Survey: Which country has the best/worst food that you have eaten?
Feb 21, 2008, 11:20 pm
#46
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 2
Anyone who can say this doesn't know what they are talking about.
You can get food from just about any cuisine you could care to think of in London these days, from first rate Indian food to excellent Turkish food to great fish and chips to upscale posh french-style restaurants to superb pizza to a brilliant english breakfast in a speasy groon.
In fact for sheer variety, and all roundedness, London has the beatings of most places.
My nominations:
Best - China
Worst - China
Really runs the full gamut from brilliant to awful depending on where you go and what you eat.
The best - superb noodles, even at the cheapest end. Lovely food barbecued in the street. Sizzling hot pot. Succulent tender beef sizzling on a plate with peppers. Gong bao jiding. Fried dumplings. I could go on and on.
The worst - soggy vegetables cooked in a ton of oil and served with 8 spoons of salt and 8 spoons of MSG. Bony fish that takes 3 hours to eat cos of the fiddliness. etc.
You can get food from just about any cuisine you could care to think of in London these days, from first rate Indian food to excellent Turkish food to great fish and chips to upscale posh french-style restaurants to superb pizza to a brilliant english breakfast in a speasy groon.
In fact for sheer variety, and all roundedness, London has the beatings of most places.
My nominations:
Best - China
Worst - China
Really runs the full gamut from brilliant to awful depending on where you go and what you eat.
The best - superb noodles, even at the cheapest end. Lovely food barbecued in the street. Sizzling hot pot. Succulent tender beef sizzling on a plate with peppers. Gong bao jiding. Fried dumplings. I could go on and on.
The worst - soggy vegetables cooked in a ton of oil and served with 8 spoons of salt and 8 spoons of MSG. Bony fish that takes 3 hours to eat cos of the fiddliness. etc.
Feb 21, 2008, 11:22 pm
#47
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 2
.2. London has some excellent Italian restaurants.
3. The Indian and Chinese food in London count as being amongst hte food in London just as much as anything else. If you liked the food in those places, you can't really argue that food in London is 'bad' per se. After all, much of the Indian food as served in the UK, was invented IN the UK. If Americans (and I've heard them attempt to argue it) were to take out all non-indiginous cooking, you'd be left with the cuisine of the Native Americans, which I'd wager couldn't stand comparison with a full English breakfast or a roast dinner.
Feb 21, 2008, 11:42 pm
#48
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: BOS
Programs: BA GLD for LIfe, AA PLT 2 MM miler, B6 Mosaic, Star GLD; HH Diamond; Marriott PLT, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,368
I have had absolutely superb meals in London (Pied-a-Terre, Oricherry, a bunch of Indian restaurants to support the earlier posters), Paris, Northern Italy (hard to miss, except in Venice), Rome, New York (lots of places), San Francisco (gary danko's), Lima, Hong Kong (Spring Deer, I thnk), Brussels (a foie gras restaurant). It is hard to say one is the best, though France would be at the top.
I often get bad meals when I am traveling between the east and west coasts of the US. Lots of high-fat, low quality places. The last time I was in Omaha was a while ago, but my advice is to order the filet mignon and skip the Italian and Chinese restaurants. My wife loves Ireland and finds the food almost inedible. She goes for a month at a time and loses weight (an unintended benefit of the trip). Food in Nicaragua was not great, except for one decent steak restaurant in Managua. Ihave had some terrible dishes in Hong Kong (delicacies that I was not prepared for: a very slimy jellyfish recipe that was unlike the crunchy and sort of interesting jellyfish dish I'd had before and a cold pigeon in rice wine sauce) and years earlier in China (unidentified meat and vegetables in oily sauce). I didn't love the food in Indonesia or Malaysia, but it wasn't terrible. But, you can find bad food wherever you go (although it is harder in N. Italy and Paris).
I often get bad meals when I am traveling between the east and west coasts of the US. Lots of high-fat, low quality places. The last time I was in Omaha was a while ago, but my advice is to order the filet mignon and skip the Italian and Chinese restaurants. My wife loves Ireland and finds the food almost inedible. She goes for a month at a time and loses weight (an unintended benefit of the trip). Food in Nicaragua was not great, except for one decent steak restaurant in Managua. Ihave had some terrible dishes in Hong Kong (delicacies that I was not prepared for: a very slimy jellyfish recipe that was unlike the crunchy and sort of interesting jellyfish dish I'd had before and a cold pigeon in rice wine sauce) and years earlier in China (unidentified meat and vegetables in oily sauce). I didn't love the food in Indonesia or Malaysia, but it wasn't terrible. But, you can find bad food wherever you go (although it is harder in N. Italy and Paris).
Feb 22, 2008, 12:48 am
#49
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Northern California
Programs: UA Premier Gold, 1.5 Million Mile Flyer
Posts: 3,547
Best: Thailand - By Far, no contest. Second place: Mexico.
Worst: Tie - Korea and Hong Kong.
Korea would move up many notches if they would use some salt in their food, and cut down on the sugar. I don't know that there is much hope for HK. Singapore is the place for Chinese food.
Worst: Tie - Korea and Hong Kong.
Korea would move up many notches if they would use some salt in their food, and cut down on the sugar. I don't know that there is much hope for HK. Singapore is the place for Chinese food.
Feb 22, 2008, 1:02 am
#50
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Europe & Middle East
Programs: BA GGL (LTG), Marriott LT Titanium, EK Plat, Amex Cent
Posts: 899
Best :-
France or Italy or Spain. Trick with Italy & Spain I have found is to go to restaurants with locals (i.e. not geared for tourists or ex-pats) and the quality can be excellent
Worst :-
Estonia.
Now there are some truly excellent restaurants in Tallinn (Gloria, Bocca, Pegasus for example) but none of them serve Estonian food.
Estonian food generally consists of pig (cooked a variety of ways) and boiled potato's and vegetables, smothered in a rather sour and (to my taste anyway) unpleasant cream. Basically like a sour yoghurt. The locals absolutely love it and pour it on everything. I lived there for 3 years and could never understand how people could enjoy such stuff.
Still, I am English, so I guess from the previous posts I should not brag too much about my own countries efforts at cuisine
France or Italy or Spain. Trick with Italy & Spain I have found is to go to restaurants with locals (i.e. not geared for tourists or ex-pats) and the quality can be excellent
Worst :-
Estonia.
Now there are some truly excellent restaurants in Tallinn (Gloria, Bocca, Pegasus for example) but none of them serve Estonian food.
Estonian food generally consists of pig (cooked a variety of ways) and boiled potato's and vegetables, smothered in a rather sour and (to my taste anyway) unpleasant cream. Basically like a sour yoghurt. The locals absolutely love it and pour it on everything. I lived there for 3 years and could never understand how people could enjoy such stuff.
Still, I am English, so I guess from the previous posts I should not brag too much about my own countries efforts at cuisine
Feb 22, 2008, 8:40 am
#52
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OH
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, Marriot Lifetime Gold
Posts: 9,539
Best: Thailand
Honourable Mention: Lunch at a little pub in Mowsley, England (Leicestershire) and yes, it was incredible! The village has less than 200 people but the food was fab. Maybe the fact that my family owned the pub 400 years ago (before emigrating to the then US colonies) helped
Worst: Spain. Only one meal from 1987 which still gives me nightmares (in general I adore Spanish food.) The meal was literally chunks of pig fat with the skin and bristles still on it served in some kind of greenish gelatinous sauce. Ugh, getting sick even thinking about it
Honourable Mention: Lunch at a little pub in Mowsley, England (Leicestershire) and yes, it was incredible! The village has less than 200 people but the food was fab. Maybe the fact that my family owned the pub 400 years ago (before emigrating to the then US colonies) helped
Worst: Spain. Only one meal from 1987 which still gives me nightmares (in general I adore Spanish food.) The meal was literally chunks of pig fat with the skin and bristles still on it served in some kind of greenish gelatinous sauce. Ugh, getting sick even thinking about it
Feb 22, 2008, 9:29 am
#53
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: 10 months VLC, 2 months everywhere else
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Posts: 3,770
Wow, 1st World England and the 3rd World former USSR are taking it on the chin here.
I've found food in the Stans to be quite tasty, but in Russia it is generally dreadful.
I've found food in the Stans to be quite tasty, but in Russia it is generally dreadful.
Feb 22, 2008, 9:33 am
#54
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Baton Rouge/New Orleans, LA
Programs: AA, DL, UA
Posts: 32
The Best Food
My vote:
Best - USA.... If you haven't gotten down to Louisiana and had some wonderful cajun food, then you haven't lived. This time of year the crawfish are just right. Gumbo is hard to beat if the roux is good and dark.... We have got wonderful sausages (Boudin and Andouille). Round it out with an etoufee and you have got yourself a great meal...
Worst - UK.....
Best - USA.... If you haven't gotten down to Louisiana and had some wonderful cajun food, then you haven't lived. This time of year the crawfish are just right. Gumbo is hard to beat if the roux is good and dark.... We have got wonderful sausages (Boudin and Andouille). Round it out with an etoufee and you have got yourself a great meal...
Worst - UK.....
Feb 22, 2008, 9:36 am
#55
Moderator: UK and Ireland & Europe
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Biggleswade
Programs: SK*G, Lots of Blue Elsewhere
Posts: 13,611
All these people who are having such terrible food in the UK, I'm intrigued.
Where and what are you eating? I'm trying to figure out whether my taste buds have been numbed, or whether I just have (apparently) excellent restaurant quality detection skills!
Where and what are you eating? I'm trying to figure out whether my taste buds have been numbed, or whether I just have (apparently) excellent restaurant quality detection skills!
Feb 22, 2008, 9:41 am
#56
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Feb 22, 2008, 5:46 pm
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,314
Best: Malaysia, Japan, Ukraine, Argentina (steak!), Syria
Worst: Belarus, UK
Honourable mention for worst: Bahamas, I dont mean resort food, I lived 2 years there and ate locally, they deep fry EVERYTHING!
Worst: Belarus, UK
Honourable mention for worst: Bahamas, I dont mean resort food, I lived 2 years there and ate locally, they deep fry EVERYTHING!
