7 Must try in New Orleans, Louisiana

Before my trip to New Orleans started, I was looking for a chance to shop (I mean lots and lots of shopping!). But the people I talked to who used to live in New Orleans or have been there told me the same thing… lots and lots of things to EAT!!!

That was a little disappointing (at first)!! Food is not the reason I requested more credit in my credit card at all!!!
Anyway, it’s true that New Orleanians are obsessed with food and when I missed my trip in New Orleans, I miss about thier food.  So 6 out of 7 from my must try list in New Orleans is about food, check it out!

1. Café De Monde : the oldest coffeehouse in New Orleans is famous for Beignets and chicory coffee.

It was too late for me to have fried donuts but it was not too busy at night (it’s a long line during the day time), so we thought we should try one…but you can’t order just one because it comes three to an order! It tastes like fried Chinese bun or sa-la-poa in Thailand but with powdered sugar on top!

There are eight Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stands in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. They are located in the French Market, Esplanade Mall, Riverwalk Mall, Lakeside Mall, Oakwood Mall, Mandeville, Covington and 4600 Veterans Boulevard.

We did the one in the French Market (opposite Jackson Square), this branch opens 24 hours a day, and it’s busy about 24hours a day too!!!

2. Oyster

We went to try the Original Charbroiled Oysters at Drago’s Restaurant in the ground floor of the Hilton, New Orleans. It’s so good, cheesy, buttery and garlicky and served in their shell hot from a hot grill. Yum!!! I could finish my dozen in minutes! You can try a half dozen at $11.95, but I did a dozen at $19.95 (May 2014)…Guess what? They cook more than 900 dozen Charbroiled Oysters a day!!!

But since we were here at Drago’s, that was only my “appitizer”. Ha ha ha…I know that I can eat more! So then I also tried the Stuffed Lobster – Man, it’s so great!!!

3. Boil Crawfish:

My first boiled crawfish was just lucky because I was invited by the Ericson family in Slidell, Louisiana. But what is “Crawfish”? ?? When I heard they’re calling them “Crawfish”, I always think about some kind of “fish”, but they are really not “fish” at all! It looks like shirmp but chewy. Guess what? I’m not a big fan of seafood, but I love boil crawfish- I can’t stop eating them!!!

Eating crawfish takes a long time, and it’s a social event to sit and peal each one, but it’s worth it! It’s not only crawfish that was really good, but the side dishes were amazing! All boiled in the same time with the crawfish, in the same hot and spicy water – this boiled vegetable is close to heaven!!!

We don’t have crawfish in Thailand, but it’s available at Bourbon St. restaurant in Bangkok. Thanks again for the Ericson family who invited me to try my first big tray of crawfish…

4. “New Orleans Most Powerful drink”, try some Huge Ass Beer/Hurricane/ Frozen Daiquiri/Hand Grenade…!

Huge ass beer is a BIG glass of beer! While Hurricane and Frozen Daiquiris are the most popular cocktails in New Orleans. I’m not sure that they named this drink after Hurricane Katrina but I did try the hurricane at Drag0’s, I think I like it!

I still saw many tourist with TO-Go cups called “Hand Grenade”, I’m not sure what kind of drink but it said “New Orleans Most Powerful drink”, try some if you are a drinker (I’m not!)…

5. King Cake: A tradition from the middle ages that represents the arrival of the three Kings. It’s an oval cinnamon bun with icing and if you get the piece with the baby inside, you have to throw the Mardi Gras party next year!

I missed the chance to try the King cake for this trip (just because there were too many foods for me to try!)

6. Po-boy is a traditional sandwich in Louisiana, the local told me that this sandwich used to be for poor people as they put everything they had in the sandwich, so it’s Po-boy from Poor boy! But nowadays everybody loves Po-boys!

There are many Po-boys served in town, try shrimp, crawfish or oyster po’boys. If you have no idea where to get yours, stop at Johnny’s in New Orleans…but sometimes, it’s a long line but it’s well worth the wait!

7. Street Gigs; In the French Quarter, you can catch a different sound on every corner. This makes me feel like I’m walking thru Jazz town.