What's the best food you're had in another country that's not from that country?
11d 19h ago by sh.itjust.works/u/Apytele in asklemmy
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 had pretty good baguette in London.
This question is basically tailor made for the UK.
Only because the US is cheating. Somebody commented that and I agree.
Look at this Scotch egg! Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Do döner kebabs in Austria count as a Turkish food?
No, it counts as German 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.
Where? Friend of mine from Vienna always complains about the lack of good Döner and would love a good recommendation.
Unfortunately it’s been 18 years since I was in Austria, and as an American who’d never had one before they all seemed good, so I couldn’t really help. I remember once my cousin took us to a pizza place that served both döners and the meat inside of dough like a calzone, but couldn’t tell you at all where it was beyond I think we were on the eastern side of the Danube.
But please have an Ottakringer Blopp and/or Kaiser Doppelmalz for me the next time you’re in Vienna.
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.
I had a blintz in Bali.
Sounds like a 1930s tap dancing song.
Or a 70s rock song
🎶 Bali Blintz Bali Blintz Bali Blintz Bali Blintz 🎵
Are you ready Steve? Uh huh.
Andy? Yeah. Mick? Ok.
Alright, fellas, let's go!
Paint my fence!
I had an excellent home-made lasagne in a restaurant in Gent, Belgium.
Was the restaurant attached to a home?
Nope. It was on the main square and was called 't Vosken.
Now I'm genuinely confused what made it homemade...haha
Because they made it themselves, I guess.
Isn't making things themselves what restaurants are supposed to be doing? Not always, but a good restaurant would, at least.
Can I ask in which one? I'm planning to go to Gent soon
Certainly! It was: 't Vosken, Sint-Baafsplein 19. I'll try to upload a photo.
Thank you very much! I saved it already and really appreciate the effort :)
You're very welcome. Make sure you have the Dame Blanche with cream for dessert!
Indian food in the UK. I don't think this will surprise anyone, though.
Absolutely. I was just recalling in an earlier thread a dinner I had in Cornwall near Tintagel, at a family run Indian place. I was keen on trying vindaloo, but the owner talked me down to madras - and I was glad, because that madras was at the perfect edge of my hotness tolerance and was delicious. The vindaloo probably would have been too much for me.
Yep. Vindaloo from a good Indian is evil 😃
Disappointed that I failed the Dave Lister test tho. OTOH it means I still have more than one taste bud.
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
City, but a small one. And yeah, food was good, but the floor and average were both lower there.
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.
Vietnam has amazing French food. Especially top tier baked good like croissants. Up there with the best in Paris.
I would never have guessed, this is what I made this post for.
I mean it makes sense given that Vietnam was a French colony up until Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnam wanted out after WW2
History was always my weak point. It's interesting but I could never keep up with the names and dates.
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).
Ah, gotcha. The pizza dough is really a substitute for pita, rather than fitting the hummus into pizza (if that makes sense). I bet some feta would go crazy on that.
Still sounds pretty yummy, I'll def have to find that somewhere.
I had some really good Chinese takeaway noodles in Athens. Bonus: 500mL Heineken’s were a €1.50.
I had something in Germany they told me was from Austria that was just ham steaks with eggs and potatoes in an incredible red sauce.
I don't remember what it was called, nor where it actually originated from. But fuck, I wish I knew what that sauce was because the rest of it was super simple and something I can get easy at home. It's not the same without the sauce, tho. It wasn't spicy, it wasn't BBQ and it wasn't ketchup. It was just pure deliciousness.
I had something in Germany they told me was from Austria that was just ham steaks with eggs and potatoes in an incredible red sauce.
It sounds a bit like Tiroler Gröstel but with Gulasch Sauce. Gulasch is usually it's own dish, but you could use it as an addition to another dish.
Does doner kebab in England count?
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 don't think either really match Singapore in that regard. I think it's a combination of having been a 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 have not seen anywhere else in the world.
Edit: "an" to "a"
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.
Hmm, if the opportunity passes I'll check it out ... I'm used to people gawking, lol
Thanks :-)
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.
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.
I totally agree lol. Never been anywhere else like it. I'm surprised the hot pot let you down though. The only places I felt were middling were in Orchard Center.
Had the most amazing burger in Japan. I'm not sure what they put in their food, but EVERYTHING there tastes amazing.
Perhaps Ajinomoto?
Maybe! But msg is used basically everywhere so why would it be so much more amazing in Japan haha.
Native production ig?
Which is funny because many non-japanese living here complain about finding good burgers (which is, of course, subjective to begin with).
Sushi in Singapore, and Indian food (Tikka Fahl, iirc) in Czech Republic
Oh, I have A Story.
I studied abroad for a year in Fukuoka, Japan (beautiful city, off the beaten path for foreigners), and the options where I was were pretty limited in terms of foreign restaurants. However, at some point, us international students discovered this little Turkish shawarma place hidden away somewhere, and it was absolutely delicious, very filling (in a way Japanese food generally isn't), affordable, and unlike any of the other options. The word spread quickly through the I-house, and many of us became regulars (although it seemed mostly ignored by the locals). We were there so often we got to know the owner, who spoke English, he was ethnically Turkish, but had actually come from Germany and decided to move to Japan and open a restaurant. Over several months while we were there, we watched the place get noticably nicer, more decor, the guy started importing Turkish rugs to sell out front, etc.
Unfortunately, as our second semester came to a close, we went there one last time to say goodbye to the owner and his delicious shawarma. He said like, "Damn, you're leaving? I don't know what I'm going to do." I'm pretty sure we were almost single-handedly keeping his business going, and it would take several months for the next exchange students to arrive and no guarantee they'd find the place or fall in love with it like we did. We didn't really have a way of leaving a message for that next group, to say, "Hey, check out this shawarma place," and I never did find out if the business survived us leaving.
Funny enough, this was how I learned what shawarma was, just before the first Avengers movie came out (dating myself here).
I'm surprised you say Fukuoka is off the beaten path since it's like the biggest city in Kyushu with international airports, schools, and whatnot. Was it not a popular destination for foreigners back when you were there? I know it's always been a popular spot for Japanese people.
Do you know if the shop is still around?? I might be going for work next month, and I'd love to get some good shawarma.
I meant "off the beaten path" relative to places like Tokyo or Kyoto. Fukuoka is still a good sized city, but my experience is that most Westerners haven't heard of it. Japan is a homogeneous country in general, so outside of big tourist destinations, you're unlikely to just bump into another foreigner on the street, and occasionally like a little kid would stare at me in awe (I did also stand out because of my height, and found it amusing). Like I said, beautiful city, and definitely recommend it.
Do you know if the shop is still around?? I might be going for work next month, and I’d love to get some good shawarma.
Well, I got curious and did some googling. I'm pretty sure the place I went to was called Pasha and unfortunately it closed down. However, there's actually a place that looks pretty similar (I thought maybe it was the same one at first) called Kafe Toruko that you might check out.
Had the best Indian food, in Australia.
I had amazing ramen in Estonia. It was run by a Japanese lady though so I'm not sure that counts.
Went to an Italian-irish-indian restaurant in a small town on the Shannon. I think it was just the restaurant family that normally ate the Indian food, but they let us order it and it was great.
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.
Namaste in Niamey, Niger has the best Indian food I've ever had, bar none.
I had one of the best seafood alfredo pasta dishes of my life in Cambodia. Just a random place down the street from our hotel in Siem Reab and I happened to see someone else order it or I'd have gotten another likely amazing plate of Nasi Goreng.
I also had insanely good sushi in Istanbul. Idk if this one really counts because I went with a local friend from university who showed us around, but I was still surprised since it wasn't a super pricey or ritzy kind of place and had a lot of locals working alongside some Japanese chefs.
I've had excellent Thai food in the US.
I've also had pretty bad Thai food too. 😔
https://www.oregonlive.com/topic/typhoon%20discrimination%20case/index.html
dang that vietnamese chili shrimp i shared in travel from osaka is probably right up there.
i have not had as good pizza in italy as i have had in several countries, but I prefer a strong, thick tomato sauce, which is very light in Italian pizzas that I've had, although the Italian fired crust is consistently better.
i prefer indian momos to chinese jianjiao: less oily, more consistently flavorful and healthy.
Where are sandwiches from!?! Because I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a sandwich as much as I enjoyed the Colombian barbecue chicken patacones that use plantains as bread. holy crap that is good and enough food for three days.
The Japanese have perfected the cheese cake, way more decadent without losing any of the flavor.
oh dang though, you know what, a Venezuelan living in Colombia made the best sushi I've ever had, and the best salmon belly sashimi I've ever had.
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.
Curry with nan in Japan
Brasil everything, pizza, hamburgers, sushi, pasta. They add their own style to international food and it's awesome.
Brasilian BBQ is awesome.
The best pupusas I've ever had were not in El Salvador, but rather a little shop in Toronto (now closed, RIP).
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.
Carbonara in Krakow, Poland.
It was authentic and tasted incredible.
The next few I ordered at «italian» restaurants had ham, cream, peas (!!!) and one even onions. I just stopped ever ordering it out and learned to make it myself, but the one in Poland will forever be in my mind.
I lived in Russia for a while about 15 years ago. Burger King and KFC were so fucking good there. I was so disappointed when I came back to the states to find Burger King as cold uneatable garbage again.
BK in Europe is actually edible, sometimes even good
Do you know what makes them better?
Massive win for communism btw 🥰. Just think about how they pushed back at those western brands setting up shop in the USSR. If only they knew one day they could say "Even capitalist slop taste better in Mother Russia 🐻🇷🇺"
I have no clue what you are on about. Russia isn't a communist country, it is a right wing kleptocratic dictatorship.
Just being silly. Russia needs all the wins it can get.
That said, things like McDonald's moved in shortly before USSR fractured, if I remember correctly, so would be pre-kleptocratic dictatorship. But obvs those corporations aren't indicative of communism, because they're American corporations.
I think you need help. Do you smell burnt toast?
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.
Thanks, I'll keep my eyes open for those :)
Had some amazing Indian food in Bordeaux.
This place: https://rajistan.fr/
I was out on business floating around the Cayman islands going from point to point and met a small statured man from the Philippines. he had this amazing boat that was so whimsical it felt as if it had floated out of a story book. it had these incredibly tiny glass chimes hanging from the palm roof and with the washing of the waves it sounded like magic.
anyway, he offered us something to eat and we obviously couldn't say no. he quickly began to work on his boat cooking up a storm. he was an absolute master at what he was doing! it was such a thrill to see him toss a bit of this and that into his pot and watch over it lovingly as it simmered. the air was filled with this amazing aroma of garlic, saffron, and tomato.
finally after a mouthwatering hour of cooking he plated the most beautiful Bouillabaisse for us to enjoy, and what a treat it was! it was the best Bouillabaisse I have ever had in my life!
unfortunately, I heard not that long after that the cartel found him and took his life. it's a shame that nobody will ever get to experience his cooking again, he was truly a master.
Wow, that story took an unexpected tragic turn. But I'm glad you're still paying tribute to this man's artistry.
Had some great Neapolitan pizza in Weesp, Netherlands.
French toast in a Hong Kong restaurant in (Low Yat tech mall in) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was awesome. Just some toast with some peanut butter, done in a very special way so that it seemed a totally new dish to me. Place has shut in the meantime. :(
Also, if you're ever in Prague, visit Yuniku, the best Korean BBQ restaurant I've ever been to, and that list is not short.
Ramen in Italy. Not the best Ramen I ever had but best outside of Japan. I also had very authentic Chinese in Italy. Had some of the best burgers I've ever had in Japan. China had a lot of odd takes on American foods and chains. There's kind of a long list here.
I'd say Indian in Manchester, but after so long, Manchester is kinda known for its Indian food so it may no longer be a "not from there" thing!
It’s mainly Anglo-Indian anyway, which is its own thing and not Indian.
Had better sushi in Taiwan than Japan on the same trip.
I haven't had brisket often, but the best one was in Zurich. They had a specially made smoker and all.
Where? I’d be curious to try if I were in Switzerland again.
This is the one: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JkHHXdUPv5HfNp946
Or brisket.ch
Near my house in West Seattle there used to be a little hole in the wall place called Lee's Asian, whose Seven Flavor Chicken I regard as one of humanity's greatest achievements. Sadly they had to close because developers flooded in and all the commercial rents doubled. Thank you, density-hungry Seattle city council. Density! Density! But hey, at least we can buy $5 donuts now.
Pequin Duck on a small venue in Berlin, side by a river. One of the best seasoned food I ever had. Don't get me wrong, I'm from São Paulo, Brazil, and one can have the best food ever of each part of the world here. Not joking, I've had better German food here than in Germany. I've had better Italian food here than in Italy. Turkish, Greek, Chinese, you name it. If you really wanna taste incredible food, you gotta came to Brazil.
I had the best wonton soup I've ever had at some random Chinese restaurant in Montreal
It had little crispy bit of i think cracklins floating around in it
All of the food we had in Montreal was great, and this was just some random place we stopped in for a quick bite on our way somewhere
Kebabs in Germany for sure.
They make them very different to here in Australia.
There was a place I only went to once, closing night of it, that did amazing Mediterranean food. Probably as authentic as they could try to make it here in the states. It was to die for it was so good.
Otherwise, close by to where that place used to be is an Indian restaurant that has the best vindaloo I have ever had.
I had awesome pizza in New castle (UK) once.
A bison Burger in Greece. It was like last minute need to catch a boat just grab whatever. Got this burger and it was amazing. On one of the small islands with no cars.
Pizza in Austria. From a shed, somewhere high up in the Alps. No inside seating just a guy selling street food pizza at freezing temperatures. There were plenty of people standing in line in the snow so I figured it should be good and my goodness it was.
Fair enough. Austria is right next to Italy so maybe it doesn't really count?
A currywurst in NE QLD. Best one ever…better than any from Germany.