Best City in the world for Food?
#196
Tokyo, by far and away. Edo-mae Sushi and Tempura at that level do not exist elsewhere in Japan, let alone anywhere else in the world. But, the offerings of Italian, French, Chinese, and even Indian food in Tokyo are very good as well. Oh, and then there is Wagyu... I just love it.
#199
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: MUC
Programs: Compulsory Traveller
Posts: 305
I just had some great Italian, Greek, British and US (Burger, Grilled Cheese Sandwich) food in Manchester. Also plenty of genuine Indian/Pakistani food around.
Surely not the best city in the world for food, but I was positively surprised.
Surely not the best city in the world for food, but I was positively surprised.
#200
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,010
IME, Portland is very good, although the seafood isn't as good as I thought it would be. Austin is overrated...went to The Carillon (what would rank as fine dining) and came away relative disappointed. Solid cuisine, but if I had to spend more time in the south, NoLa is miles ahead.
#201
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boulder
Programs: AA Plat, CX Silver
Posts: 2,361
IME, Portland is very good, although the seafood isn't as good as I thought it would be. Austin is overrated...went to The Carillon (what would rank as fine dining) and came away relative disappointed. Solid cuisine, but if I had to spend more time in the south, NoLa is miles ahead.
Austin is best experienced with a spicy curry at Thai Kun and some mezcal at Whisler's, followed by walking down the street for two-stepping at The White Horse and copious servings from Bomb Taco in the courtyard. Then you nurse the hangover with migas tacos from Veracruz All-Natural and get in line for barbecue.
There are a lot of overrated restaurants in Austin but the city itself holds up well.
Last edited by txflyer77; Oct 16, 2016 at 8:11 pm
#202
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
Programs: Costco Executive, RaceTrac Sultan of Soda, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 5,665
#203
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,406
Both Hong Kong and Tokyo (and Japan in generally) are worth the visit for the food alone.
That said, don't stick to sushi and ramen. Obviously sushi and ramen are very good in Tokyo, but Japan has so much more to offer than just raw fish and noodles.
Same goes for pretty much any major city on the globe, which is why I don't think you can name a best city in the world for food.
That said, don't stick to sushi and ramen. Obviously sushi and ramen are very good in Tokyo, but Japan has so much more to offer than just raw fish and noodles.
Same goes for pretty much any major city on the globe, which is why I don't think you can name a best city in the world for food.
#204
That said, don't stick to sushi and ramen. Obviously sushi and ramen are very good in Tokyo, but Japan has so much more to offer than just raw fish and noodles.
Same goes for pretty much any major city on the globe, which is why I don't think you can name a best city in the world for food.
1) I'll research local demographics to see if there are any expat neighborhoods without a strong presence in my home city (NYC). For example, Marseilles has a decent amount of Comorans (i.e. from Comoros). Whereas a Comoran restaurant may not be listed online - at least, not in a language I understand - I'll ask the tourism bureau/do a search for Comoran neighborhoods, and hope that a Comoran place to eat exists.
2) You've also got the regional cuisines from a country. Tokyo might introduce you to an Okinawan or Hokkaido eatery, or a Kagoshima food fair; Shenzhen, China must be one of the greatest places in China to sample food from throughout that country.
3) The capital isn't always the best place for variety. I cite Dubai/Abu Dhabi as one example. But merely having an international presence doesn't guarantee quality all-around either.
#205
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Asia/Europe
Programs: CX, OZ, MU (+AY, DL), Shangri-La, Hilton
Posts: 7,236
A Sichuan restaurant in Shenzhen might not put certain mountain veggies in the noodle soup for cost reasons, a Hokkaido ramenya in Tokyo replace original ingredients with cheaper ones due to the high rent or a Seoul outpost of Jeollanam cuisine cut the side dishes to half for the same reason.
Smart cooks night localize ingredients completely and just use their home area cooking style and skills to present tasty dishes.
#206
Some limitations to this in my experience as many times some crucial herbs, spices or other ingredients are lacking when not on "home ground"
A Sichuan restaurant in Shenzhen might not put certain mountain veggies in the noodle soup for cost reasons, a Hokkaido ramenya in Tokyo replace original ingredients with cheaper ones due to the high rent or a Seoul outpost of Jeollanam cuisine cut the side dishes to half for the same reason.
Smart cooks night localize ingredients completely and just use their home area cooking style and skills to present tasty dishes.
A Sichuan restaurant in Shenzhen might not put certain mountain veggies in the noodle soup for cost reasons, a Hokkaido ramenya in Tokyo replace original ingredients with cheaper ones due to the high rent or a Seoul outpost of Jeollanam cuisine cut the side dishes to half for the same reason.
Smart cooks night localize ingredients completely and just use their home area cooking style and skills to present tasty dishes.
At the same time, it's not as if an "Okinawan" izakaya or restaurant in Tokyo or a Beifang dumpling place in Shenzhen will be completely untrue to their names. The opposite example of this was a Georgian restaurant in Moscow...sort of. The Russian menu listed khachapuri and khinkhali, while the English one had hamburgers and pizza.