Discussion
Edit - obviously meant FOOD abroad!
When abroad, does anyone else find that food which is meant to be a speciality of that country rarely tastes as good as you expected?
For example i thought croissants and pastries in France would blow my mind, but they were no better then I've had in the uk.
Chocolates in Belgium were no better than uk, same goes for pasta and pizza in Italy, bratwursts in Germany, hummus in Greece, peri peri chicken in Portugal etc.
Is this just because the uk has caught up so much?
When abroad, does anyone else find that food which is meant to be a speciality of that country rarely tastes as good as you expected?
For example i thought croissants and pastries in France would blow my mind, but they were no better then I've had in the uk.
Chocolates in Belgium were no better than uk, same goes for pasta and pizza in Italy, bratwursts in Germany, hummus in Greece, peri peri chicken in Portugal etc.
Is this just because the uk has caught up so much?
I think to an extent there’s a degree of romanticising the ‘real thing.’ I think it’s undeniable though that food from a certain country is usually better in-country in terms of average quality, price point, and accessibility. No doubt you can get good pizza and pasta in the UK but it’s definitely better in Italy because you can eat well in any town. If I go to a random Italian restaurant in a small UK town it’s definitely not the same
We have an extremely mixed culture in this country, more than it has ever been before and it is possible to try food from almost every country in somewhere like London.
Had some amazing Thai food in Thailand, but also 8 miles from home at a restaurant full of Thai staff. I can also walk into town and have some excellent Sri Lankan, Vietnamese and Pakistani food.
My preference is to try a few dishes of the local cuisine as it can vary by different regions of that country. My biggest surprise so far has been Albania, all parts of the animal cooked in a play pot with a rich yoghurt and cheese sauce, cottage cheese pies and an abundance of Italian food.
Had some amazing Thai food in Thailand, but also 8 miles from home at a restaurant full of Thai staff. I can also walk into town and have some excellent Sri Lankan, Vietnamese and Pakistani food.
My preference is to try a few dishes of the local cuisine as it can vary by different regions of that country. My biggest surprise so far has been Albania, all parts of the animal cooked in a play pot with a rich yoghurt and cheese sauce, cottage cheese pies and an abundance of Italian food.
tried a variety of restaurants from 3 star to street food
I'll share my positive ones as the negative ones I think reflect on going to the "wrong" places rather than the country itself;
Thailand great - haven't found equivalent Thai food here. The street food is unbelievable, a friend said it needs to be eaten on the roadside of a polluted Bangkok street to be authentic
I could live off the BBQ pork on a stick and roti (I know roti isn't really Thai but their version is great!)
I do think the Chinese food is better in London than BKK though!
Italy - simple ingredients good quality. Even simple dish like pasta in tomato sauce were great
US - positive from NY and California both crazy expensive though
Australia - fantastic quality - probably my favourite. was cheap before, now the FX rate is awful so not any more. Great mix of the Asian, Italian and local cuisines
I'll share my positive ones as the negative ones I think reflect on going to the "wrong" places rather than the country itself;
Thailand great - haven't found equivalent Thai food here. The street food is unbelievable, a friend said it needs to be eaten on the roadside of a polluted Bangkok street to be authentic
I could live off the BBQ pork on a stick and roti (I know roti isn't really Thai but their version is great!)
I do think the Chinese food is better in London than BKK though!
Italy - simple ingredients good quality. Even simple dish like pasta in tomato sauce were great
US - positive from NY and California both crazy expensive though
Australia - fantastic quality - probably my favourite. was cheap before, now the FX rate is awful so not any more. Great mix of the Asian, Italian and local cuisines
AF07 said:
Chocolates in Belgium were no better than uk, same goes for pasta and pizza in Italy, bratwursts in Germany, hummus in Greece, peri peri chicken in Portugal etc.
Is this just because the uk has caught up so much?
Has the UK caught up? Is it not partly a case of people coming to the UK and doing what they once did very well there, doing it well here?Is this just because the uk has caught up so much?
I wonder what talents we’ve exported in terms of food. We do of course have some amazing home grown chefs, but in terms of actual UK dishes/culture, it feels a bit thin on the ground…
I live in France but still travel back to the UK regularly and while I can occasionally find a good enough croissant most are poor but I rarely find a bad one in France. Likewise with a Baguette. I have had one good one in a restaurant in the UK. It was so good that I raved about it to my waiter and he slipped me a couple to take home with me. In France they can be more or less to my taste but never as bad as they are in the UK apart from that one. So yes you can find food as good in the UK as anywhere else in the world but it takes some looking for sometimes.
Many restaurants/companies will tailor their foods to suit British tastes, what you think is authentic, is not, so disappointing to your palate when you go abroad.
I moved to HK in the mid 90’s, no BBQ spare ribs, no sweat n sour chicken, even the crispy duck was meh, but I was looking for the wrong things!
After about three months there, I discovered the local food, absolutely fantastic, just takes time for your palate to adjust and find those out of the way places.
A short holiday is never enough time to find good local food, no matter what tripadvisor, would have you believe.
Add to this TV chef/food youtubers, going around the world waxing lyrical about everything they stuff in their face, even in the back end of nowhere.
As a general rule, when travelling, I alternate between following recommendations and just giving any place a go.
As others have said, the location can play a big part in the experience.
My personal highlights, have been Thai food, so hot, but some how the flavours burst through the spice. Taipei street food, the diversity of what was on offer, was just incredible. Vietnam, absolutely fantastic variety of food and drinks on offer.
Lastly Hong Kong, yes you can go on TA, but you’re not going to find the real gems, because tourist don’t go there. Sham Shui Po, hole in the wall place serves, steam chicken, roast pork and veggies on a bed of rice, that’s it you have one choice. This you consume sat on a plastic stool at a rickety table, shared with Triad truck drivers who have a distinct distrust of anyone not local, all adds to the ambience.
I moved to HK in the mid 90’s, no BBQ spare ribs, no sweat n sour chicken, even the crispy duck was meh, but I was looking for the wrong things!
After about three months there, I discovered the local food, absolutely fantastic, just takes time for your palate to adjust and find those out of the way places.
A short holiday is never enough time to find good local food, no matter what tripadvisor, would have you believe.
Add to this TV chef/food youtubers, going around the world waxing lyrical about everything they stuff in their face, even in the back end of nowhere.
As a general rule, when travelling, I alternate between following recommendations and just giving any place a go.
As others have said, the location can play a big part in the experience.
My personal highlights, have been Thai food, so hot, but some how the flavours burst through the spice. Taipei street food, the diversity of what was on offer, was just incredible. Vietnam, absolutely fantastic variety of food and drinks on offer.
Lastly Hong Kong, yes you can go on TA, but you’re not going to find the real gems, because tourist don’t go there. Sham Shui Po, hole in the wall place serves, steam chicken, roast pork and veggies on a bed of rice, that’s it you have one choice. This you consume sat on a plastic stool at a rickety table, shared with Triad truck drivers who have a distinct distrust of anyone not local, all adds to the ambience.
shirt said:
Disagree with the OP re pasta in Italy. Even terrible looking cafes in the middle of nowhere just seem to nail it perfectly. Simple foods with few ingredients are the hardest to get right imo.
Spot on. Have had some amazing meals in very unprepossessing places in Italy. Unbelievably delicious spaghetti cacio pepe in what amounted to a large garden shed in a car park in Umbria last time we were there, for example.It's pretty hard to get a genuinely bad meal in Italy, IME. Even the sarnies in motorway services are OK.
shirt said:
Italian motorway services are the best. Half cafe, half Costco.
You want a decent sandwich and coffee for not much money, check.
You want 20litres of olive oil, a 5ft cuddly toy and a 1kg box of truffle flavour crisps, we got you covered.
You're not kidding. This is the truck stop on the Brenner PassYou want a decent sandwich and coffee for not much money, check.
You want 20litres of olive oil, a 5ft cuddly toy and a 1kg box of truffle flavour crisps, we got you covered.
Well its certainly true that international food in the UK is now as good as its ever been - some fantastic restaurants and shops for sure, We've improved a great deal ...........but, we're kidding ourselves that we have anywhere near the food culture of France or Italy, probably Spain too. There, markets are a source of delight and amazing produce routinely in provincial market towns , unflashy simple little brasseries and trattorias cooking fantastic dishes for comparative buttons really.
Bakeries producing a range of fabulous fresh bread , delicious pastries and patisseries to die for , makes my mouth water just thinking about them.
Never been to Thailand or India so I'll defer to those who know.
Recent visit to the Western US was an eye opener in some ways, general quality across the board was good, rarely exceptional though.But christ, it has to be the worst value for money on earth right now. Prices are eye watering, compounded by the additional tax and inevitable huge tip of course. Even with wine (Very good wine) made round the corner prices are jaw dropping. Sure it didn't used to be like this , the land of the deal I seem to remember it with endless refills and specials. Now it's $65 a pop for the cheapest bottle on the list (++ of course) , hundreds for anything remotely top quality.
Bakeries producing a range of fabulous fresh bread , delicious pastries and patisseries to die for , makes my mouth water just thinking about them.
Never been to Thailand or India so I'll defer to those who know.
Recent visit to the Western US was an eye opener in some ways, general quality across the board was good, rarely exceptional though.But christ, it has to be the worst value for money on earth right now. Prices are eye watering, compounded by the additional tax and inevitable huge tip of course. Even with wine (Very good wine) made round the corner prices are jaw dropping. Sure it didn't used to be like this , the land of the deal I seem to remember it with endless refills and specials. Now it's $65 a pop for the cheapest bottle on the list (++ of course) , hundreds for anything remotely top quality.
zbc said:
I live in France but still travel back to the UK regularly and while I can occasionally find a good enough croissant most are poor but I rarely find a bad one in France. Likewise with a Baguette. I have had one good one in a restaurant in the UK. It was so good that I raved about it to my waiter and he slipped me a couple to take home with me. In France they can be more or less to my taste but never as bad as they are in the UK apart from that one. So yes you can find food as good in the UK as anywhere else in the world but it takes some looking for sometimes.
I have a cousin who loves in France. I mentioned a really nice curry house I had been to recently https://theindia.restaurant/ she said its one of the things she misses being able to get a decent curry.I think in the UK especially London we have access to so many different foods from around the world.
Adriatic https://adriaticrestaurant.co.uk/ italian resturant, took an Italian freind who said the food was very authentic.
Delicious Pho https://www.deliciouspho.co.uk/menu-1 Vietnamese, very nice Pho
Haz https://www.hazrestaurant.co.uk/ Mediterranean I reccomend the mixed grill
Thats just a few of the top of my head, there are many more.
Dblue said:
Well its certainly true that international food in the UK is now as good as its ever been - some fantastic restaurants and shops for sure, We've improved a great deal ...........but, we're kidding ourselves that we have anywhere near the food culture of France or Italy, probably Spain too.
Good I would hate to be as stuck up about food as the Italians. Nothing is as good as they make it. There are a few videos around of Italians trying Italian American dishes, trying a tiny bit and declaring it horrible and not authentic. Its not supposed to be authentic the dishes evolved due to the abundance of cheap meat in American when the immigrants moved there so they incorperated it, but to say it is horrible is just bulls
t and petty. Cotty said:
Good I would hate to be as stuck up about food as the Italians. Nothing is as good as they make it. There are a few videos around of Italians trying Italian American dishes, trying a tiny bit and declaring it horrible and not authentic. Its not supposed to be authentic the dishes evolved due to the abundance of cheap meat in American when the immigrants moved there so they incorperated it, but to say it is horrible is just bullst and petty.
Italians can be terrible food snobs, extremely regional and decrying anything that isn't from their town/city.t and petty. Its like Northerners and balm cake / rolls/ baps, etc
vaud said:
Cotty said:
Good I would hate to be as stuck up about food as the Italians. Nothing is as good as they make it. There are a few videos around of Italians trying Italian American dishes, trying a tiny bit and declaring it horrible and not authentic. Its not supposed to be authentic the dishes evolved due to the abundance of cheap meat in American when the immigrants moved there so they incorperated it, but to say it is horrible is just bullst and petty.
Italians can be terrible food snobs, extremely regional and decrying anything that isn't from their town/city.t and petty. Its like Northerners and balm cake / rolls/ baps, etc
Italian produce is fabulous from cheese to charcuterie -
And their cuisine is pretty much ubiquitous worldwide isn't it - Barely a place on earth you cant get a pizza or spaghetti bolognaise (except Bologna for that one ironically! )
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