So that's what it's supposed to taste like," was a thought that went through my head repeatedly during my months long stint in Asia this past summer. It happened with Peking duck, and with fried soup dumplings. It happened with fiery Sichuan food and spice-packed Chinese Muslim food in Xi'an. And it happened the first time I ate Khao Soi—the rich Thai coconut-curry noodle soup—in Chiang Mai.