Hubs sent me this YouTube video and tells me that things like Brazilian pizza also exist. So anyone more traveled than me, have you ever had anything particularly interesting?
Edit: It’s also interesting to me how English adjective order affects this. The video is, for instance, describing Indian Chinese food, not Chinese Indian food. I’m sure other languages have something similar.
I’ve had some really good fried chicken in Vietnam, one of the best burgers ever in Singapore, and conversely, terrible Mexican food in Spain, lol
Singapore has some of the best food for sure. Absolutely world class across nearly any cuisine. Say what you will about their economy/politics, but that kind of variety is really hard to find.
I dunno, London has that sort of variety … but is also a capitalist hellhole :-/
I’d throw San Francisco in there as well, but I honestly don’t think either really match Singapore in that regard. I think it’s a combination of having been an gigantic financial and trade hub for centuries (I see London and San Francisco more as endpoints, honestly) and the pressure/post colonial culture from the island state’s government to curate their image/culinary scene.
It’s a very unique crossroads and set of circumstances which I honestly have not seen anywhere else in the world.
Yeh London and Singapore. Have a similar thing going on. I also feel both have lot of average mid level capitalist places. They do each have the odd goodie spots. I used to love Camden but it’s become all about the insta post fire. Love all the stalls about SanFran.
London was, in some ways, a hub thanks to the Empire. Less so now, but it does have variety, much more than any other European city IME
You can get stuff like jellyfish salad, jerk chicken, Lebanese food, etc, with little effort.
Also, it’s legal to take durians on the London underground, so that’s one up on Singapore :-P
Lol the durian debate continues! Yeah, the variety is definitely true of London. It has more of an organic sort of variety that I would compare with San Francisco, New York, or Hong Kong.
I think what really hit me was the overt curating I saw in Singapore (which also has a chilling/freezing effect on the small restauranteur) All the restaurants I went to were completely amazing and, like anything in that city, way more costly than in any other country I’d visited that trip. Singapore, at times, felt a bit gauche and decadent with how great/polished everything was.
I also think it’s interesting to see what permeates these trade hubs in terms of food. I will say that I did not catch any Caribbean fare in Singapore, although I wouldn’t be surprised given its imperial past. International hubs for technology, finance, and pretty much anything else miss out on varied cuisines if they’re sufficiently culturally or geographically insulated (looking at Paris and Shanghai from my experience lol).
Yeah, the careful curation of everything put me off, over all … I’d rather stick with provincial but real, personally (she says while getting a tattoo in a Vietnamese alley)
I’ve only passed through Shanghai - what’s it like?
Agreed. Singapore felt like Disneyland. There’s a place for that experience and I can only take it in doses lol.
I loved Shanghai. During that trip, we stuck mostly to the historical bits, which I was suuuuper fascinated by. We had a few days there and a few more in and around Beijing with some traveling in between.
Foodwise, it was awesome, but all very traditional fare (which I never grew tired of and would definitely go back). We were on our own, though, so we didn’t have the luxury of local friends and their preferences. Definitely got gawked at a bit more than in Hong Kong, but everyone was super kind. A bit more businessy, I’d say.
Singapore is streets above London. I love that for any price point $10/50/200 you can get a fantastic meal from a great range of cuisines.
Personal fav was the Malay. Disappointment the Chinese HotPot. Surprise contender the Indian drink range…so nice in the heat. Best local was the Teh. It was amazing.
The best Indian food I’ve had was in the Czech Republic. There’s probably some localization with how they make them there, but I loved it.
We loooooooove gelato in Italy. It is magical to my husband and me.
We have tried to find an acceptable substitute in the US, but nothing is “right”. I don’t know if it’s the geographical influence on the taste of our dairy, or USDA standards for keeping ice cream a bit too cold. We haven’t found a place here that’s advertising “gelato” that gets anywhere close to the experience of gelato in Italy.
But we randomly stopped at a gelateria in Akhihabara, Tokyo. Low expectations, but we wanted a snack. And that was hands down the best gelato we’ve ever had outside Italy. 5 stars.
Curry with nan in Japan
I had a blintz in Bali.
Paint my fence!
Sounds like a 1930s tap dancing song.
Or a 70s rock song
🎶 Bali Blintz Bali Blintz Bali Blintz Bali Blintz 🎵
NYC is cheating
Toronto too. Or LA. I know a lot of Koreans that say the best Korean food in the world is in LA.
puerto rico is not really a country, but it did have the absolute best hummus pizza I’ve ever had. the food there in general was top notch.
Hummus… Pizza? That’s a new one for me. Where is that popular/from?
I’d describe it as a Mediterranean fusion food. It’s not common, but when you see it, it’s typically an option at trendy artisanal pizza places.
Interesting. Does the hummus just replace the red sauce, or is the rest of the structure different too?
I’ll have to give it a try if I come across it.
No cheese, typically toppings that go well with hummus (roasted reg, olives, herbs).
Do döner kebabs in Austria count as a Turkish food?
Depends on where the dönertier was raised.
idk man the doner kebab I had in Berlin was way better than in Istanbul. Istanbul still had excellent food, just not the kebab for whatever reason. Maybe we just didn’t try the right place.
No, it counts as German food
Where? Friend of mine from Vienna always complains about the lack of good Döner and would love a good recommendation.
Namaste in Niamey, Niger has the best Indian food I’ve ever had, bar none.
I had fantastic khachapuri in Lithuania.
The only true oven for it within the city of a Chicago (Argo Bakery on Devon) closed a few years back and it’s like an ache in my soul.
I had an AMAZING ramen bowl in NY, I think the name of the restaurant is Ivan ramen, it was the best food I’ve ever had, not just the best ramen ever, I highly recommend it if you find yourself in NY, hopefully when the orange in power is no longer in power
We’re gonna be embargoing America for a LONG time after the Commander in Cheese is gone. We’d need to be sure we’re not going to be rounded up and sent to the camps.
I had amazing ramen in Estonia. It was run by a Japanese lady though so I’m not sure that counts.
Had fantastic dry ramen in Busan, South Korea. Place was run by Japanese people though.
You should try 盛岡冷麺 (morioka reimen) if you ever get a chance. It’s a japanese version (the best, imnsho) of Korean cold noodles.
I moved to New Zealand six months ago, and I have had exactly one truly bad meal since I’ve been here. I haven’t eaten any Maori food, so I guess all the food I’ve eaten has been from another country.
The one that surprised me the most was KFC. We moved from one state away from Kentucky, and we had to come here to have truly good KFC.
I was expecting the Chinese food to be good here, but it’s really good. So is the Korean, Indian, and Malaysian food. The fish and chips are good. The burgers are great, even from McDonald’s. The absolute best was Filipino food from a tiny little restaurant in a random strip mall near Sylvia Park. That food changed my life.
In fairness, I have had a couple of “fine” meals—as in, “well, nothing special, but it was fine.”
The one bad meal was Pad Thai made by Thai people at a Thai restaurant down by the beach. It was just way too sweet, which makes me wonder if they saw me and made it “for a white guy” or something.
Well, I had the exact opposite experience with KFC. In Europe KFC is crispy, crunchy, seasoned, delicious. When I was in Kentucky we stopped at the supposedly first KFC. Holy greasy bland chewy chicken, batman! Didn’t try KFC again the whole trip.
Yeah, I don’t know what the US malfunction with KFC is. Obviously capitalism, but beyond that.
Wondering where you’re were coming from (e.g city or rural), because what you described has basically been my experience in every US city I’ve spent time in. One of my favorite aspects of multicultural city life tbh
Sushi in Singapore, and Indian food (Tikka Fahl, iirc) in Czech Republic
