Foreign foods you cannot get enough of when you travel
 

Many of us are big travellers, I am sure, and many of us also travel to eat (among other things). So what where the most amazing local delicacies you ever tried from your travels around the world?

For me, it would have to be takoyaki from Japan and the gua bao from Taiwan. My first gua bao was actually in Taipei after visiting the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, and it cured a lot of hunger pans that I had that day! It was a pork belly gua bao (I think) that I gleefully ate on the way back to the Metro Station. Ever since then, I seek some out whenever I have the chance! :cool:

Regarding tako, well I've had many of it over the years (even in London), but the best can surely be found in Osaka in the markets there. My first try was at Tsukiji Gindaco at Kyoto station waiting for a bus to KIX Airport - and I was hooked ever since. There's something just so appetising about eating deep-fried balls of octopus in batter! Unquestionably, takoyaki is my number one "foreign" food. ^

Not everything pleases me, though. For example chawamushi in Japan and even chili crab in Singapore both leave me reaching for the sick bucket. Nor am I fan of curries (apart from jungle curry from Thailand).

I've listed more tasty foods from my travels on my blog. https://backpackerlee.wordpress.com/...ve-ever-eaten/

Vinamilk yogurt in Vietnam.

Foreign foods you cannot get enough of when you travel
 

Suntory Premium Malt in Japan

BBQ/Fried Honey (+osmanthus) Eel - Hong Kong. Oh jeezus....

If I weren't leaving for HK in less than 30 hours, I might be sad. ;)

Fresh off the tree that morning DURIAN

Eurgh! I prefer the Bambangan! It has a more bitter taste, but doesn't smell quite so much...

Choripan with Chimichurri.

Bajan Flying Fish cutters with Bajan hot pepper sauce.

Grilled octopus in the Aegean.

Crispy pata. Can you tell I just visited the Philippines?

A convenience store in Japan

Foreign foods you cannot get enough of when you travel
 

Please don't judge me....
Taco Bell Combo #1
Unfortunately we have no Taco Bell in Germany

1st place: Porcupine from Cameroon. The best melt in your mouth meat in the world, though very few people outside of that region of Africa are aware of it.

2nd place would be any of a hundred Bangkok street vendors. It almost doesn't matter what I ask for because the flavor and spices are great with every dish.

3rd place goes to any decent dhaba in India.

Foreign foods you cannot get enough of when you travel
 

What, no love for poutine? :-)

spain = chuleton steak; pulpo (octopus)
malay/sing = chicken rice
usa = various fast food; southern bbq

those are my absolute must-haves. other places i care not so much about

       

Satay
Magret de canard served rare
Liquor filled chocolates from Germany
Roast goose (Engalnd, Germany, Austria)
Wild game in interesting preparations (top German restaurants, for example)
Kangaroo
Ostrich
Emu (if it's not overcooked)
Good strawberries, not the greenhouse big white ones we get in the USA
Marinated (not smoked) salmon like it's served in Denmark
Tarte tat in made from sour apples
Yakatori
Kobe style (lighter batter and oil) deep fried fish and veggies by the piece (not set meal)
Rouget (fish), fresh and simply grilled, ideally eaten by the sea in souther France
Stuff cooked with maple syrup (Canada) or served with maple sauce at dinner
Warm white chocolate sauce for waffles and bacon at the Westin Tokyo

Just about anything from a German Christkindlmarkt.
Just about anything from the sushi places right outside Tsukiji.
Real Hawaiian poke and mac salad.
The Chinese pork buns sold on the street in Yokohama's Chinatown.
Just about any street food in Seoul, especially over by Myeong-dong (tornado potatoes with sausage and 32 cm ice cream cones especially).

The special donuts on "women's day" during Karnival in parts of Germany (the Rhein area).

I like Yakatori. Anyone who loves barbeque will like Yakatori. But to me it's nowhere near as good as Kansas City BBQ. Or Texas, etc. And as I live mainly in France, the US counts as foreign. :)

But when it comes to Japanese food, real quality Kobe beef in Shabu-Shabu is definitely all you can eat food. ^ But it has to be in Japan! The Shabu-Shabu they serve in US Japanese restaurants is doesn't come close.

Singapore - Laksa, Chilly Crab.

Taiwan - Stinky tofu.

Australia - Meat pie + Woolloomooloo hot dogs

Indonesia - Since I'm Indonesian born, it'll be too much to list, however, whenever I went there, I tried to eat as much "Soto" as I can.

I love poutine, but I'm not sure I can eat it every day. I'd try though.

Masala dosa, Mysore-style, for breakfast. You can get dosa in the UK, but it's not the same, and never for breakfast.

Iced sencha. You can get a version of it here in some branches of a Japanese takeaway, but it's a poor immigration. All other iced teas you get in the UK are sweetened to within an inch of their lives - I want it as it comes!

Profiteroles, done the proper French way. Filled with ice cream, not whipped cream or creme pat. And no icing - a great big jug of hot, dark chocolate sauce, the remainder of which I can soak up with my leftover bread.

Dutch style kipsate. Yes, there's much better versions of sate out there, but it's just the perfect comfort food.

Certain Belgian beers not available in US. Best in the world.

Belgian fries with mayonnaise.

Specifically the NY outlets? They're certainly expanding - I was shocked to see one in Moscow a month ago - but Sydney? Not sure if that'll happen anytime soon...

(Guess this sounds like I'm a fan. I'm not. Their fries are terrible too.)

Bulgogi and churros.

Roadside tacos in Mexico. Specifically, Carne Asada cooked over charcoal, chopped with a cleaver on a log round, on fresh hand made corn tortillas, with onion, cilantro, hot salsa, and a bit of guacamole.

Sisig and Lechon in the Philippines. I will have them at almost all possible venues.

Chris

Way OT, but I had my first ever Shakeshack the other day (in London, actually). £2.75 for a regular Coke! That's just astonishing! :mad: The ShackMeister was good value (£6) and the Cheese Fries were OK, but the drink? ....

Great choices. Sometimes the sugariness of churros puts me off, but then again the warm chocolate in which to dip them usually entices me nonetheless! I heard they are a Madrid invention, but I ate loads in Barcelona. Interestingly, street food is banned in Spain for hygiene reasons, so stuff like churros have to be sold indoors like in a Churreira (café for churros, I guess). They are nice, warm places.

Bulgogi is awesome, possibly my second favourite Korean food (after yang yeum fried chicken). I've only ever tried beef bulgogi though. It reminds me of bistek tagalog from the Philippines, and I guess there must be many similar dishes from around the world. After all, it's only marinated beef strips - nothing unusual! But the Koreans just have the best version IMO, especially with all that gochujang!

Noodles in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and China. Or better yet, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese noodles all in Hong Kong.

Those and sushi.

Xiaolongbao @ Ding Tai Fung - loved their varieties, whether it's Taipei, Kaohsiung or Seoul ... ^

Unless you need a quick fix, avoid the US DTFs... you'll be disappointed. Still good, but not to the level of Taipei for sure.

Kokoreç in Turkey
Gaz in Iran
Crown Lager in Australia

American pork!

Cha yen, moo ping, khao soi, kanon jeem, khao niaow ma muang and som tam pet pet and virtually everything else in Thailand.

Everything in Japan. Everything in Korea. Nearly everything in Hong Kong (except century eggs. Fung jau and aap lei hold no fear). Nearly everything in Vietnam.

Pret a manger sandwiches and bacon rolls with brown sauce in London.

Poutine and Tim Horton's apple fritters in Canada.

That's probably it, along with the crappy water in SoCal (though the water in Bellevue is much better, yet I think that DTF is worse than the ones here in Arcadia and Costa Mesa).

Manapua in Hawaii. I've learned to make it myself since it is rare to find in my neck of the woods. I did find some baked char siu bao in The Hague of all places. I was in heaven.

Proper gyros in Greece. It's a craving that can't be controlled.

All Austrian dishes and pastries.

Paella from Valencia, Spain.

Tacos al pastor from Mexico.

Also agree with Taco Bell Combo #1...

Heading to Thailand for 3 weeks and can't wait to try all of these suggestions on here!

It's not foreign (to me), but rustic sourdough bread from The Breadworks in Pittsburgh. Best bread bakery in the world.

It's also hard for me to turn down a pastrami sandwich from Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh's Strip District (and it's not what you might be thinking ...).

Not foods but drinks: ayran in Turkey and Appletizer in South Africa. I deeply love both and order them at every possible opportunity when I am in those countries. I am always mystified as to why Appletizer has not made it to the US! It is so delicious!

Tonkatsu.
Doner kebab - Turkish version great, German version even better.
Unique potato chips (seafood flavors in Asia, etc.).
Any McDonald's item that you can't get in the US.
Any form of meat on stick.
Any form of dumpling - bao, pierogi/pirohy, empanada, meat pie, you name it.

In Austria, the white bread rolls they serve in hotels at breakfast - not sure what's so special about them, or what they are called, but I love them!

In Switzerland, Bratwurst mit Rosti half way up a mountain.

In California, heirloom tomatoes, fresh picked.

Pretty well everything else I crave I can easily get here.