Part of the travel adventure for me is ALWAYS what I can eat that is particular to the area I am visiting. Eating is very much part of any country's culture. Can you help me compile a list here?
In the Philippines where I live, there is
LECHON, ADOBO and the very local shrimp paste called
BAGOONG. For desserts or mid-day meals called meriendas here, we have many rice meals called
kakanin such as rice cakes called
bibingka, suman, puto bumbong, biko . I even wrote a blog on what one can eat in the Philippines. See
Eating Around the Philippines: Lechon, Max's Fried Chicken, Kare Kare, Adobo, Pinakbet, Tinola and Balut!
Of course, I won't miss the
peking duck and
xiao long bao from China, and the
moulles frite in France, or the
paella in Spain. Or how about
caviar from Russia?
What are your favorites from other countries?
Reply to this Ceviche from Peru....Liliram, you absolutly have to make it one day to Lima....their food is simply amazing...mind i had some tapas last night in Madrid, nice also...
Reply to this Peter, would u believe we have the equivalent of ceviche (called
kinilaw) and tapa (called
tapa also) here in the Philippines? That's the best part of our national history under the Spaniards (mexicans by proxy in some areas) for nearly 400 years. Love both! And yes, Peter, I agree I should make way to Peru while my legs could carry me.
Reply to this Dal Bhat of Nepal. Not actually my favorite but it's like their national dish. So try it 😊. It's actually a plate of steamed rice and lentil soup (equivalent of
mongo / mung beans in the Philippines), with vegetables and curried or spicy meat dish.
Reply to this I love panang thai curry... I like thai food in general, but that's my favourite.
Also I love caldo gallego, which is a specialty of the area where I'm from in Spain (Galicia), specially the one my grandmother cooks! ;o)
Reply to this In my experience the 'cerviche' in the Philippines is better than any I've eaten in Peru. They also have pretty good cerviche in Colombia too...in Chile (and some other places) for example, it isn't allowed to be served for health and safety reasons, I believe.
Anyway, the sushi in The Philippines is also excellent...I once bought a fresh tuna with a friend for a about $2. We cut it up and ate it with soy sauce and chopsticks - the best sashimi I've ever had!
Could it be those seven thousand islands and all that sea?
Will be in Lima myself Wednesday Pierre!
Reply to this @Jason. did you by any chance buy that tuna from Gen. Santos City or Davao? I normally get my fresh tuna sashimi from those areas and yes, they are dirt cheap! The kikkoman soysauce and wasabi cost more , ei?
(Haven't tried the ceviche in Peru, but yes, our local ceviche is good)
Reply to this hmmm, sounds like I should go to the Philippines to get my sushi fix :-P
Reply to this @Jo. Hop on a plane and come over ;-) Unagi is a favorite of mine too.
Reply to this For us the food is one of the most exciting parts of travelling.
In Cambodia we loved the crab and green pepper in Kep
, we also ate a dish called "Cambodian Breakfast" which was delivcious. When staying at Lazy Beach see
Whistle Stop Tour of Cambodia we ate the most delicous food all week!
these prawn carcker were delcious as was the squid
In France you cannot beat a good old fondue, raclette, or hot stone
Did not really enjoy the Polish perogies - we thought them a bit bland.
The medina in marrakech is a food lovers paradise
Carnivore restuarant in Nairobi is great for meat and game meat - although I think the more exotics meats are now off the menu.
Oyr favourite food by miles was in India!
Meat was off the menu for then time we were there and we have since tried to recreate the dishes we ate but never to the same effect!
For steak (and all meat) Argentina cannot be beaten!
Reply to this In Bali, dining at Bebek Bengil Restaurant in Ubud was quite an experience. Bebek Bengil stands for "dirty duck" which is their bestseller in that restaurant. I also liked their Nasi Camphor.
Reply to this I'm from England - a country not renowned for good food. Perhaps that's why I enjoy travelling to foreign countries so much! 😊
Having said that, and in defence of this great nation, we do have some food worth eating - but, apart from fish and chips, exactly what that might be escapes me for the moment. We are such a multicultural country, however, that we can eat excellent food from almost every country in the world almost whenever we want to, particularly in London. Yes, there's even a Filipino restaurant there!
Reply to this we do have some food worth eating - but, apart from fish and chips, exactly what that might be escapes me for the moment.
erm...YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS!! The proper roast beef dinner on a cold Sunday with yorkshire puddings, roast potaoes, veg, gravy and followed by apple pie and ice cream! That's the uniquely British dish we can think of off the top of our heads as well as fish and chips.
The best food we have had have been in India, Thailand and Malaysia (specifically Penang) - particular favourites are:
India - aloo gobi, chicken tikka masala, kadai chicken, dum aloo.
Thailand - massaman curry, thai red curry, chicken with basil leaves and chilli (very hot!)
Malaysia - Ma Po tofu, all the Indian dishes, nasi goreng, satay, laksa
Oh, and no-one has mentioned gado-gado in Indonesia, an acquired taste of vegetables with a satay sauce and hard boiled eggs...yummy! Lechon baboy (whole roasted pig), lechon manok (roasted chickens) and adobo in the Philippines are good if you are big meat eaters.
Reply to this Oh a discussion truly after my own heart and mind. Food and travel are quite inseparable.
For worthy English foods what about Devonshire/clotted cream on scones? First time I tried that I was in love. And crumpets hot off the griddle? That's worth a trip across an ocean in my opinion.
In Mexico I was quite transfixed with
huitlacoche, as well as hot, steamy
champurrado (a thickened hot chocolate) and
tamales in the morning. And
pozole, a hominy and pork stew with lettuce, chile, tortilla and lime.
Can't quite think of my favorite 'American' foods, but I will say I have a hard time finding decent
chocolate chip cookies anywhere else but home! Actually, I think summer travelers to the U.S must indulge is a backyard cook-out with burgers, corn-on-the-cob, home-style baked beans, potato salad, watermelon and lemonade... that's definitely a worthy American culinary experience. Of course I admit to spending more time dining at 'ethnic' restaurants that I do preparing proper picnics but...such is the nature of our globalized society!
Reply to this @Stephanie and Andras. What is crumpets?
I'm familiar with champurrado and tamales (funny, we have it here in Manila as standard breakfast fare) but what is huitlacoche?
In America, i enjoyed the barbecued ribs in Texas, the cheesecake in new york and the clam chowder in Boston and San Francisco!
Reply to this I'm actually not surprised that tamales and other foods I associate with Mexico are in the Philippines. I guess it was all 'Spanish' at one point, right? You can really tell the history of trade, colonization and migration patterns of a place by looking at the food! And it's that very reason I think you're exactly right that America certainly has more regional cuisine than national cuisine.
Funny you should ask about crumpets. If American children ever want to pretend to be British they fake an accent and say "Oh would you care for a spot of tea and crumpets?" but I (and probably no one else) never knew what they were. Naturally when I was there I was offered crumpets and was very eager to have them, but when they were brought out I recognized them as something we call "English muffins" (which are, of course, nothing like muffins in the states, and English muffins are bought pre-packaged and cold so are bland and tough and not very good). They're a round, flat yeast batter griddle-cake and when they cook they have lots of little air pockets into which you melt butter and pour honey. At least, that's the way I had them.
Huitlacoche has a terrible English translation (corn smut. Mmm, doesn't that sound appetizing!). It's a fungus that 'infects' kernels of corn and completely changes it's taste and appearance. In the U.S it's a disease that farmers try to get rid of because it ruins the crop, but in Mexico they will purposefully inoculate corn with it because it makes it more valuable. Then it gets put into tamales, tortillas, soups, sauces...
Reply to this Thanks, Stephanie and Andras, for taking time to explain. I have always been fascinated by food and you are so right -- a country's cuisine says a lot about its heritage, migration patterns, history and living conditions.
I will remember to try crumpets with my English tea next time I swing by England. As for huitlacoche, I am a little intrigued with this fungus! Anyone has photos, please post them here.
Reply to this Hey all!!
I went to Cambodia about 18 months ago and my most memorable moments was the food there!!
If any of you are planning a trip there and end up at Phenom Penh go to a resturant called Romdeng!! Best meals ever!!
I also got to try the countries delicacy....Turantula deep fried in oyster sauce and believe it of not...it as delicious!!
I also had a cricket deep fried and it was just like eating popcorn!!! :-)
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