Your food philosophy while travelling?

[Shalmanese]

I'm curious how various people think about their food choices while travelling? If you go to country X, do you resolve to eat only cuisine X while you are there or do you eat the same mix of cuisines you do back home? Do you aim to try all of the specialties from location X, even if you strongly suspect that they're not to your personal preference? Do you try and find a different restaurant for every meal or find a single good restaurant and then return over and over again? How does the balance of high/middle/low end shift when you're travelling compared to what you normally eat at home? Do you try and find time and space to cook while you're travelling or default to eating out at every meal? How does this change depending on the length of your trip and the location you're going to?

I find that when I'm travelling that I'm strongly biased towards novelty over quality. I try and figure out the foods that would be difficult for me to experience at home and try and hit as many of those new experiences as possible during my trip. At the same time, I'm a person who inherently craves variety in cuisines and this often clashes with the former desire. For example, I spent 3 weeks in Florence and was tearing my hair out by the end of it because while I was eating impeccably prepared Tuscan food for every meal, it felt like it was the same roster of 8 dishes over and over again. I've found that I'm happiest when I'm constantly moving while I'm travelling  so that there's a new novelty around the corner every couple of days.  Some places without distinct cuisines make it hard for me to decide how to eat. Australia and much of America, for example, doesn't have a very strongly defined "local cuisine" and the strength of their food scenes is in how well they blend outside cuisines.

What I've found though is that other people tend to have very different philosophies and priorities when travelling which makes it such an interesting topic of conversation for me. For many Chinese people of the older generation, there's a steadfast refusal to touch any non-Chinese food and they optimize for which cities have the dishes that are the most familiar. Younger Chinese people seem to be far more split on the issue of trying the local cuisine vs sticking to Chinese only. Given how food obsessed the Chinese are in general and how willing they are to explore the cuisines of the various regions within China, I find this attitude towards food baffling.

[liuzhou]

Interesting question.

 

I tend to go along the lines of trying everything local wherever I go. I have been lucky in life and visited many countries,.and in Italy I eat pasta and in Iran I ate Biryani, in Thailand I eat street food.  Blah, blah blah.

I am baffled by visitors to China who immediately run to McD's or KFC. Near the city where I live is a horrible back-packers Lonely Planet ghetto and westerners who have been in China 20 minutes dash there to eat very bad pizzas because they NEED them!

I found your comments on Chinese people's attitude to "unusual" food amusing. As you may know, this English boy has lived in China for twenty years. I have found that although China is renowned for its "eat everything" philosophy, in fact most people are very conservative about what they put in their mouths, even to the extent that food from other regions is looked at with suspicion.

 

Some young people are more open to new tastes and there is an attraction to "Western restaurants" which only sell dishes which the chef has only ever seen pictures of. My local "authentic Italian restaurant" sells things which no Italian would recognise. Just this morning one of their staff handed me a leaflet. Their pizza list kicks off with Beijing Duck Pizza! Here is what I wrote about them a couple of years back.

One of my unhappiest memories was some woman telling me how to cook a pizza - an object she had never cooked or eaten in her life.

But I have a couple of young, beautiful friends who are very, very interested in eating different! Very adventurous. But others I know don't even know or want some Chinese food they haven't seen before.

Me, I eat anything except people and pandas!

 

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

I tend to load up on candy and pastries that I haven't seen before, and snack on those often. My room eventually develops the look of a convenience store if the country has a lot of candy that doesn't get exported much.

 

As a vegetarian, sometimes food is limited, but I try to eat every meal in a different place. I don't tend to eat breakfast much, so, if it's included with my room, I will rarely go eat it elsewhere. I often just want fruit and some tea for breakfast, so I also try to go to a grocery store or market to buy fruit. I try to eat local food, but, am open to whatever happens. Thus, I ate Sri Lankan food in Yokohama, and had really excellent Italian food in Gotanda -including the best pizza I have ever had, made by a chef who apprenticed in Naples at Il Pizzaiolo Del Presidente for three years.

 

As much as I enjoy good meals, I also enjoy seeing cultural differences, so, I'll stop in a 7-11 or Dominos just to check out what's different. I may not actually eat anything, but, I like looking at the different options. I also like to see places where food is made, like street venders who put on shows, of places where people cook in a window.

 

Here's baumkuchen being made in Ginza:

 

[gulfporter]

We eat as local as we can.  We mix it up....from street food to small "mom and pop" eateries, to a few meals at posh places.  We tend to read a lot of restaurant reviews before we start our journey and also rely on recommendations of well-traveled friends whose palates we trust.

 

In addition to restaurants, we ALWAYS go to grocery stores, from high end to bodegas.  Our souvenirs for friends (and ourselves) are almost always bought at grocery stores. 

 

We also visit as many bakeries as we can as both of us appreciate a treat with our morning coffee.  Savory bakery items make good 'car food' when driving between travel destinations.  

 

On longer trips, we inevitably get a pizza at some point, maybe it's our form of homesickness.  We've had many an interesting pizza over the years.

[KennethT]

I like to stay local, as much as possible...   with that said, on our last trip, to Saigon, we really enjoyed a 'local' banh cuon place, which was a stretch for me to go to because banh cuon is a northern specialty, and not usually made in Southern Vietnam.

 

Shalmanese, I agree with you though - in some areas it is much easier to 'eat local' for an extended period of time than others.  Your example of Florence is a good one because the preparations are relatively simple and there is not tons of local variation, so it can be a challenge to not keep eating from the roster of 8 things, as you say.

 

Also, I am stymied by things that I see in my home of NYC - but this may just be my lack of understanding.  Sure, NYC doesn't have a cuisine of its own (as said above, our strength is in our diversity) - but we do have things here that are either copied elsewhere, or made into our own style over the last hundred or so years... like NY pizza, bagels, jewish deli, etc.  I live relatively close to Eataly, and it always perplexes me that I see tons of seemingly Italian tourists waiting for long periods of time to have lunch there.  Personally, if I lived in Italy, the last thing I'd want to do was to go to Eataly on a visit to NYC.. there are just so many other options.  But then again, maybe I'm wrong - maybe they're Italian ex-pats looking for a taste of home.... it's hard to tell.

[liuzhou]

If I visit a new country or new (to me) province, the first thing I do is find a bed, then hit the local market to see what is happening. I've done it all over Europe and Asia, parts of Africa and the Caribbean . (Like Columbus, I've never been to mainland North America.)

 

Always the happiest and most interesting part of a trip.

 

Then find a small hole-in-the wall restaurant. Those are where I've had the most education! And stunning food.

[MelissaH]

I agree with what other people have said. The one other thing I'd add is that our favorite question to ask locals is NOT "What's a good restaurant?" but rather, "Where do you like to eat?" Sometimes they'll tell you what they think you want to hear, but more often than not, you find places that you'd otherwise never hit on your own.

[Shalmanese]

3 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

I agree with what other people have said. The one other thing I'd add is that our favorite question to ask locals is NOT "What's a good restaurant?" but rather, "Where do you like to eat?" Sometimes they'll tell you what they think you want to hear, but more often than not, you find places that you'd otherwise never hit on your own.

 

I've had this backfire on my when the locals proudly take me to their local Thai (when not in Thailand) or Mexican (when not in Mexico) joint that turns out to be above average but also not what I wanted. I get it, if someone asked me where I like to eat, I would take them to the Pho joint around the corner but I have no pretensions that they're doing anything revelatory with Pho.

[Shalmanese]

33 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

We eat as local as we can.  We mix it up....from street food to small "mom and pop" eateries, to a few meals at posh places.  We tend to read a lot of restaurant reviews before we start our journey and also rely on recommendations of well-traveled friends whose palates we trust.

 

 

I've never found reading restaurant reviews ahead of time to be particularly productive. Usually, by the time we want lunch or dinner, we're already in a certain part of the city and we want something good that's nearby. Getting good at finding good restaurants on our smartphones + a healthy degree of wandering around and checking out what looks busy has worked far better than obsessively pre-planning before the trip.

[KennethT]

I'm also one who does a lot of pre-planning before a trip... but really, I just sort of find places I want to go to, and mark a google map.  Then, when we're there, I can see on the map what is close when we want to eat... or sometimes, I know I want to go to a certain place for lunch, so I'll plan the sightseeing for that time to be in that area...

[martin0642]

Interesting question indeed...... for me it depends why i'm travelling. When i've travelled for work to other countries I've tended to have a relatively short space of time there and therefore don't plan a lot of sightseeing. Essentially...food for me on those trips is largely just fuel. So whatever works and is easy. That said, I will try local dishes if I get the chance. 

 

If i'm actually travelling..as in spending proper time there..then I usually have no interest in eating what I eat at home. I'm there to soak up another culture and food is always integral to that. But that does depend slightly on what the local food actually is. I don't thjink I'm ever going to want to try the "cultural experience" if eating a monkeys brains for instance - especially not whilst still in their head! But assuming i'm not revolted by the local delicacy - i'll try it at least. And ideally in places locals go to rather than tourist places. 

[kayb]

The majority of my travel is domestic, and not, unfortunately, international, so my guidelines are a bit different.

1. NO chain restaurants, except Cracker Barrel for breakfast if there is absolutely nothing else that looks fit to walk in.

2. In a small town in the South, the place with the most pickup trucks parked out front at lunch.

3. Places that focus on local produce/meat/fish 

 

On a trip anywhere, if there for several meals, I'll always try to hit places that specialize in local cuisine at least a couple of times. But, that's not always a must; I had the best Indian food I ever ate in an Indian restaurant in Tokyo.

[sartoric]

What an interesting topic, thanks Shalmanese guy.

There are so many pertinent comments above, I think we enjoy a mix of planning/winging it, and local/familiar.

 

We love to try the local specialties of wherever we are - fried tarantula anyone ? Sometimes once is enough.

Researching possible restaurant choices before a trip is fun for me, and planning sightseeing around a meal destination is often possible. Markets and supermarkets/food stores are always on the agenda.

 

If we find a "not this country" restaurant with a pleasant setting/atmosphere and the food is good, chances are we'll return. We don't get totally hung up about ordering local, sometimes that works well. I recall the best pasta carbonara we've ever had was in France !

 

i also refuse to eat some things, dog and cat (although I might have eaten cat unknowingly) and of course, people and pandas. 

[Jaymes]

15 hours ago, sartoric said:

What an interesting topic, thanks Shalmanese guy.

 

If we find a "not this country" restaurant with a pleasant setting/atmosphere and the food is good, chances are we'll return. We don't get totally hung up about ordering local, sometimes that works well. I recall the best pasta carbonara we've ever had was in France !

 

And the best borscht I ever had was at a small Russian restaurant right next to the Russian Embassy in Tokyo.

 

So you never know.

 

[liuzhou]

One of the best pizzas I have ever eaten was here in China - cooked by a Korean!

 

(I've also endured the worst pizzas, ever.)

[vivian darkbloom]

once on a trip to Italy after 3 cities and on day 9 in Rome, somehow a McD's Filet-O-Fish sounded good, and wow, they do something different there. I was sort of embarrassed but the one in Rome under the Piazza d'Espagna is a palace. at about that same point we also tried a sushi joint (good) and a Chinese place (Romanized-Chinese is just as unremarkable as Americanized-Chinese) but much later went on to a trattoria for a late dinner that was rightfully proud of their sweetbreads. another time in Paris after several days of great food decided to give a VN place a shot, and while it was lighter than bistro fare made with good technique had almost no flavor ...  another night we had a small kitchen in the apartment and descended on the haricot verts a nearby Supermarche had for sale (at home,  there was no mushroom sauce made with veal demi-glace and I missed you not that night). and then it was right back on that wagon. crevelles poached in butter in France? pickled pulpo loaf in Italy? various herring preps in Northern Germany? long aged salted hams in Spain?  YES. but sometimes we need contrasts to make a clear comparison. gimme the highs and gimme the lows.

I do give the (assumed) local fare many many chances, but after making good-faith efforts it's OK to backslide on brief occasions (and not gripe about anything except that pizza I had in Germany once and they just didn't know any better)

[cakewalk]

Those baumkuchen upthread are stunning. How are those ridges formed on the outside?

 

When I travel, I love to go to supermarkets and grocery stores. To me, it's on the same order as going to museums. (But more dynamic. ) I also have dietary restrictions, and anyway baking is my thing much more than cooking, so pastry shops and bakeries are more important than restaurants. I was recently in Italy for a short visit, only in Rome and Venice. Rome was pastries, Venice was cookies. Nirvana. Also, outdoor produce markets. In Venice I had the most beautiful fresh figs I've ever eaten in my life, and I lived in Jerusalem for 20 years so I've eaten my share of figs, both dried and fresh. When looking for a restaurant, I will usually go in the opposite direction of any tourist crowd I see. I can remember many times when all I wanted was to sit down in a restaurant that was quiet and comfortable and far from the madding crowd, food being at best secondary to my mind, but I've been surprised at the good meals I've found in these instances.  

[cakewalk]

Triplicate!

Edited January 27, 2016 by cakewalk (log)

[cakewalk]

Triplicate!

Edited January 27, 2016 by cakewalk (log)

[Beebs]

Depends on where we're going, why we're there, and if it's the first time visiting.  We try to eat as local as possible, try a mix of upscale & casual fare, get recommendations on what/where to eat from friends. We also try to eat things that we can't get here at home.  If we're going somewhere "exotic" with a lot of unfamiliar foods, we will try as many new things as possible.  Grocery stores, supermarkets, and outdoor markets are awesome.

 

We just returned from a super-quick visit to Taiwan for a family thing, so unlike my previous visit there, we ate a lot more convenience meals this time around, like the hotel buffet breakfast (which was actually quite good).  But we still managed to eat a bunch of different things that we can't get here - a lot of unusual seafood dishes, familiar ingredients but prepared unfamiliarly, and some things we really enjoyed on the previous trip.  Bought stuff from the local bakery and grocery stores to bring back home.  It helps that neither of us have any allergies or dietary restrictions, and that we're not squeamish with unfamiliar foods.

 

We draw the line at eating dogs, cats, people, pandas - and spiders, because I am terrified of them.

[Naftal]

I love trying a new Chinese restaurant in a new city. I especially enjoy finding Chinese-Chinese places rather than American-Chinese places. And, it really makes my day when I find a dim sum place that does  good phoenix talons!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'm an "eat the local stuff" kind of traveller - I generally resolve to try almost everything at least once, and then repeat the stuff I like.  Market food?  Bring it on!  Street vendor?  Yes, please!  Grocery store?  It's even more fun if I don't have a grasp of the language!  Fancy-pants 5-star restaurant?  Probably not - that food isn't going to be as interesting as what I'll get in a hole in the wall mom-and-pop operation, because "fine dining" has become a sort of standardized international experience.  At the same time, I am completely guilt-free if I'm craving a KFC - and I'm routinely surprised by what makes it onto their international menus.

[weinoo]

My philosophy when traveling is pretty much the same as when dining in the city in which we live.  That is: don't waste money, or time, on lousy meals.

 

Lots and lots of pre-travel research has helped immensely with that goal.