Food Tourism
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
Anyone else here travel largely to try new food? This is something I almost never see on /trv/, which is a shame.
Singapore is amazing for this, the food you get in hawker centres is a slightly sterilised version of street food from India, Malaysia etc., but with the added bonus that you're far less likely to get sick from it. Absolutely delicious, I'd recommend Singapore to anyone looking to try new food. If you have a local friend, even better - Singaporeans are fucking obsessed with food. My buddy's gf took us out to a place in the heartlands to get the best Salted Egg Yolk Crab dish she knew of (can't remember the Mandarin name atm), absolutely amazing. Pic related.
Taiwan is great for it too, because of the night markets. I've never had fruit that fresh before, and the breakfast was always great (my memory is gone to shit, can't remember the Mandarin names off the top of my head... Soy Milk and those egg rolls done on wraps)
I also loved Shanghai for it. Chinese people shit on shanghainese cuisine because of muh sichuan, but xiaolongbao, beggars chicken etc. are beautiful.
I'd love to try India for food some day, anyone had experience with that?
Where's your favourite country for food, /trv/?
I went to the South of China early this year, the food in Meizhou was amazing. Hong Kong food is the worst (on a budget)
>>1051595
I know, unrelated- but Anon, did you ever get travelers diarrhea? I'm going to China and worried about that, my days are full booked.
>>1051599
Never got it in China (got regular diarrhea, but not Travelers), but got Travelers Diarrhea in Burma. Fucking sucks, you have it coming out both ends for a few days, can't eat anything, and get weak (had difficulty carrying my bag by the end).
I lived in China for a year and never got it though, I'll say that.
Take precautions just in case. Try not to eat from really shitty places. Take some immodium with you, and those rehydration packs. There are also plenty of isotonic drinks in Asia to replace electrolytes etc.
Wouldn't worry too much about it. Worst comes to worst, you spend a few days in the bathroom before it runs it's course, nothing serious
>>1051584
Those hawker centers are bloody amazing. So many delicious things to try and fairly cheap. too. Love them.
Just ate this (schweinshaxe) in a place here in Munich. Some Augustiner dunkelbier with it.
Holy fuck, I think I'm gonna explode
>>1051584
I don't travel largely to try new food, but it is something I always looking forward to when I'm in a new place. I think it's just a part of the process of exploring a new territory and its trappings and culture. But food is definitely one of my favorite aspects of travel, behind making new friends and getting lost in the scenery.
India is great for food, depending on where you look and what you like. The unfortunate bit, which you mentioned in your original post, is that it's not always safe or sterile.
But whatever. I don't know if you can reasonably expect to go to India without getting sick. A person who's uptight or terrified about germs is just going to miss out on so much. There are great options for street eating all across the country, but some of my favorite are in Delhi and Mumbai. You can get beef kebabs in Old Delhi, near Jama Masjid, as well as in the Muslim neighborhood of Nizamuddin. There's a whole line of vendors and cooks across from Jama who sell beef kebabs for maybe 10 rupees per piece. I'll usually buy around six or seven at a time and stuff my face. It's just incredible how delicious they are, especially since you won't end up spending more than a couple of dollars.
I also like momos, which aren't Indian but are sold on virtually every busy street. 25-30 rupees for a full plate and Jesus Christ, I can't wait to go back in December.
I don't have the funds to travel specifically for food like some people do where they make reservations in great restaurants in the country they go to and solely focus on the food. But I always tell people I travel for food and sports as I make sure to eat as much local food on my travels as possible.
So far the best country I've been to food wise is Mexico. The food is so cheap and good there, lots of street food everywhere, cheap markets which always have a section for cooked food. However the best food I've ever eaten in my life was a schnitzel and Austrian potato salad in Vienna. That salad was the single best thing I've had in my mouth, apparently they use some pumpkin oil for their dressing.
I plan on going to Asia in the next few years and will definitely try to eat as much of their awesome food as I can. I have a friend in Indonesia who sends me photos of the food there and all the fresh tropical fruits, need to visit him soon.
>>1051584
>Anyone else here travel largely to try new food?
No, international cuisines are too readily available where I live.
hat said, tough it is not the reason I travel, I do enjoy eating new things when bopping around.
>>1051584
>Where's your favourite country for food, /trv/?
USA
I'm serious.
Was in Korea for two weeks this summer and the only dish I didn't enjoy was a dog meat soup, probably because the restaurant was a sketchy and smelly place.
Best things I tasted were eel prepared three different ways, cow tongue soup, mountain vegetables, and fresh seafood. It helped that I was with a friend that insisted on taking me to a few famous restaurants which I would be unable to name now.
I spend most of my budget on food. In fact, I enjoyed a lot of food wherever I went. The only places where I really didn't like the food was Korea and Spain.
Here's my personal favorite.
>Copenhagen, Denmark
Truly one of the cities in Europe to have the best of fine dining. Their take on gastronomy is fabulous and you have a lot of choice.
>>1051710
Did you go to Noma?
>>1051723
Unfortunately no, it was fully booked and I was there only for 3 days.
However I successfully booked some other Michelin-starred restaurants.
I will try Noma next time I guess.
>>1051647
I was in India for 3.5 months. I ate street food fairly often. Although it's not like restaurant kitchens are any guarantee at all of cleanliness... you just don't see all the dirty shit they do. That said, I never got sick.
OK, I did once get diarrhea from some heavy drinking followed by eating an entire large Dominos pizza by myself. But to be honest, I think that was as much from the sudden shock of so much cheese and grease and preservative-pumped meats in my stomach in one sitting. Once I shat that all out, I was ok.
>>1051710
Shit's expensive though. I'm into proper meals, not really the haute cuisine thing of tiny marshmallow-sized lumps of various purees and whatever stacked on top of each other with a swirl of jus on the plate and a rucola leaf or bamboo shoot. I know it's not all about that, but too often it is.
I think Spain and Portugal are good value for 'fine dining'. I wouldn't always call it 'cheap', but it's certainly quite affordable than rest of western Europe, and holy shit, I've had some awesome meals in Spain.
>>1051731
Hence why I said that I spend most of my budget on food. I actually used to work in a restaurant and my family is involved in fine dining. I sometimes just get to the middle of nowhere, get in a ranch, and try to get a bite of some special local breed. So I grew up with that, and I also enjoy a lot cooking.
I also enjoy a lot of cheaper stuff too.
Anyone know good burger places in Chicago?
Saying food is your hobby is like saying breathing oxygen is yoyr hpbby
>>1051595
>Hong Kong food is the worst (on a budget)
I found the opposite
>>1051666
>No, international cuisines are too readily available where I live.
This might be true, but missing out on some bakery items, street food vendors and other kind of fussy to make foods will not be choices of international dining choices back home. Food festivals such as for wine or tropical fruits can be quite amazing to travel to do. You won't have anything truly bizarre at say, the Cayman Cookout, or the South Beach Food and Wine Festival, but you can certainly find them great to travel to do. Going to Budapest for the wine festival puts you in the middle of the castle, at night, with the best musicians in the country, gorgeous views, and not only wine, but hard to find aged things not exported, or small batch little brandies, as well as great street food like that Langos, their sourcream-potato fried dough slathered in garlic or made sweet. So, sure you might go to a hungarian restaurant back home and get one of the 5 most often referenced menu items, but you won't see that. And, you probably won't get a plate of unpasteurized cheese and local crackers.
>>1051584
Oh god that looks delicious. Just imagining a libing being that was boiled just so i can feel it's exoskeleton crack under my teeth.... MMMMM
>>1053535
Who the fuck would crack crabs with their teeth?
For me Thailand and Malaysia do the best food i've ever tasted, i have eaten street food hundreds of times from both countries and i've never been ill once. I mean my shit is not very solid in SEA but thats the same with everyone i think?
>>1051584
Oh OP, if you knew..... They way I travel..... I start to put together a plan with museums and national parks and all. But then it always turns into a list of foods I want to try in each town.
Good thing is my friends can relate to this, so they also don't mind when we end up hunting for the best "Mao's favorite" restaurant in Changsha or something. They even seem to enjoy it at times.
>>1051599
I got my worst diarrhea travelling... in London. I lost 5kg in a week.
In China (southeast mainly) I had no problem whatsoever, and I only cared where I ate for the first few days. Afterwards it was a feast of streetfood. Sometimes in really dirty looking places... But hey, it was mostly well cooked or fried. I did pay attention to only drinking bottled or preboiled water, though.
Some good tip I got from a fellow traveler for people with weak stomach (=me), take probiotics a week before leaving.
I never actually went on a proper probiotics cure, but I did take a bit of them, and it made wonders, really.
>>1051584
I don't like asian food and during my trip to Japan I got sick once only because of the smell of food!
One thing I really liked during my trips was the canadian poutine! And the maple syrup lolipops.
>>1055842
Yeah I hear about this a lot. A group of people from my mom's office traveled to Japan to do business. It's worth noting that these people are all fat, obese actually. Upon their return many of them were practically normal sized; I was told me it's because they thought the food was disgusting and barely ate.
No but I do like food in general and like to try traditional dishes.
Hungarian cuisine looks great and I'd love to travel there.
>>1051725
Which ones? Any you can recommend in particular?
I remember meeting a fat american girl whilst i was in florence who took me to a bakery who let her and me have some freshly bakednstuff at around 4am before they opened.
I later dipped my pizza into her oven.
>>1056956
Go here: http://www.denroedecottage.dk/
Its amazing!!
>>1051645
>Just ate this (schweinshaxe) in a place here in Munich. Some Augustiner dunkelbier with it.
This and schnitzel I can get fairly easily and deliciously at home.
>>1051666
>No, international cuisines are too readily available where I live.
Yep, but you won't get any leberknoedelsuppe at the austrian restaurant at home.
I don't travel specifically for food, but I make a point to try at least one local delicacy and alcoholic drink from each place I visit. I'm vegetarian which makes this pretty difficult in some countries, but I've still managed to enjoy some new foods. Particularly enjoyed langos in Hungary and fufu with light soup in Ghana.
