Foodie trips and specifically…want a TA please

Nobody looks for a trip with average food, and most places like to market themselves as having great, amazing, “the best” food, but…we only want to travel to places where the food is the main attraction. The places where you say “this is the best X ever”, and you know because you’ve eaten X all over the region.

What I’m finding though, is that the internet research is overwhelming me and sucking the fun out of travel planning. So, I think I’m a prime candidate to start working with a Canadian chubby TA that really loves food. Any recommendations? I don’t mind DMs, and hope this sub allows this.

Thanks

in chubbytravelby NoseBrilliant4453

89%

2mo

Leo80184

2mo

Singapore is incredible for eating - I also love Spain and japan, but in Singapore it’s really the main attraction from street food to Michelin star. Plus flying Singapore air gets the mood started right with incredible lounge and flight food!

luxfamtravel

Travel Agent

2mo

I just returned from Singapore and I was honestly a little underwhelmed. Partly because I went into it with such high extra-expectations. It felt a little bit like Vegas on steroids for good food. Like you can find almost every famous chef restaurant and almost any kind of food. Everything was good but not mind blowing. I honestly thought Tokyo was better for food.

tsakisa26192020

🍰

1mo

I agree! I spent a few days in Singapore a few weeks ago then went straight to Tokyo and found the food much better. We tried everything from hawker to Michelin and was just a bit underwhelmed, again probably due to super high expectations. I’ve seen so many videos of the food on Singapore airline and idk if it was just my selection but even the meals in business class were underwhelming.

luxfamtravel

Travel Agent

1mo

I also thought the same about Singapore airlines food. I’ve flown on Qatar and Emirates and the food is definitely better on their business class flights.

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

Yep, enjoyed Singapore’s diversity. Street food was yummy

BillyZaneJr

2mo

I am not a travel agent and don’t know what kind of food you’re looking for, but I am a foodie and pretty much all of my trips center around food. The fine dining sub is a great resource if that’s your cup of tea! People can really narrow down the amount of information out there with some questions about specific destinations. They won’t be as good for “I’d like to go to Thailand, what are the best street stalls that will blow my mind”. But IMO, those are trips more about exploration anyway.

I have also had a lot of good luck with asking on city or cityFood related subreddits. You get a more narrowed down list of places to try than just googling.

None of this cuts all the planning out for you though! Maybe a good TA will show up in the thread!

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

Thanks; that’s a good tip

simba156

2mo

IMO this is way harder than it used to be. We work in the food industry and travel for food. Restaurants are just much more unstable places to work in general, and even if a place gets awesome reviews, there’s really no guarantee the same chefs will be working there by the time you make your trip. Chefs just are not paid enough to justify them staying anywhere long if they aren’t cut into the ownership deals.

Some of our best meals have been at ambitious new restaurants that haven’t received a Michelin star yet — Atoboy in NYC and Nico Osteria in Chicago were two up and comers that blew us away. But even the old dogs can surprise you. Rick Bayless himself came by our table at Topolabampo during the pandemic. He was there all night working and the meal was flawless. So you just never know — which is part of the fun.

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

What a great observation- thanks. That’s a really good point about the up and coming, we’ve had some wonderful meals at our local culinary school; we’re so lucky to have one in town

TravellingFool123

2mo

Have you considered a food tour with Roads and Kingdoms? https://roadsandkingdoms.com/league/. They are tour guides, and foodies and food critics and restaurant owners. They may be what you are looking for.

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

I’d never even heard of them before. Cool tip - thanks!

MrSpiderisadomme

2mo

Are you a fine dining fan? If so, Copenhagen!

souphead1

2mo

from fine dining all the way down to hot dog stands, cph might have the highest concentration of excellent food of any place i’ve been.

Murky_Journalist_182

2mo

I have only been to 7 countries so I'm definitely not an expert in this, but we really enjoyed Spain. Going out for tapas and drinks was delicious and inexpensive and a great way to try tons of stuff at lots of places. We hadn't intended the trip to be so food focused, but that was definitely a wonderful surprise highlight! If you go to Spain I recommend watching "Spain Revealed " on YouTube, they do a good job of giving you great suggestions in a fun and not stressful way

wellworn_passport

Travel Agent

1mo

San Sebastián is still one of my faves for food. A self professed foodie I’m all about the “use the best ingredients and don’t f*** it up”. I’m in France at the moment and a freshly baked baguette with ham and hand churned butter can be just as amazing as Thomas Keller’s “oysters and pearls”. While I do have my favorite towns (Bologna and Budapest have to be up there too) I always do a different food walking tour every time I visit (or re-visit) a town. Such a fabulous way to uncover hidden gems that are always changing. I use Tours by Locals and Traveling Spoon quite a bit for discovery. Funny how when you make friends with one of these guides you can suddenly get a last minute table at an “unavailable” restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my share of trips where I’ve chased down stars…. I think 38 in 4 weeks was the best I did. TLDR: just eat the freshest, best quality food in every town you visit and don’t be afraid to ask a local.

bepabepa

2mo

I'm not a travel agent but here are my top recommendations for where to go for food (in no particular order)

Japan
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Singapore
Georgia (the country)
Spain, specifically San Sebastian
London
New York
Napa/Sonoma, California
Vancouver (more specifically, Richmond)
Mexico City
Oaxaca

Over at /r/finedining they can give you good recommendations for probably all of these places for fancy food, though in a few (e.g. CDMX, Georgia, Japan, Taiwan) non-fancy can be even more delicious.

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

Thanks for the recommendations. Been to all but three of them and for sure have had some memorable meals. Really looking forward to planning help more than city recommendations here, but I do appreciate your suggestions

mattvandyk

2mo

Barcelona and Copenhagen not being on this list is borderline criminal considering the current state of fine dining.

direct-to-vhs

2mo

I don’t know if I would even trust a travel agent for this - lot of people consider themselves “foodies” but really don’t have the palette for it.

I would say Los Angeles (go off the Documentary “city of god” and follow Jonathan gold’s recs), New York (Robert Sietsema is a great critic here), New Orleans and Portland are also incredible in USA.

Bangkok, Singapore, London, Paris for international recs.

If you’re lazy just follow Eater.com recs they’re about 60% reliable. I would trust them more than a travel agent. James Beard restos are also fairly reliable.

in_the_gloaming

2mo

I'm just laughing that people discussing fine dining are using the word "pallette" instead of "palate".

direct-to-vhs

2mo

Hey I’m a foodie not a spellie

luxfamtravel

Travel Agent

2mo

I get this. But there are so many travel advisors out there that chances are there are some that may also have a good palette. I think that good food like luxury are both very subjective and what one person considers being a “foodie” is not the same as another. Tastes are also very personal. I think OP is tired of personally digging through websites and watching documentaries. If they could find someone who travels for food like they do, it would be helpful to have that person recommend and book their travels.

NoseBrilliant4453

2mo

Nailed it, thanks for understanding

simba156

2mo

OP! Tell us where you want to go and we’ll help you figure out what to eat.

geneel

2mo

I mean - pick a cuisine you like, go to the country's largest or most artistic city and hire a "with locals" food tour. Did that in Valencia, Mexico city, Ho Chi Minh... Then ask them for local recommendations that are not tourist focused.

phdd2

2mo

HCM is my number 1 for this

ShinjukuAce

2mo

Part depends on your personal preference. Do you like Michelin-star type stuff? Street food type stuff? Or regular restaurant level formality? Which cuisines do you like and not like? What do you prefer and not prefer from meat, seafood, and vegetarian food? Do you like spicy food? Is wine important to you?

From my own travels, France, Italy, Tokyo, and Hong Kong stood out as really having exceptional food.

a_panda_named_ewok

2mo

I'd add Seoul and Chicago to that list as well

echoesconder

2mo

If you are looking to go to Asia, I’d suggest Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Japan. Can give you some solid reccs for SG and Japan.

Rock_Lizard

2mo

First decide what you want to eat and in what atmosphere.

Are you looking for fine dining? Local? A specific cuisine?

My next completely food centric trip is to New Orleans. Last time I hit the high end places. This time it is all the casual places that have stood the test of time.

Touslesceline

2mo

If you want some relatively under the radar places, Croatia, Portugal, Estonia. Plan to spend at least 10 days so you can try out both coastal and inland areas as the cuisine differs beautifully. We still talk about multiple amazing meals we had in each of those places. We found Spain very underwhelming foodwise, the south was better and the cavas in Madrid are a neat setting, but the food itself never inspired us.

One other place that surprised and delighted us: a food tour in Chicago’s Chinatown. We live in NYC so our standards were high, and our expectations were met and then some! Our favorite recent trip.

NoseBrilliant4453

1mo

Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions and DMs. Found us a TA that seems like a good fit - now to pack our “good-eatin pants”!😁

mattvandyk

-1

2mo

Start with the food and work backwards. The Worlds 50 Best (including the Best of the Best which have been forced off the main list for dominance), and of course, the Michelin guide is a good way to get a baseline to plan around. The hotspots will emerge quickly, and then the trick is getting reservations (usually multiple within a travel window). Once you have that locked, the rest is just fill in the blank w/ flights and hotel.

Edit: also, /r/finedining

Chicenomics

2mo

Worlds 50 best is as political as it gets. Some of the most overpriced and underwhelming meals I’ve had in my life have come from this list

mattvandyk

2mo

It’s a tool like any other. Sorry you were disappointed. We’ve been around the block a bit and know our way around fine dining over the last 20 years or so. We have found it useful in conjunction with other resources, but I guess YMMV.