I think of yum cha as Cantonese / Hong Kong while dim sum might be more Mandarin Chinese - either way in Chinese characters they might be the same.

very fun about Italia. I�ve loved my meals there but am way afraid to have the Sardinian joy of Cazu Marzu. It�s a fun conversation topic.

My favorite cuisines based on travel, that are very challenging for logistics:
franconian food (mostly pork) in Nuernberg
truffle pasta & other dishes in �northern� Italia and Umbria

I cannot find taro bread that I can get in maui - it�s sweet like the Hawaiian brand rolls but purple taro and pink guava breads. Even as food dye, it tastes different from white Hawaiian rolls. It�s also challenging to find them in maui at times, like Kona coffee butter. So this is another big culinary joy that I have only found in maui and surely other places in Hawaii.

French, Turkish/Greek and Iberian Peninsula (Portuguese/Spanish). That said, I also really like central European food (aka Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia) in the winter.

1. Creole
2. Cajun
3. Too many others to choose from

Japanese without a doubt. My others really change according to mood, the last great meal I had, etc. But right now it would probably be a tie between Mexican (authentic stuff, not Americanized Mexican), Lebanese, Italian (esp. northern and central Italy) and Indian. But over dinner last night we were talking about Basque food -- when we can celebrate in groups again I want to do a Pintxos party -- and that's also a strong contender.

What are your favourite aspects of Japanese cuisine?

I appreciate so many things... The flavor combinations, the devotion to perfection, the respect with which food is treated. If you look at my comment on the thread about foods that sucks with people while traveling, you'll see that sounds of my favs have been simple foods prepared in stunning ways in Japan.

Tough to choose only 3. I'm sure I'll need a short explanation.

- Mexican
- Thai
- American

Japanese is virtually a "thai" . I could have gone either way between those two, but since I'm not a big sushi fan I went with Thai. But let me explain "American" as I'm sure that will annoy some people.

I realize that a lot of "American" cuisine is borrowed. But there are Americanized foods that I sometimes crave - a really great cheeseburger with melty American cheese, an Italian beef sandwich, a loaded Chicago-style hot dog, bbq slathered in Carolina sauce, an omelet loaded with so many things that you can hardly see the egg, etc. So I'll stand by that choice, even if a lot of those items originated in other countries.

Great idea for a thread by the way.

Regarding the "American" comment, I hear ya! While overseas, I do crave a NY slice and a burger quite a lot...but I crave k�nefe, kaki furai, and Baja-style tacos much more. Presumably, it's because I don't spend as much time in places where those foods are common.

By the way, what do you like about Japanese and Thai food?

I'm surprised so many people rate Thai food so highly. You can't walk a block in this town without running into a Thai restaurant and while it's good, I'm not that big into it. I much prefer Vietnemese in the SE Asian food ranks.

SE Asian (preferably Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian/Malaysian in about that order within SE Asian food)
Persian
North Indian/Hindi-belt

Having been to Vietnam "just" twice, and Thailand many more, I've also converted to liking Vietnamese cuisine more overall than Thai. Don't get me wrong, Thailand has some quality spicy seafood dishes and soups, mango sticky rice, those caramel bananas, and I like how one eats raw vegetables with certain meals, but damn, Vietnam's b�n chả, coconut coffee, and the meal in the attached photo blew me away. Unfortunately, where I bide my time these days cookie-cutter Thai places are a dime a dozen, whereas phaux restaurants are scarce.

In other news, do you find many Indonesian places to eat in Sydney?

Yes, there is nothing wrong with Thai at all it can be really delicious, but if I had to chose it would be Viet, and neither would make my top 3.

I haven't really looked, but I do know there have been some better Indo restaurants opening in the last few years. I just remember Indonesian being nasi goreng and not much else and usually they were all crowded around the universities. I guess I should seek them out more. A mate of mine lives near this place Salt & Palm ? Indonesian bar and eatery in Glebe Road and reckons it's the duck's nuts, so I'll probably dip my toes into Indonesian there. Looks pretty good.

If I had only eaten Thai food outside of Thailand, believe me it would not be close to my top 3 either. Totally different ballgame.

My issue with so many cuisines is that, to my palate, after a handful of days, they start to seem quite same-ey. The predominant flavours don't have much variety and I start craving something else. Which is why I come down to France, Japan and Italy, but, even with Italy, I find after a week there that I'm craving something else.