Rating: 
Summary: A cultural culinary journey
Review: Who would have thought a book that looks like it should be artfully placed on a coffee table could have such use, form and function? It is both practical and a pleasure to flip through.
The authors write in such a fashion you feel you are part of their cultural journey. They have placed special homage in reflecting the cultural nuances of the regions they visit.
The only problem I have with the book is that it is not very easy to navigate through the recipes. The table of contents does not reflect the order of the recipes, and the recipes while grouped together by dish-type are not grouped by region. This created some confusion and if you were interested in creating a Thai dinner, for example, you would have to flip back and forth through each of the pages. A bit cumbersome and not completely coherent.
Nevertheless, this book is an oustanding piece of work on the inextricable interelationship between food and culture.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Gorgeous Cookbook
Review: With most cookbooks, you have to make a choice between style and content: it's either for the coffee table or the kitchen shelf. This book is different. It keeps going back and forth between my living room and kitchen. The authors stay true to their subtitle, and take you on a seductive journey down the Mekong. The text features diary-like entries and beautiful photographs that make reading the book such a great experience. But the carefully-written and reliable recipes are the true stars, and yield terrific results. Using the glossary at the back to help me stock up at local Asian groceries, I find I can just come back from the store with basic ingridients, page through the book to find a recipe that sounds good, and I'm off.
Rating:
Summary: Great combination of travelogue and cookbook
Review: Wonderful combination of travelogue and cookbook. Incidentally as a note to one of the other reviewers, the coriander plant is known as cilantro in the US. Coriander root is simply the root part of cilantro or coriander - just buy cilantro with the roots left on.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious Recipes, Beautiful Pictures
Review: You won't be able to decide whether to run to your kitchen or to the airport. This book has stunning photos, engaging essays and scrumptious recipes. At this price it's a bargain!!
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