BonVivant

Last lunch in Chefchaouen. The other tagine was chicken. My lunch at home. Matjessill is Swedish-style herring with eggs and cream. I added beetroot and grated salt-cured yolk.

Took a local bus to Tétouan through the Rif mountains. The height wasn't the problem, it was the endless bends and impatient, reckless driving - an Olympic sport in Morocco. Face was still drained of blood by the time I sat down to eat lunch. Couscous always comes with a savoury sauce. Was pleasantly surprised that I could order a beer, my first in days. Lamb skewers. Nice but could not compete with grilled meats in Fez. In fact, Fez excels at too many things. Mint tea and coffee, night or day it doesn't make any difference to Moroccans. My 2 dinners at home. French "label rouge" free-range corn-fed chicken, poached in the oven. Ate some of the meat with chilli garlic sauce and greens. Some broth was used in this. And the leftover meat.

Happy to eat my "bland" food again. Store-bought potato dumplings to test once and for all. They are all uniformly shaped, whereas my own is not nicely shaped but tastes far better. Potato dumplings with Sauerkraut and Speck. One of my all time favourite meals. Simple, good and soul-satisfying.

Lunch in Chefchaouen, Morocco. At home now. I always miss this the most when not at home. Lost 3kg on this holiday. Also lost weight after returning from Korea and Japan but 3kg is a new record for me. Everywhere I go, everything I do, everyone I know there's no one like you, cheese!

Not really sure. Morocco is a big producer of tinned anchovies and sardines. Many eateries have sardines and anchovies on their menus. The price is sweet, 25 dirhams (2,50 euros). Costs up to 6,50 euros for the same plate in Portugal and Spain!

Two lunches. Moroccans eat at low tables surrounded by cushions. Just be glad you get cutlery, even if it's melted dirty paring knives. They use the same mesh wire clamps for fish and meat.

I have moved on to Chefchaouen in the Moroccan Rif mountains. Vegs are stored on shelves by the entrance.

Real merguez in Morocco has spices, chillies, harissa. Not red colouring, as told by the grilled meat shop's owner. It has an intense red colouring which does not turn ghastly brown like the meh-guez sold at home. Moroccans are big meat eaters. This plate is already a lot for 2 persons but for them it's only enough for 1. Smoke everywhere. Owner uses the table on which customers eat as his work surface. Space is extremely tight in the medina.

Ordered a day in advance. Secluded table reserved for us introverts. A typical fountain in Morocco, now is part of the restaurant though it's no longer in use. @Paul Bacino, they are everywhere in Morocco at the moment, nobody wants to touch them for the same reason. Orange/mandarin-laden trees are also everywhere but no one reaches up to pluck one. The latter is not for eating, that's why.

Pigeon pastilla ("pie") ordered a day in advance. Also, some fruits (at different times). "Prickly pear". The inside. Stains everything and has quite a few seeds.

There are many grilled meat shops in Fez but each has its own spice mixes, atmosphere and personality. Sometimes I just eat snacks for lunch. Spices in the broth. One little bowl is gone in a minute. Three is just right. Broth alongside. Snail man.

The restaurant has a rooftop terrace where I had my lunch. Chicken and preserved lemon. Inside was full (and beautiful).

Lunch in Azrou on an excursion to the middle Atlas. I thought it was just vegs but deep inside there's beef. Lamb and merguez. My food being cooked. Looks very "modern" and "clean" here, though not a common sight.

Dinner in the dark again, literally. I have brightened the photos considerably. Meatball tagine, broad bean soup and couscous with some sweet fruits. Kitchen is directly in front of me behind the screen and the only light. To my right. In reality it's dark as a toom.

Dinners in the dark. Had to do it once, camel burger. "Gamey" but not as strong as yak burger in Lhasa. Don't care for both. This restaurant is run by a cooking school. Employees are "millennials" and serving style is hipsterish. All vegetables, plus some teeth-meltingly sweet things on the same plate. Morocco's most typical soup. Pigeon pastilla ("pie") is a formal speciality of Fez which has to be ordered in advance. Chicken version is less formal and easier to find.

An excursion to see the Roman ruins and then ended up in medieval Meknes where I had lunch. Giant white bean soup/stew. Merguez Morocco is obsessed with symmetry and patterns. Even on my salad plate. An employee took me around to show me what they had and I pointed at what I wanted.

Lunch in Fez, Morocco. Little things and bread first. Morocco is land of dates, palms and olives. Full name of Morocco in Arabic. Typical Moroccan dishes they serve here. First thing I ate after 16 hours.

A temporary pause from Okinawan dinners. Today my dinner is in Fez, culinary capital of Morocco. The medina is enthralling, the tiles are gorgeous. The fascination is immediate and intense. Unfortunate looking food but it's good. Mince is springy and nicely seasoned. Meat is very tender and mild. There are so many tiny grilled meat shops in the medina but this little poster caught my attention so I decided to go in to try the lamb. Turned out I made a good choice. When I say the shop is tiny... about 2 metres across, one communal table and three benches around it, one florescent lamp, blaring tiny old tv above me. You are given a sheet of paper to eat your bread on it. Kind owners and customers. Man on my right gave me half of his olives. This place allows customers to bring their own store-bought olives and greens. He's a teacher and speaks English. He drank the rest of his chilli sauce. And partner thought only I would do such a thing. Watching football on tv above me and tending the bbq. Her partner's turn. She was taking a break. Today I learnt how Moroccans eat their kebab. There's no white, garlicky sauce and raw onion rings like how Turks like theirs. She offered me a piece of chicken to try but I was already full. She let me make this photo then wanted to see other photos I made of this meal. They brought a wide smile to her face.

At my lodging on Iriomote island. Braised and glazed chicken wings. Dinner at home. With Späzle.

Lunch on Ishigaki before taking the bouncy ferry to Iriomote island. Wanted to try something new: Okinawan screw pine, AKA pandanus palm. It's a common plant in Okinawa. Ishigaki island has its own beef production. (About Ishigaki beef) My lunch at home. Everything comes from the North Sea and (north) Atlantic.

Lunch in in the big city Düsseldorf . Mettwurst is a type of lightly smoked sausage. Green stuff is "rapini" with potatoes. Can never trust anyone not to overcook my liver. I usually sit in this area where it fills up last. At peak meal times you won't be able to choose any specific table. Servers are all males and usually middle-aged. All door handles in the toilets are in the shape of their wooden beer casks. They only have one beer and it is cask-dispensed. At another brewery shortly after. Unfortunately it was so dark the photo didn't turn out. On the plate are a few cold things: raw pork mince, liver paté, brawn. Picked up some Lebkuchen before heading back. Also Spekulatius here, @Kim Shook.

Iriomote island, dinner at my lodging. Owners and their families are pineapple and mango farmers who run the guest house and do all the cooking. Workers stay and eat here during harvesting season. Good food every day but the best thing is the island itself. Tuna and marlin. Home-made flavoured liquor. My own dinner at home. Didn't like the first photo so I made it again with leftover puree.

The only place to eat lunch on the island. Same soup with seaweed and soft tofu. Breakfast at my lodging. My lunch at home.

Kuroshima island, dinner at my lodging. My dinner at home.

Flew from Yonaguni island to Ishigaki to take the ferry to Taketomi island. Lunch on Ishigaki before leaving for Taketomi. (Forgot to make a sign for Ishigaki) The "national dish" of Okinawa again. Ishigaki island produces their own beef and is quite proud of it. At home. Leftover buckwheat dumplings. Got right back on my cheese diet after 4 weeks of rice.