Trying local cuisine - how adventurous are you?

[harvyk]

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We have tried in Aust kangaroo, crocodile and witchetty grubs.
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Quite like crocodile. At this stage if I ever get taken by a crocodile as far as I'm concerned it's simply the crocs getting revenge on behalf of their species. Best I've had was at a restaurant called Smokey Dan's on the NSW South Coast. They make some really good salt n pepper croc, coupled with this dipping sauce, so good.

 

[Cossie]

In Beijing in the early eighties with a group of backpackers, menu was only in Chinese script, others went to tables and pointed out things they wanted, I thought I'd be a clever dick and pointed to something on the menu. Waiter nodded, of course when it came out it was chicken's feet, considered a delicacy by some, not me though. Paid for it of course and ordered another dish.

Sardinia recently there were stalls selling cavallo on a roll. Just meat I thought, paid got it, took a smell and couldn't eat it. It was of course horse meat. Seagulls had a meal!

China again in the eighties, we were in the very south of Yunnan, Xishuangbannanot not much choice for food so I ordered something from a stall, it tasted ok, turned out to be dog.

My partner at the time was a vegetarian, physically couldn't eat meat nor too much protien or she would be violently ill, she had a tough time in a lot of places, in China she seemed to survive on cabbage fried in duck fat. She did well in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka though!

Now I don't do 'street food' too many occurrences of food poisoning for my liking. Admittedly this can happen anywhere in any kitchen, but of course YMMV.

 

[leadman]

I'm feeling that this thread needs a "warning upon reading"; especially for those vegetarians, vegans and those with a queezy stomach.

 

[RooFlyer]

The waiter made a little bit of an effort in broken English to ensure I knew what I was ordering... having NFI, but having all the ignorance of youth, I pushed on and ordered it. I managed to eat around half before downing tools. Every mouthful was a major effort .... but I was determined not to leave a full plate for the kitchen to have laugh over.

The waiter was suitably impressed .... the GF (now wife) gave me a wide berth for that evening

OK, I just googled it.

No.

 

[Moody]

Every country has its "challenging" items of cuisine. I would no sooner have a battered sav in Australia than I would have a fertilised duck egg in Vietnam.

But I only feel pity for those travellers who stubbornly insist upon finding familiar (and often unhealthy) dishes. They miss out on both the culinary and cultural experience. The question I have is :- If they wanted things to be the same, why did they leave home???

 

[harvyk]

<snip>
The question I have is :- If they wanted things to be the same, why did they leave home???

Not everyone experiences travel the same. For some people the food does not form part of the experience of travelling, for others the risk of allergies has taught them to be super careful about diving into the unknown.

Just because someone will chose a nice safe hamburger over some sort of mystery meal does not mean that they don't deserve to be travelling.

 

[Moody]

Just because someone will chose a nice safe hamburger over some sort of mystery meal does not mean that they don't deserve to be travelling.

The trouble is that "safe" is a misnomer. The correct terminology is "familiar", and I would venture the opinion that unfamiliar cuisines for the chef make it more likely that they are unsafe.

 

[harvyk]

The trouble is that "safe" is a misnomer. The correct terminology is "familiar", and I would venture the opinion that unfamiliar cuisines for the chef make it more likely that they are unsafe.

No, safe is sometimes the term. I know quite a few people with allergies who will pick certain foods as they know that those foods won't contain their allergen.

Given the number of allergies my mum has to deal with (going to a restaurant is always fun) I'm always glad that whilst I have a few dislikes, I have no known food allergies, because she has to be super careful when picking foods.

 

[Moody]

Fine .... so you agree that allergies aside, those that choose to avoid the local cuisine at all costs are the worst sort of tourists?

 

[harvyk]

Fine .... so you agree that allergies aside, those that choose to avoid the local cuisine at all costs are the worst sort of tourists?

No, just different from you or me.

 

[love_the_life]

Fine .... so you agree that allergies aside, those that choose to avoid the local cuisine at all costs are the worst sort of tourists?

Why? For some people the food is not why they travel. To eat non 'local' food is not a crime these days and many of the people living there don't eat the 'local' dishes. In fact many of those so called local things are tourist swilll anyway, There is a wide variety of cuisines in most places these days, most enjoyed by locals as well. What is Australian 'local' food?

 

[trooper]

And for all you judgemental types know the person might have tried LOTS of the local food..(or some - with poor results) .but decided on a "comfort" meal that one time YOU saw them and looked down your nose at them. I LOVE trying the local specialties.... but when the mood strikes I have eaten Mexican food in Indonesia, "KFC" in Dubai....Maccas in the Phillipines and so on. Your preferences are no more noble or appropriate than anyone elses.

 

[fifo]

13-18 depending on how i'm feeling at the time! I love to eat and think one of the pleasures of travel is trying new food.
- every dumpling in hong kong and china
- street bao in china
- bun cha and variants in vietnam
- street al pastor tacos in mexico, actually any tacos in mexico from the street/small vendors
- tripe tacos in mexico are wonderful (not very healthy)
- coriander seeds with sugar post lunch in bangladesh
- menu del dia anywhere in latin america - cheap! some sort of soup, some sort of meat and usually rice. very filling.

... to many to think of now to be honest. I've been to 80ish countries and eaten some wild stuff!

 

[DC3]

I’ll give Kyoto as an example. In the restaurant, and having no understanding of the local language, “I’ll have (and pointing) what they’re having” when I think something looks good”.

 

[leadman]

on the opposite side, was in Taichung restaurant recently eating local food and passing the kitchen to the toilet, all the cooks and staff were tucking into pizzas.

 

[Forg]

OK, I just googled it.

No.

As did I ... expected something a bit more revolting. I like pate, I like ‘sweet meats’, love haggis, I must asmit I’ve not tried tripe; but that A-sausage thingy really doesn’t sound or look like somthing I wouldn’t at least try.

I think hygiene is more of a Thing for me. Street vendors in 3rd-world countries with sweaty/mouldy/rotting climates don’t necessarily sterllise their utensils ...

 

[Cossie]

Chai drinking on Indian trains, when I first went there they were using throwaway cups made from non fired clay that would eventually breakdown when thrown out. Being young I didn't give too much thought to how clean the clay cups were.

The last time I visited the chai vendors were using 'china' cups, filled and given to a customer and returned empty, then rinsed in a bucket of cold water and used again, no thank you!

Probably very different now, I'm sure it's all disposable plastic.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

I have had a few culinary adventures. My first overseas trip had an overnight layover in Seoul. Conveniently a friend of mine was there at the same time. We found a restaurant, wandered in and pointed to the menu blindly. A plate came out with raw veggies and meat and we were about to tuck in when the waitress ran over yelling no! We stopped and she then bought over a butane fed cooker and proceeded to cook our dinner in front of us.

I love most Asian foods and will generally eat anything. There have been too many highlights, but Khachipuri in Tbilisi was a good memory. The low light, Camel milk in my coffee in Dubai.

 

[Moody]

What is Australian 'local' food?

Australia has no single culture or cuisine, which is a good thing IMHO. What we DO have is access to high quality ingredients, including a few unique to our continent. So when overseas guests visit us our first question is "Have you ever watched Skippy?".

The second question is "Want to eat the star?"

 

[oz_mark]

Now I don't do 'street food' too many occurrences of food poisoning for my liking. Admittedly this can happen anywhere in any kitchen, but of course YMMV.

I watch first. If the cook the cough out of it in a super heated wok, I'll give it a go. Any bug that survives that ca have a go at me!