Four. Following my Stomach Around the World

Food Abroad

I love to eat. I know you do to. My favorite part about going to a new place is trying the food they have to offer. I’d like to say I’m not picky, but I am. This, however, does’t stop me! I am way less picky when it comes to dessert, the most important meal! Warning: This post will be picture heavy! 

When I think about how some people have a career of tasting food a piece of my soul dies of jealousy. Thinking of the late Anthony Bourdain, RIP, and what an amazing life he lived is something that most people dream of. I know I do. Traveling the world and tasting all it has to offer is my favorite thing to do! I don’t get paid to travel and eat food…yet…but it for sure is one of the best pastimes.

 

I know it has become a cliche to take pictures of food and share them on social media, but I think that people really enjoy (openly or secretly) seeing the amazing things out in the world to eat. I have so many recommendations for food you must try around the world  and would love to share them all! However, that may make a boring post if I just list off all the places to go to. Instead, I am going to share my top favorite food and drinks that I have had the pleasure of tasting. Please let me know in the comments if you want more info or details about any of the meals or places they came from!

 

Savory Favorites

I am currently a pescatarian but I have had my share of meat dishes in the past. I think the best meat dish that comes to mind is from my trip in Vietnam. Per the recommendation of Anthony Bourdain, my fellow travelers and I went on a walking trek to a place called Bun Cha Huan Lien. We wanted to have our own experience of the infamous meal that Bourdain and former president Barak Obama had while visiting the city of Hanoi. This city itself is a bustling metropolis. There are people in every shop trying to lure you in for food, coffee, cheap goods, and just about anything you could want (and at a fraction of the cost!). I definitely had a hard time resisting spending money on North Face backpacks and elephant pants, let alone all the delicious food, but I digress. Bun cha essentially is a rice noodle dish with pork pieces in it. They serve you with a bowl of broth with pork patties and some veggies in it and on the side you get rice noodles and some mixed greens. We also got a side of something else deep fried…I can’t remember what it was and I think we were underwhelmed compared to the main dish. From there, if you are chop stick skilled, you take some noodles and dip them into the broth and enjoy from there! It is such a comforting mix of savory but the pork had a touch of sweetness to it that was just mouth watering. It may be cliche but I highly recommend going here. The hype is 100% worth it! I mean it got the approval of a president AND me, what more do you need? I would probably break my “meat ban” to eat this dish again.

Sweet Favorites

I am a chocoholic. I love dessert but I can’t resist anything chocolate based. I think the discovery of European style hot chocolate has been a game changer in my life. My first encounter of said hot chocolate was in a small city in Italy. My friend shares the same love as I do and she discovered this magical drink while I was sleeping in a bit one day. We were having a rest day so when I finally emerged and met up with her she raved about the best hot chocolate she ever had. So naturally I had to get one immediately. The difference between American hot chocolate and European style is that the latter is super thick and more pudding like in taste and consistency. They seem to put more love and effort into it as well. Anyway, once I had my first sip I was in love. Since then any time I see European style hot chocolate on the menu I am sold. 

Even though my Italian experience was amazing, I think that my French one was better. When I did my research for Paris I kept coming across a place called Angelina. It is conveniently located near the Louvre, which is nice after an overwhelming walk through of the museum. They serve very sophisticated patisserie, tea, and most importantly hot chocolate.

I do love a good cake or pastry but I don’t know if my palate is refined enough for French patisserie. Especially when you eat one in correlation with ‘out of this world’ hot chocolate. My experience at Angelina was overwhelming to say the least. They give you a whole tea pot filled with thick, creamy, steaming hot chocolate. I could tear up just thinking about it (is this why I’m single?). Without further ado, below is a chocolate fest of all my treats from Angelina. I did go a few times so don’t judge me for getting such a variety. I also *gasp* shared with a friend!

Tea Time!

I am a huge tea fan and love to explore anything and everything tea related! When I was in London I got to fulfill my dream of having real English High Tea aka Afternoon Tea! In the past it was just a thing for the queen but now it can be for anyone, tea connoisseur or not. I am a fan of non-traditional teas that the English would probably pooh-pooh on, such as fruity and herbal teas. Too much caffeine gives me heart palpitations. But I do love a classic black tea, don’t get me wrong!

Between my other touristy adventures in London I took a journey to Fortnum and Mason for their afternoon tea. I think I went at 2pm during a week day and was surprised to find myself one amongst a only a few other tea lovers. With the full attention of the staff I got to ask lots of annoying questions and was served super fast! I went full in on the tea service which included scones, finger sandwiches, and tea cakes. I got a nice fruity tea (and they didn’t even scoff at me!) with my meal. I had the best scone of my life there. It was warm and had fresh clotted cream!! If you are not familiar, clotted cream is basically whipped cream but more delicious. I think it is way better in England because they have a different system of pasteurizing so it tastes different (It’s possible they don’t pasteurize? Something I need to research I suppose…). Anyway, even though clotted cream sounds gross its amazing and a must have for scone enjoyment. Besides the scones, the little sandwiches were a delight. I had mixed feelings of the assortment of pastries I got. I have found that floral flavors are somewhat alien to Americans and when I encountered a rose flavored eclair I didn’t know what to think. It isn’t bad tasting but being a chocoholic it just wasn’t my cup of tea, pun intended hehe. Anyway, pictures or it didn’t happen right?

In summary, I can probably talk about and post at least 100 more pictures of all the food and beverages that I have encountered. For now I will leave you with this as a start. Please let me know if you want more information about any of the food I’ve discussed above. I am happy to share notes, tips, and even what to expect cost wise too. Hope you’ve enjoyed some food porn for the day.

In the words of a true hero:

“Cakes are healthy too, you just eat a small slice.” 
― Mary Berry