In Nepal, the Newar have a savory rice pancake called chataamari cooked with meat or eggs on top.

Milan's cuisine features many other specialties, most of which I sampled en route to the cherished rice pancake.

Hoi An specialities include banh bao, or "white roses," translucent rice pancakes molded around a pink center of pounded shrimp.

The best main dishes are among the house specials: sugar-cane shrimp - shrimp paste broiled on sticks of sugar cane, served with rice pancakes.

It comes with a nubbly rice pancake holding sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Nom krourk are rice pancakes with a gelatinous texture, topped with shredded shrimp, basil and cucumbers.

These are rice pancakes fried in ghee.

Sugar-cane shrimp, a traditional dish of shrimp broiled on sticks of sugar cane and served with rice pancakes, are fun to eat.

A highlight of breakfast was a local specialty, rice pancakes called dosa, served with a chutney made of coconut, green chili and coriander.

You wrap these in soft rice pancakes, with noodles, mint and lettuce, dip them in nuoc cham and devour.