There is a 2009 Korean movie that not many have seen. I always urge people to check it out. It is called Bandhobi. It is the story of an unlikely friendship between a Korean teenager and a Bangladeshi immigrant worker. You can YouTube for it. One of the reason I like this movie is, because I have experienced some of the situations in that movie, and I can identify with the characters. The girl, when she misses the Bangladeshi friend, goes by herself to a South Asian restaurant, orders many native food, to the surprise of the restaurant workers, proceeds to eat it like a native.

Today, when I spotted a Family Mart in Saigon, I walked into it. I bought Oden - a Japanese winter dish containing radish, fish cakes, boiled eggs. These are usually skewered on a stick and dipped in a spicy soy based broth. Eating Oden takes me back to those freezing days in Japan. On our way walking from the train station to some place, we would always stop by a Family Mart. The hot oden is always a welcome respite. Often in random cities, you will find me at a random ethnic food place - a Korean place in Phnom Penh, a Vietnamese place in Taichung, a Russian place in Bangkok, a Sichuan place in Manila. I am not there for food blogging or instagramming, I am just missing all my friends and conversations from these places.