill' with its truly bizarre characters to the food markets of Vietnam
and Cambodia, where some of the best eating is to be found.
“Finishing the book made me look into a holiday in
South East Asia and I might just do it, but I will be giving 'The Hill' a wide
berth.”
Claire: “In Down and Out, would-be chef Lennie
navigates a precarious path in his quest to set up his own restaurant in a
place in the sun.
“Whilst this travelogue follows the usual
backpacker circuit of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (the standard destinations
for those 'doing Asia'), Down and Out stands out in that it takes you well off
of the culinary beaten track and the staple dishes that feature in your Lonely
Planet guide food section.
“Your taste buds tingle from the exotic flavours
and street foods that Lennie seeks out with sweaty determination, tempting even
the most seasoned traveller to want return to take a braver step in their
digestive exploration of this part of the world.
“But as always, the longer you stay, the more you see, and Lennie has his mettle tested in this seemingly exotic idyll by its less attractive underbelly made up of a strange collection of misfits who have long since lost their grasp of reality and in some cases, their moral compass, if they ever had one.”
“But as always, the longer you stay, the more you see, and Lennie has his mettle tested in this seemingly exotic idyll by its less attractive underbelly made up of a strange collection of misfits who have long since lost their grasp of reality and in some cases, their moral compass, if they ever had one.”
Chippy: “Thankfully it wasn't quite as bleak as
'London and Padstow' (which isn't to say I didn't love that one too). I'm
looking forward to Lennie's next adventure.”
