International food

[Hollz]

Since everyone loves food so much, I came up with a question that I'm actually quite interested to hear what everyone has to say about



Name a country that you have travelled to/live in, and tell us what food we're going to end up eating a lot of if we visit there.
Nowadays, you can basically get anything you want, but there's always that staple food that you can't avoid eating most of the time, especially when you just can't wait any longer before you starve to death!

I'll start it off, although this one's probably pretty well known.

France: Bread and cheese. And you'll probably end up eating lot's of mozzarella and tomato baguette sandwiches.

[tumblezweedz]

Poland - zapiekanki - toasted baguettes with assorted toppings - cheap, hot and tasty street corner fast food.

Japan - especially at street festivals, yakitori (usually chicken on a stick in a yummy sauce), also yakisoba, fried noodles in sauce

Lithuania - cepeliniai - ground meat (usually pork) baked into a potato dumpling. Usually served in pairs, if you can eat one you're doing well. These are FILLING! Great for lunch on a cold day, you may not have to eat the rest of the day. Or life...

Also Lithuania - in summer, shaltabarschai (sp. modified for pronunciation) - cold beet soup. Looks like Pepto Bismal, tastes awesome! Served with hot potatoes on the side. All soups in Lithuania are good, cheap and filling.

For breakfast, kose (kosha) is a standard porridgy, cream of wheat thing, only much better - usually served with a runny berry jam and lots of sugar.

This Lithuanian joke sums up the local cuisine:

Big sister is teaching younger brother subtraction:

Girl: If you have 3 pieces of meat on your plate, and you eat 3 of them, what's left?

Boy pauses to think for a bit, then shouts: Potatoes!

[goyincognito]

Here's a few food items that came to my head...

Israel: Burekas. They're these decent sized pastry puffs with potatoes and meat inside. I go for the meatless ones, but that's just me. They're awesome for breakfast and really filling.

Egypt: Kofta. Grilled finely ground beef put into tiny little cylinder patties and served in a pita. Try to find the famous restaurant in Khan el Khalili in Cairo that shares the same name (unless I read the name wrong...)...the kofta sandwich there is amazing and it's only LE 20 with fries (like $3.75)

Jordan: Shwarma. They have a huge chunk of meat rotating on a spit slowly cooking/roasting and they shave some of it off and fry it up, then put it in a pita with hommos and whatever else you want. The street vendors in Amman have awesome amazing shwarma, but it's hit or miss - you either get the best shwarma ever, or get food poisoning and die. Yay! :P Just check the place to see if it looks reasonably clean and you'll be fine.

I'd like to try fried spider if I go to SE asia...sounds crunchy.

[LiveFreeorDie]

I'd like to try fried spider if I go to SE asia...sounds crunchy.

I have had the grasshoppers, crickets and little meal worms. The crickets and grasshoppers are okay as long as they are small - fried in soy sauce they are crunchy and salty - not much different than any other fried snack in the West. You just have to be careful the legs don't get caught in your teeth.

They have these giant grasshoppers, though, that I just won't touch. The meal worms were disgusting. The best thing is horrifying other travelers with what you are willing to consume.

My favorite staples in Thailand include Phad Thai (of course), Tom Yam Kung (spicy soup with seafood) and green chicken curry. Great stuff!

[justme]

Czech Republic: fried cheese. some people look at it and just go "EEWWWW" but actually it is so amazingly good. When i got back home my mum tried to make it for me but it just didn't work. So sad.

I would so eat grasshoppers or other fried bugs, i hear they do chocolate coverd ones too. Actualy i had this thing as a kid, where i ate the ants in my front yard.

[florencia9699]

In Syria : most deffinitely Shawarma... this is a lame attemt at a picture of a shawarma (then they make roll it up and you're good to go):

and this is a guy making a shawarma in Syria:


Seriously, one of the best meals I've ever had... Also the kebbe is sooo deliscious!!
and of course any Arabic dessert...


Canada : (i've never been) but if I ever go i'm gonna bring home a container of Maple Syrop...


USA : Peter Piper's pepperoni Pizza or the Italian Saussage... for real the best pizzas EVER. Also buffalo wings with loads of BBQ sauce!! (luckily they serve that at the TGI Fridays here in BsAs)
EDIT: also... I had in the US the best burritos, fajitas and tacos!! Funny I liked them better there than in Mexico!



Great topic!!

[omisan]

Australia: vegemite (with buttered toast, yummm); meat pies

Canada: poutine - with fries, cheese, and gravy, your arteries never felt so bad, but your tastebuds never felt so good

Caribbean islands: fried plantains, seafood

Costa Rica: gallos pintos (beans & rice, but yummier than you'd expect) pretty much every meal & fresh-ass fish

Czech Republic: the aforementioned fried cheese (dust it in flour if you want to make it at home...), dumplings of many varieties, roasted pork knuckle

England: all the great pub food - fish & chips, sausage rolls, etc.

France: can you really beat a chewy baguette, raw unpasteurized cheese, and kick-ass hot chocolate?

Holland: pannekoeke - pancakes, but they're more like thick crepes laced with almost any topping you can imagine, savory or sweet.

Iran: chelokabab - big skewers of meat over properly cooked basmati rice

Ireland: Guinness beef stew

Japan: takoyaki - balls of octopus & dough grilled up as a yummy snack; okonomiyaki - japanese pancakes

Mexico: tacos... the real kind!

New Zealand: fush & chups, lamb

Spain: tapas of all sorts - god, I love tapas. I want some NOW.

[tumblezweedz]

Just got back from Netherlands, ooooh, those pannekoeken!

Yum.

[expatben]

I know what you mean about the tapas Omid, I spent a month in Spain and most of diet was made up of various tapas.
But poutine? Good? Seriously? No offence dude but as proud of Canada as I am I cannot stand poutine.

Still, I will make a list:

Canada- Tortierre, fiddle heads, maple syrup, Canadian bacon and pancakes...with sryup.

USA-Gold fish crackers (yes it counts as food) BBQ wings-mmm mmm!

England-Fish and Chips with chip shop curry, steak and kidney pie sausage rolls and general pub grub.

France- a croquet monsiure-basically its like the ultimate ham and cheese sandwhich Baquets with cheese is also a must for me.

China-the Chinese dumplings are nice.

Poland-stuffed cabbage

Spain-Tapas of any variety

Germany-Bratwurst, Chocolate, Saur Kraut

Sardinia-sea food-Sardinian sausage and Pizza

Switzerland-Rosti, Racclette and Fondue

Belgium-waffles and mussels

Netherlands-pancakes.

[petalbear]

Spain: All sorts of tapas.

Morocco: Tagines, olives (assorted), cous cous, hobs/baguette, sandwiches

Australia: Meat pies

Mexico: burritos, salsa, enchilladas, nachos

Malaysia/Singapore: A never-ending list of food!!! Coming soon!

[Maineartist]

Here's some things I've tried and like:

Breakfast/Prima Colazione: Biscotti with caffe latte or a delicious donut filled with chocolate called a bomba with caffe.

Lunch/Pranzo: Pizzas- first potato, and second bufala which is a kind of cheese.

Dinner/Cena:

Prosciutto in Lazio and Umbria is supposed to be very good. When staying at a hostel I buy sandwich bread, 1 gram/un etto di prosciutto, mozzarella cheese and make 2 sandwiches. Also several kinds of olives are good I like the dried olives.

Amatrice or Carbobara tomato and bacon sauces on pasta.
Meat with balsamic vinegar sauce.

Desserts especially Sicilian desserts. Sfogliatelle a flaky pastry with ricotta inside from Napoli. Anything with ricotta cheese.

Smoked chestnuts.

Gelato.


Greece: gyros & espresso milkshakes.


USA: Buffalo Wings. Maine Lobster. Chicago Chop Houses'- Steaks.


Netherlands: Deli sandwich with the works, mustards, etc.

[DC_Jessica]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(expatben @ Jun 25 2006, 06:33 PM) [snapback]127989[/snapback]</div>

Germany-Bratwurst, Chocolate, Saur Kraut
[/b]

Doner Kebab? Haribo?

Turkey - lentil soup
It was the last meal I ate before getting whatever stomach bug I got when I was there and I can still eat it...soo good! (Normally you can't for smell/taste memory reasons...it's got a science-y name that escapes me now, anyone know??)

Washington, DC - half smoke, jumbo slice (seriously, whoa), Mint Julep at the Willard Intercontinental!

Clearly I like junky kiosk food wherever I go!!

[glitterhairdye]

Germany - Doenner are amazing. Actually a turkish food, but you can find them everywhere.

Netherlands - Pannekoeke, these are awesome! And the falafels are sooo good.

Austria - Chocolate

Scotland - Short bread cokies are the best anywhere.

I'm a vegetarian, so a lot of the traditional meals I couldn't eat.

[mish99]

Freak, i cant wait to try all these things!!!

What is Tapas though? Everyone seems so like them.

Well, I have to say, any type of braai. Real South African braai is fantastic! Unfortunatly you cant buy anything braai like at the shops, but if you meet anyone having a braai, go!

[Canadian Bacon]

Washington, DC - Crab Cake and Crab South!!! Served southern style with lots of mayo...

Vancouver - the sushi...

UK - Fish and Chips

Spain - paella!!

Germany - Weistwurst (those white sausages that you have to peel first)

Amsterdam - everything tastes better while stoned anyway...

[Brookers13]

shwarma and doner kebabs were a staple of my late night travel diet.

in morocco i loved couscous and tajines

in amsterdam those strawberry tart pastry things...mmmmmm

in spain tortilla de patatas

in france anything with fresh bread

and my favorite ever was the TOSTA MISTA ESPECIAL in portugal! its like a ham and cheese sandwich covered in a spicy soupy/sauce...sooooooo good

here @ home I like lasagna, anything with potatoes, and taco bell

also, in Lagos, portugal...theres a little churrasqueria that has whole barbequed chickens with a side of potatoes or rice fror like 3 euros...that food was amazing as well!

[DC_Jessica]

Originally Posted by mish99

What is Tapas though? Everyone seems so like them.

Tapas is the food-cure for people with indecision. It's like baby meals that you order a bunch of and share.

Tapas = mezze = appetizers = antipasto

Originally Posted by Canadian Bacon

Germany - Weistwurst (those white sausages that you have to peel first)

(I lost SO much weight in Germany. I would have lost more if I hadn't lived in the Turkish/Arab part of town and lived with a vegetarian.)

Originally Posted by Brookers13

shwarma and doner kebabs were a staple of my late night travel diet.

I'm SO with you!! I'm mostly a vegetarian, but I'll eat chicken shwarma day and night. There's a Quick Pita in Georgetown here that is amazing, and the one I had in Aqaba was made in this crepe instead of pita so it was super thin and amazing. Holy crap, I want one now.