Opposite of a recent thread. What foods should we be sure not to miss because they lived up to your expectations?
Mine would be bifana in Portugal, fish and chips in London, udon, sushi and okonomiyaki in Japan, and just about everything in Taiwan.
What "travel dish" lived up to expectations?
QuestionI for sure thought that bloody thing must be overrated. it is not. awesome and dirt cheap!
yup! i worked in a vietnamese restaurant chain for 3 years before i went to vietnam last may… the pho and banh mis are DELICIOUS in vietnam!!!
Had my first one this morning!
YES.
I remember buying a Bahn mi after a few drinks in Hoi An, from some local with a mini food cart.
I think it cost $1 and it was incredible. Every night I went back there. So so good.
Thai food. All of it.
So good, and so incredibly affordable. A Pad Kra Pao I paid 40 baht for is better than any Thai dish I’ve eaten at home in Australia (and it would be $20+ AUD).
This is what drives me crazy. Same way in the US.
And not nearly as authentic in the US I’ve found.
Nope. And when you do find something more authentic, it is typically at true fine dining prices.
Easy to imagine some of the reasons, but it's still unfortunate.
I make pad kra pao once a week after visiting Thailand
Same
Koh soi and mango sticky rice were amazing.
Khao soi 🤤 I’m in Chiang Mai rn, and there’s an endless amount of incredible good food. The other night at the market, I got grilled squid, vegetable dumplings, mango sticky rice, and chicken skewers for 150 baht (~$4). Plus all the fresh fruit. My current favorite is pomelo dipped in the chili/sugar/salt mix.
Khao soi in Chiang Mai left such an impression on me. Never had anything like it ever again. Sooooo good.
I lived there for a couple of months, and that probably made khao soi my new favorite Thai dish. Actually, I ended up preferring Northern Thai food in general after that, even though the rest of the country has excellent food too.
Can confirm. Green Curry, fried bananas (rice flour / coconut / sesame seed batter), mango or durian with sticky rice coconut, Spicy Mussels in broth, Papaya Salad, pho noodle soup - almost everything it’s just endless.
Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani - in (obviously) Hyderabad India. Chole (or Channa) Batura in that Sita Ram Diwan Chand famous place out the back around the corner of Main Bazaar Paharganj, Delhi.
Goat cheese & honey pizza, Provence France.
Country-style miso soup (with butter & sesame) in northern Japan.
Thai pho noodle soup?
I'm from Nice, which is the french riviera so arguably Provence. I had no idea pizza chèvre-miel was associated with us. I always thought it was international but now that you mention it I've never seen it outside of France. Still I would think it's more broadly french. Very good pizza though no doubt
Papaya salad was so good but SO HOT 🥵 Thank god for beer
The carbonation and alcohol in beer actually intensify the spice... you weren't necessarily doing yourself a favor with that. Source: I love the effect cold beer has on spicy food.
Even the “roach coach” pizza stand in my old tiny village in Provence had incredible pizza. The combo I miss most: White pizza with just bechamel sauce, herbes de Provence, ground mince meat, local capers, a smattering of shredded mozzarella, and paper thin fresh tomato slices baked on top.
Sum tam boo (sp?) - papaya salad with salted crab.
Tamarind shrimp.
The juice stands in Singapore. Really just the food court kiosks in general, but especially all the weird fruit juice.
Belgian fry stands with the dozens of sauce options
Sicilian granita (but the good stuff, not the gas station kind) and arancini
Argentinean barbecue
Vietnamese banh mi, especially late night sketchy street stand banh mi
Indian chai masala
Not sure if the places we went to weren’t great, but we found the Argentinian asadas to be really tough. That being said, it was cool to try different types of chimichurri.
Steak Florentine in Florence, Italy
Agreed.
I’m fully fledged adult and basically a vegetarian now but still think about a steak Florentine I had when I was 17 (grazie mille Trattoria La Casalinga).
Pastel de nata in Lisbon
Pro tip: if you go to Pastéis de Belem and take your pastel to the park across the street to eat it beware of the gulls—they are very aggressive and will literally swoop in and grab your pastel out of your hand as you’re about to eat it.
The sheer number of empty Pasteis containers littered around that park is so depressing. Like there are trash cans all over the place and people still just dump the containers on the ground. I assumed it would all be tourists but my wife and I watched some young Portuguese couple on a date do the same thing. So damn delicious though.
I dream about the chicken from Frangasqueira Nacional! Lisbon is a wonderful city with some great food options.
I love that place! My wife and me have been going to Lisboa since a few years and we always stop at that place. It's messy, she forgets the reservation - but man the chicken and the vibe is so amazing.
Definitely a treasure. I joked with my wife that I’d fly 13 hours there just for dinner.
Pasteis de Nata are the best. Although we have the Lisboa cafes in London the taste is different. The ones in Madeira are delicious.
We're in Mozambique and have speciality Portuguese bakeries (Moz is an ex Portuguese colony)
While they make very good bolo de arroz, pastéis de nata, palmiers other baked goodies.. Nothing beats the original ones from Portugal 😍
When I was in Lisbon, we ate at a Portuguese, Mozambique, Indian fusion hole in the wall restaurant thanks to Mark Wiens. Holy crap the food was incredible. I really didn’t know the Mozambique influence until that meal
Fun fact. I'm a 3rd generation Indian (grandparents from both sides hail from immigrants from India).. Born in Portugal from Mozambique born parents.. Grew up in south Africa and now reside in Mozambique. Yes I am a foodie. 😂 And yes we make amazing food.
Did you grow up in Durban?
What everyone’s favorite? Pasties de Belem was by far the best in my opinion. It had kind of a cream cheese or condensed milk sour / sweet thing going on that none of the others did
Pasteis de Belem hands down. I mean, they were all delicious but I thought the custard was amazingly creamy in those. I also had the ones at Monteigaria to compare the same day.
I don’t even consider Pasteis de Belem and pasteis de nata to be the same thing lol. Belem is in a league of its own and then all the rest from all the other bakeries are nata.
Controversial opinion, but I tried half a dozen places including Pasteis de Belem, but liked Manteigaria the most. Their custard tasted so much richer and more flavorful.
Seconded - I made it my mission to try as many pasteis de nata in Lisbon and the Manteigaria location on the Praça Luís de Camões was my favorite
Manteigaria by far. I was probably biased by trying these as the first ones, without any expectations.
I definitely always get Pasteis de Belem every time I’m in Lisbon, their recipe is just a lil bit different and a must-have!
But as for my fav regular pastel de nata, I think Castro does it best. Everyone says Manteigaria is the best but for me, Castro is the superior nata
Man, I love those things. Our Portugese bakery shut down a few years ago. They made them at the Big C bakery in Bangkok. They were not as good, the pastry wasn't really right, but there were good. They were small, I think I ate 24 in 22 days. Is there anywhere the supermarket grocery beats a local bakery?
That, piri piri chicken and bifana 🤤
The meat pies in NZ. Yes, they're better than Australia's.
Also the seafood in San Sebastian
The small meat pies from the convenience stores/groceries in NZ are phenomenal. Genuinely some of the best pies I've had in my life
It’s three in the morning what must you do? You must always blow on the pie.
Another thing I miss about NZ aside from the pies was not being afraid of cops 😂
Safer communities together.
Meat pies in NZ are so beautiful. Mince and cheese 🤤
Those were lunch every day and they were soooo good. Absolutely better than in Aus
The ubiquitous New Zealand meat pie is amazing. I did a 3 week summer ski trip to the South Island. That was lunch every day.
The mozzarella in Rome.
Almost literally had a foodgasm when I had it. I bit into it and subconsciously let it a “ooohhh” and my partner had to tell me to be quiet lol I don’t even remember doing it
I was mad. I was like where do I go from here. I can’t get this in Cali
Bread/pastries/cheese/wine in France.
Bagels in NYC.
Mission burritos (or anything from Mission taquerias in SF)
Tortas and tacos in Mexico City.
Momos in any Himalayan area.
Street food and fruit in Thailand.
NYC bagels just do hit different.
I have a new bagel place near me in London and it took them 15 minutes to prepare it (sauerkraut, salt beef etc). Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty good, but dude 15 minutes to prep a bagel is ridiculous.
Have you tried a Montreal bagel? Love that shit
Whenever people say it’s the water that makes the bagels so good, my rebuttal is…yeah but have you had a bagel in Jersey? They’re just as good and sometimes better. On typical filtered municipal water, lol.
The secret is simple: High volume. You get bagels fresh, fast, and easy. Quality is rewarded. Good places stay in business. Etc.
Fresh bread of basically any variety is better really fresh. Bagels are no exception.
You know it’s got a shot at being a decent bagel place in another city when people don’t have to toast the damn things, lol
On typical filtered municipal water
Yeah "filtered municipal" water still varies massively in different countries.
Yes, this is a good point too. Different cities in Jersey have different water from each other.
Nevermind the significant difference from NYC water which is handled totally differently
Other secret that most places leave out is adding malt powder or malt syrup to the dough and boil bath. That’s what gives them their unique flavor that isn’t just bread or a roll.
I’m from nyc studying in Europe and I would give my left arm for a bagel spread with lox, whitefish, scallion cream cheese, capers and red onion right about now
I had momos for the first time in Kerala where there's a huge Himalayan/Tibetan diaspora. Tried them again when I got back to the states and was so sorely disappointed.
I’m not joking when I say Mission Burritos are a delicacy. I’ve had the exact same ingredients out together in hundreds of places and the only place that makes a burrito toast that good is in the Mission. I’m very fond of El Farrolito.
La Palma, right around the corner on 24th, makes the tortillas for most of the taquerias in the mission, including El Farrolito I believe. Holy hell talk about incredible.
El Farolito is my fave too! So good. And yeah, I don’t know what makes them so good.
The Roti is good - I got into having different types for breakfast and lunch.
But in KL, I got hooked on Nasi Lamak. Kept having it at different places and every place did it slightly different. Sometimes super cheap food courts or street stalls, some at upmarket places, but always good.
Rotis became my favourite dish when travelling to south Thailand. So simple, yet so damn good.
TBH, Kuala Lumpur tops my list of foodie cities in the world that I have been to. Notable mentions for Hue (Vietnam), Athens, Merida (Mexico), Cochin (India) & Bangkok but nothing comes close to the literal melting pot that is Kuala!
Penang in Malaysia is even more awesome! People from KL go there for the weekend for their food.
Agreed, I went for a couple of nights and spent a whole week there!
Pizza in Naples, Italy.
I live in a city with very good pizza.But the pizza in Naples is on another level for me!
I go back to the city quite often (sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for work) and I always eat pizza when I'm there.
Also, GELATOOOOOO!!!!!
And, it’s cheap.
Pizzeria Da Michele, two pizzas, two beers, cover charge and tip came to $20.
Definitely the cheapest Michelin Guide meal for two I've ever had!
The fried pizza they have oh boy. So rich but nice as a treat and to switch things up every now and then
Sure! Prices have risen in the last couple of years, but you can still get a very good pizza for around 5 Euros,in a couple of places.
All of the food in Naples was SO good! The pizza, the pasta, the anything and everything. I love Italy and finally made it out to Naples last year after visiting other cities during previous trips, and have to agree that the food was on another level, even when I thought Italian food in general was on another level.
Personally, I didn’t love the city itself, it took me by surprise how much trash there was everywhere, the street sellers pushing fake sunglasses/bags/everything else were overwhelming (somehow they seemed to have disappeared from Rome and other major cities and all of a sudden all congregated in Naples) and the laundry hanging everywhere and dripping on your head as you’re walking through side-streets was not ideal, but man - the food was great.
Naples is poor. You are seeing things that happen because the city and the people who live there are not very rich. That’s also why it’s cheap.
I was in Naples in the early 70's while I was in the Navy, and my best memory was when three of my friends and I were out walking the streets after an evening of drinking adult beverages, and we went into a small restaurant, neighborhood looking place, and decided to have their antipasto. We were led into a room that had a couple of big bowls of lettuce, and a wall of shelves of stuff: Cured meats, pickled seafood, and a wide variety of cheeses, pickled and fresh vegetables. To this day, one of my most memorable meals.
Not all of a sudden. Naples has been that way for a very long time and usually even just a little research will quickly reveal that.
Still an amazing city.
Don’t sleep on the seafood spaghetti either 🔥
The best meal I have ever had! Pizza with ricotta and some vino and limoncello=perfetto
Yep, basically all the food I tried in Italy lived up to the hype.
What cities in South Italy (or Italy in general) do all the people in the 20s-mid 30s tend to congregate? When I went it was relatively empty for that age demographic aside from tourists
You mean local people? Not tourists?
The big cities have the youngest populations, and that's also true in the south.. particularly the major university cities.
Rome,Naples, Palermo, Bari etc.
Overall Italy has quite an aging population.Its common to see a lot more older people than younger ones! Families have few children these days, people live longer, and many young adults go to the north or emigrate for work reasons.
Italy pizza really is on another level.
Came here to say this! I’m not usually a fan of thinner crust pizza, but the pizza there was to die for! So inexpensive, too.
Bicerin in Turin. It’s a drink consisting of coffee and chocolate with a layer of heavy cream on top. Caffe al Bicerin is the place to get it.
Also gianduja, and hot chocolate that is so thick you have to eat it with a spoon.
Osso buco with risotto in Milan.
Pizza in Naples.
Arancine in Palermo.
Granita and cannoli anywhere in Sicily.
Plus just about anything else you can eat in Italy.
Gianduja is heavenly!
Getting a true thali in Rajasthan, India. Every side sabzi was unreal and they had people refilling whichever you ran low on. Although honestly I didn’t have a single bad meal in India.
And it’s like $1 for all you can eat.
India is the best food destination IMO, especially as a vegetarian. It’s the only country where I don’t want to occasionally “switch it up” and eat a bit of other cuisines as well.
I've traveled across India like 3 times now, for about 6 months of total travel time, and I gotta say every meal (except one weird melted ice cream+noodles dish in Srinagar that gave me dysentery) was amazing. Not one bad meal, anywhere. I even went to Indian McDonalds and it was way better than American McDonalds.
And Indian breakfast! Yusss!
I can eat masala dosa with chutney and sambar for the rest of my life.
Banh Mi in Hoi An
Calabria. Thinly sliced raw porcini, shaved white truffle, olive oil. Still think about this dish 15 years later.
Also laksa...in Kuching.
Sarawak laksa! I had heard about it long before I went there, and I'd tried laksa in other parts of Malaysia.
But what I had in Kuching was amazing!
I love laksa! I didn't know there were different kinds.
Yes, there are several different types.The Penang type is quite different, for example... it's kind of 'sour'.
Sarawak laksa is more coconut milk based.A great breakfast!
Someone taught me how to make one and just called it laksa! I have no idea what I am making now or how to find out. It seems like I need a cookbook of all the laksas. Maybe first an emergency unplanned trip.
I just found a book with 65 different laksas and am a bit overwhelmed.
That's a lot!
I'd say the absolute classics are... Sarawak laksa,Penang (Asam laksa) and Nyonya laksa (from Melaka).
Those are the ones I'd start with anyway.
Carbonara in Rome. I break my no pork rule for that and only that.
When in Rome…
Cannoli in Sicily
Oooh I forgot about the fantastic dal, even for breakfast, in Sri Lanka and Nepal.
And white asparagus and Pfifferling soup in Germany.
And beef rendang in Indonesia.
All the Italian food, especially their most basic pasta. Heaven. And Canoli.
Tiramisu as well.
Nothing beats Biryani anywhere. Would have that at any time of the day.
Pasta hits different in Italy. Honestly incredible.
99% of the pizza and pasta I tried in Rome, Italy! The food standards are very high there and you will not find better pasta or pizza anywhere else. (Italy does not have uniformly good Italian food standards though, some of the worst Italian food I've ever eaten was in Naples).
I also felt that way about Rome. Even if I was 200 meters from the Spanish steps, it always seemed like the food was good.
Italian pizza in random Italian pizzerias. Don't go to the famous ones, find some random ones and try it there. 10 times better (Imo at least). Found my favorite one (so far) by walking by while waiting for laundry at a laundromat to be done.
Ukrainian borscht. Absolutely delicious 😋. Would highly recommend visiting Ukraine once the illegal invasion is over.
Yes I 100% support this comment. I thought borscht sounded gross until I had some in Kyiv and now the thought of a hot bowl of borscht warms my bones whenever I feel cold. Also, Ukraine had amazing farmer's sausages and savory blinis.
Plus it's just a really great country to visit and people were so friendly to me, at least pre-war. I hope the war doesn't change that.
I visited Kyiv back in May 2023 whilst the war was still ongoing and had the same experience - I couldn’t believe how friendly, helpful and positive the people there were in spite of the challenges they are facing each day. To be honest, all the food I had there was delicious - and cheap, too!
I used to go regularly before the invasion. I really, really miss the food there.
Yesssss we went skiing in Ukraine and the borscht served in a hollowed out bread bowl was so. Fucking. Good
Had some fantastic food there. Duck varenyky with cranberry sauce; a pickled tomato… yummmm
Hawker food in Singapore exceeded expectations
Haggis, in Scotland. Sounds nasty but is delicious and filling.
Anything in Japan haha
every single thing in Japan.
sushi. ramen. katsu. konbini food. the snacks. that big fried cheese coin.
unreal
Some kind of cold strawberry soup in Hungary.
Kachapuri. First one was absolutely amazing; although it gets old really quick.
Until you order it with some Georgian meat stew and you use it to soak up the sauce!
Khachapuri never gets old. I fell in love with this Georgian dish whilst travelling in Ukraine (they had lots of Georgians and Georgian restaurants). I'm still trying to find a good place to buy it here (Melbourne, Australia) without success. I've even tried making it, but can't find all the needed cheeses so I have had to improvise
I like this post.
And svíčková in Prague! <3
Greece……period. Can’t believe no one has mentioned souvlaki, the seafood, cured/marinated anchovies, the bakeries that sell a million types of cookies and bougatsa and also sell prepared food… a freddo espresso on the way to the beach
Spaghetti with Sea urchin in Sicily.
Fish n Chips in London. Holy smokes we got a whole filet (about a pound) and about a pound of fresh cut chips each! The freshness was outstanding and not oily or greasy at all. A hearty meal and so so satisfying with every bite.
The al pastor tacos in Cabo. I know this seems basic but everywhere I go in the states the meat is completely dried out and tough and not enjoyable even with all the salsa in the world. In Mexico the meat was cooked so succulently and tender with accents of grilled pineapple. Just a wonderful yet basic meal.
I gotta shout out to the Philly Cheesesteaks. Nothing OUTSIDE of Philly comes close. I won’t even order Philly cheesesteaks anymore until I get BACk to Philly. Loads of savory, tender ribeye with onions and cheese on the spongiest, softest rolls. I ordered the first one with provolone, it was so delicious I went back and ordered another one with Cheese Whiz this time. Both were phenomenal.
The food in Peru. Especially in Lima. Everything was amazing. The gastronomy in that country is insane. Every single type of food has its own restaurant. Most places only sell a few menu items of the same category whether its fish, chicken, pork, sandwiches, etc. Want pollo a la brasa? You go to a brasearía where they literally only sell pollo a la brasa. Want ceviche? you go to a cevichería where they only sell ceviche. Of all the food i’ve had on this planet, Ceviche is the best food i’ve ever had. I always tell people Peru has a menu that anyone from anywhere can find multiple dishes they love because of how diverse the food is. They dont cater to a specific palette like other countries.
Did you get to have Chinese food in Peru? They call it Chifa and it’s fantastic!!!
Well….I travel in India so it’s a tough one. But recently I was in Amritsar where one of their most famous dishes is a layered flatbread called kulcha, which you can get all over Punjab. The hotel owner drew a map on a napkin for a place and said to go there for kulcha and choley (a spicy chick pea dish). Tiny, scruffy backstreet place where the rich, domestic tourists, army officers, rickshaw drivers and street sweepers queue out the door and down the street, rub shoulders and eat breakfast together. Not only the best bread I’ve eaten in India, or even the best thing I’ve eaten there but also one the greatest things I’ve eaten in my life by a country mile.
Everything in Jordan that is not served at hotels. Spicey but not hot. Really delicious!
Korean BBQ. Delicious, add on a bottle of Soju & a couple beers and you're guaranteed a good time
I was taken to a business dinner once in Seoul where they had the traditional hammered copper charcoal cooker where you put the meat on the sides of the cone-shaped chimney and the liquid collects in a lip at the bottom. You ate the meat on a lettuce leaf with various condiments and had the cooking juice in a bowl as a broth.
I worked for a Korean company for a couple of years. They gave all the employees a stipend to go out after work. The Soju, makgeolli, and beer every day after work would destroy my liver. I’m glad Soju is only 20% alcohol or I’d be dead of alcohol poisoning. An interesting drinking etiquette. You can’t refill your own glass and you can’t refill anyone else’s glass unless it’s completely empty.
I had a Korean co-worker in the US who had a Korean wife who hated Korean food. We went out to lunch at a Korean restaurant every day we were on a business trip together. He liked budae jjigae/Army Stew. Not my favorite but it was for two so I’d have it more than I’d prefer. My favorite is dol sot bi bim bap. I love the hot stoneware bowl that makes the rice crispy. Any time I’m in an H Mart, I buy bibimbap vegetables, pickled daikon, and sliced fish cake. I have a few of those black stoneware bowls.
Good ol’ Texas BBQ, Austin to be exact. There is no substitute for the slow post oak hickory smoke.
No matter the country, I have found decent food representation in the US. On the other hand, I have never had great ribs, or burgers for that matter, outside of Texas/US.
It's actually Post Oak smoke, not hickory 😉
French onion soup in Paris. I didn't believe it could be so different to what I'd tried elsewhere, but gosh was i wrong
Lasagna in Italy 🤤
Oh my god I had lasagne in a random restaurant in Rome and it was mind blowing
Carbonara in Italy. So simple and so good…and totally different than the carbonara in the states.
My husband ate carbonara every single night in Rome. I was trying to try different things but was wishing his plate was mine every night lol
Sachet torte where it was invented at the Cafe Sacher in Vienna.
Pretty much everything in Penang 😋
ETA: i don't like seafood or fishy tastes but the okinomiyaki in Japan was so good, I agree. And I'm glad you said that about Taiwan as we are going later in the year, though will be avoiding meat
Fried artichoke in the Jewish ghetto in Rome. I think they said it was something about the water that made them so soft, but they are the one food item I remember from our travels.
Tesco Meal Deal in the UK! Only a bit joking.
La Boss sandwich from All Antico Vinaio in Florence
Al Antico Vinao in Florence. Best sandwich of my life!
Pizzarium Bonci and Roscioli in Rome. As good as how they mostly describe.
I watched Chef's Table: Pizza and was super curious to try it, one of them was okayish but the other 2 were brilliant so unique and so tasty.
I didn't even realise Roscioli was famous.
Also had Patatas Bravas with black garlic aoli at a small place in Bartelona near the beach in Barcelona. It was amazing.
The example in the "what food DIDNT live up to your expectation" post was Chili Crab. But for me Chili Crab did! I LOVED it. But I love seafood. and I love shellfish. I loved the messiness of it. getting a bunch fo stuff from Lau Pa Sat and splitting it with friends. Dipping those lil bread nuggets in the sauce. Chili Crab for me was wonderful
I live here now but at once point I was a tourist so Im gonna count it- coffee in Melbourne. Im gonna miss it when I move back to the US
Elotes in Mexico City. Just from any old street cart
Osteria de Fortunata in Rome. I heard it was good but from other tourists. It was near our hotel so I figured why not. There was a line to wait and my dad (who was there and is a typical old boomer) almost threw a fit about waiting (not really he was just annoyed at me for choosing a place with a wait). Even the wait for the actual food once we ordered took a while (given we were already hungry). Ill never forget it- my grumpy hangry dad goes "What are they doing back there, hand making the noodles???". Well ya, actually they were. And it was the best meal we had. He was a happy happy man after that.
Honestly pizza and pasta on the Amalfi Coast. Seems so cliché but wow.
Spanakopita in Athens❤️
Kebab in Turkey. Oh my goodness I wish I could have a good Adana Kebab here in AB, Canada. My favourite thing I ever ate on my trip there. Close second is “testi” chicken from Turkey as well. Cooked and simmered in a clay pot then broken open. Sooooooo tender, it was like a tomato chicken stew.
Ceviche in Peru!!! I’m obsessed.
Seafood Boil in low country, South Carolina.
Bubble Tea in Taiwan, but really most of the street food there. I moved away 17 years ago, and still miss the beef noodles.
Curry in England (no, I haven't been to India). We lived in Birmingham and we were spoiled for choice. Sausages and sausage rolls there too. Lol and the pies!
Greek food in general.
Thai food in general, too!
Cider in Brittany, France, and the mussels with fries. The cheese was insanely good.
basically everything in Vietnam. From different types of spring rolls (I still dream about a dried one which you only get in central Vietnam), to Banh mi sandwich all the way to the soups and different dishes with ricenoodles. Everything so fresh!
Australia - good asian food in every big city!
Prague - sauerkraut-soup
Venice - wine & cicchetti at small bars (do a bit of research though)
Cochinillo in Spain, had some in Segovia and it was amazing.
Ceviche in Peru and Chile. Take a stroll down the harbor in Lima and the ceviche is made directly from the day's catch.
- Okonomiyaki in Osaka
- Italian Beef in Chicago
- Banh Mi in Vietnam
- Banh Khot in Vung Tau, Vietnam
- Bun Cha Hanoi in Hanoi
- Ramen and Don bowls in Japan
- Sausage Rolls and Meat Pies in Australia
- Mexican food in Mexico
Man this list is making me hungry 😭
Warms my Chicagoan heart to see Italian Beef listed here. Everyone thinks deep dish and hot dogs when they think Chicago but Italian beef is the true culinary gem
Italian beefs are amazing!
I agree Italian Beef is wicked awesome. I usually like mine with a fair amount of hot giardiniera.
If you think fish n chips in London is good, wait till you get to Scotland. 🥰🏴
We had a fish and chips in Portree that was so incredible. I still think about it on the regular.
Got the best fish & chips of my life from a small shop on a side street in Edinburgh, drenched it all in vinegar, then went and ate under the gorgeous flowering trees of a nearby cemetery.
I'm dying to go to Scotland and I kind of just want to eat fish and chips for every meal 😂
Roast duck in Beijing, dim sum in Hong Kong, EVERYTHING in Malaysia, banh mi in Vietnam, hotteok in Korea, basically everything n Greece, parrilla in Argentina, tagine in Morocco, hummus in Palestine…
And casoncelli and polenta taragna in Lombardy.
Bistecca in Florence. Best steak of my life.
Salt beef in London.
Rijstaffel in Amsterdam.
Carbonara, artichokes, and Roman pizza in Rome.
Salumi in Florence.
Quenelle and praline tarts in Lyon.
Doner in Berlin. Roast pork shank... somewhere in Bavaria???
Shawarma and Mansaf in Aman.
Käsespätzle and Wienerschnitzel w/ potato salad in Vienna
Bangers & Mash and a Full English in London
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese in Bologna.
The pasta in Rome was life-changing. Same with the ramen in Tokyo.
Icelandic hotdogs are worth a try if you have a layover there.
I have a list! 1) Vietnamese coffee. Pho. 2) Thai cuisine, all of it. 3) Turkish kebap. 4) Açãi in Brazil. 5) Weirdly enough, Bulgarian food in general.
Dim sum in Hong Kong
Pierogies in Poland - insane and so cheap.
Greek Salad. There’s no lettuce in it! Who knew!
Also Souvlaki and Saganaki. damn, now I am hungry.
Traditional English tea with the scones, sweets and savories. I was so inspired I prepared the same next time I hosted book club. Also, I now get why Captain Picard orders Earl Grey, hot.
Fydzhin in the North Caucasus
Chicken paprikash
Belgian french fries with mayo. I ate like 3 baskets of them, washed down with a Trappist ale in Grand-Place in Brussels back in 2018 during a beautiful, sunny day.
When I'm on my deathbed I'll remember those fucking fries.
Bahn Mi, Bun Bo Hue, Khao Soi, Pad Kra Pao. This shit is so hard to duplicate in the West. It's hard to find all the ingredients like Holy Basil, Shrimp paste, etc...
Kentucky Hot Brown
Serious question — What did you like about it? My spouse and I found it to be glorpy and bland. And we had it at the Brown Hotel where it was invented.
Most food honestly. The only let down was most everything in Paris.
Fish and chips?!.... I mean not even a proper fry up...a fry up is a proper British experience as no one does them the way we do (the proper way...I see you Americans with your frankfurters and incorrect beans 🫘 👀)
Just for fun I'd also throw in Greggs
Chongqing Hotpot.
Wanted to try it for a while. Tried it last night.
My expectations were for it to be extremely spicy.
My expectations were met.
Although I found most Brasilian food bland, I did think Feijoada was rather tasty.
Also Pizza from Brooklyn.
Galbi with cheese in Seoul
Churrascaria in Rio
French onion soup in Paris
Sushi in Japan
I once had just baked potatoes in France, baked in goose fat. Just baked potatoes... It was so good
Lime marinated ceviche at tulum, beetroot thoran in Kerala. I've never been happier to eat meat free as I was for two weeks eating this beautiful spicy coconut dish from South India. The best!
Clam chowder in an old New England town or city, specifically Salem Cross in West Brookfield.
Every single thing in Mexico City.
Ceviche in Peru
That tourist trap waffle place in Brussels
Poutine in Quebec (city and Montreal)
Also I had no expectations so it doesn't really qualify but the best scrambled eggs I've ever had in my life were part of a free hostel breakfast in Costa Rica, an otherwise underwhelming food country
Barbecue Brisket in Texas. I love the fact that you eat it as should be intended with your hands. It is worth the mess and sometimes the snaking lines (As I discovered at a Barbecue joint in Dallas.)
Alternatively Poutine and Peameal Bacon in Canada. I am serious why no one or very few in the States has really picked up the pace on authentic Peameal Bacon and Poutine.
Banh mí in Ho Chi Minh…it was $1.50 and the best sandwich I’ve ever had bar none