Our Favourite Food in Every Country we Have Visited

Those of you who have been following our journey are probably aware at this stage that food is one of the main things we love about travel. For every country we visit we always have a list of foods to try and restaurants to visit.

We truly believe that the best way to experience culture is through food. We always try seek out the local spots for the best experience.

We have recently been doing a lot of reflecting on the last few months of travel. Since leaving Ireland in September 2019 we have visited 10 countries.

Here is a list of our favourite foods from each of those locations:

China

This was a no brainer! Peking duck has to be one of the most incredible dishes we had on this trip. Before traveling to China we tried Peking duck, however it was nothing like the real thing in Beijing.

If you are visiting Beijing visit Jingzun Peking Duck Restaurant for some of the best food you will ever try.

The chef brings out a table and carves the duck in front of you. It is then served with small pancakes, cucumber, and plum sauce.

South Korea

And the winner for our favourite food in South Korea goes to Chimaek!!! Chimaek is a pairing of fried chicken served with beer.

This is a very common dish to find in South Korea. It is a popular evening dish in many bars and there are also a lot of specialised restaurants claiming to serve the be chimaek in the country.

Most restaurants have a variety of spice options on the menu. We ate our weight in fried chicken while in Seoul and we have to say we did not have a bad meal.

Japan

Before we even landed in Japan we were so excited for all the ramen we were going to indulge. Ramen has always been one of our favourite foods but enjoying a bowl of authentic ramen in Japan was better than we ever expected.

We spent 7 weeks in Japan last year and we are already planning a return trip. Reason 1 is because we want to go skiing but reason 2 is ramen!

Our favourite type of ramen is tonktsu ramen (pork). Choosing our favourite restaurant to enjoy this comforting bowl of delight was difficult but we would have to say Mutetiya located in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo wins this one. This multi award winning ramen shop has queues of people lined outside every day. Get in line! You won’t regret it!

Thailand

For a lot of people Pad Thai is their favourite dish in Thailand, but for us it is tom kha gai. This is a famous Thai soup made from coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, chilli, mushroom and chicken. It is so light and refreshing.

This Thai dish can be found in most traditional restaurant.

Singapore

We could not visit Singapore and try the worlds cheapest Michelin star meal. Liao Fan Hawker is located in the Maxwell Hawker in the heart of Chinatown. This Hawker stand was the first Hawker to be awarded one Michelin star for their soya sauce chicken dish.

This dish was tasty but not mind-blowing. Considering we only visited Singapore we didn’t have much else to compete.

We hope to soon return to Singapore for a longer stay to explore the city a little more and the surrounding area.

Indonesia

Nasi Campur was our favourite dish during our travels around Bali. Nasi campur translates to “mixed rice” and consists of small portions of vegetables, fish, meat or tofu served around a mound of steamed rice. 

The dish is basically an Indonesian antipasto plate. Each restaurant serves a different combination. This was one of our favourite dishes as it aloud us to try little bits of everything on the menu.

Australia

You can’t go to Australia and not enjoy bbq kangaroo with a cold glass of craft beer. Kangaroo is a meat that is not usually found on menus in Ireland. So when we were down under we made sure to add it to our list of foods to try.

Kangaroo meat has a delicious gamey taste that is very flavoursome without being overpowering. Our favourite location to enjoy kangaroo and a cold glass of beer in the sun was at Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle Perth.

Vietnam

Vietnamese food is one of our absolute favourite cuisines. We fell in love with this country and it delicious dishes back in 2017, and we would be lying if we said food was not one of the driving factors behind our revisit at the beginning of 2020.

Hands down, the food we get the most excited about in Vietnam has to be the humble banh mi. This delicious street food snack can be found on nearly every street corner. It is so affordable too.

The French introduced the baguette to Vietnam, however the Vietnamese took it to a whole other level!! It is filled with pate, meat, pickled veg and greens, served with mayonnaise and chilli sauce. DELICIOUS!

Cambodia

Cambodian cuisine blew our minds. We knew so little about what to expect when we arrived in Cambodia but we were pleasantly surprised. Choosing one dish to be our ultimate winner was difficult but we agreed that fish amok was our favourite dish.

This dish consists of a rich and creamy curry sauce with flavours of lemongrass, ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. The diced fish is cooked in the curry. The curry is a thicker consistency when compared to a Thai curry.

It is so tender it melts in your mouth. This dish is traditionally cooked by steaming it in a folded banana leaf which it is then served in.

Laos

Top tip, do not visit Laos and not try the traditional Laos sausage. AKA sai gok, it is commonly served as an appetiser with sticky rice.

The sausage is made from pork meat and lemongrass, galangal, kaffir leaves, shallots, chilli, and fish sauce. Lao sausages are full of flavour and very unique in taste.

You will find Lao sausage at many street food stalls and traditional Laos restaurants.

If you are interested in food blogs we have links above to our food blogs broke down by country. Also make sure to check out out Instagram where you will find regular travel and food content @to.the.airport.and.beyond.

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