Lonely Planet’s top 10 foodie holidays

Aug 11, 2010 6:28:38 AM

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Eating can be the best part of travelling. To get you inspired, here are some of the world’s most mouth-watering iconic national dishes

Tapas in Barcelona, Spain

Patatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce), calamares fritos (fried squid), boquerones (anchovies), croquetas de jamón (ham croquettes), chorizo (pork sausage), pimientos asados (roasted peppers), albóndigas (meatballs) and berenjenas gratinadas (cheese-baked aubergine) are just some of the Spanish snacks known as tapas. Barcelona excels in the creation of tapas, particularly along La Rambla, when residents and tourists alike slowly graze their way south from Plaça de Catalunya.

Doner kebab in Istanbul, Turkey

The traditional doner kebab consists grilled mutton on a bed of buttered rice, and many of Turkey’s restaurants still serve it this way. Far more prominent nowadays is its fast-food cousin – pita bread wrapped around spit-roasted meat, salad and yoghurt sauce. It’s de rigueur in İstanbul to equip yourself with a weighty doner and then wander around Sultanahmet or along the Bosphorus while casually wiping sauce and stray strands of lettuce from your chin.

Pasta in Naples, Italy

Food historians still debate whether Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy by importing it from China in the 13th century, or whether the Etruscans had already embraced it long beforehand. But it’s generally agreed that by the 18th century Naples had turned the mixing of flour and water into a bona fide industry and was the world’s pasta capital. As an encore, Naples also arranged a blind date between pasta and squashed tomatoes, and romance blossomed. So the next time you’re wandering the crumbling streets of Naples’ historic centre, make a beeline for the nearest trattoria and tuck into some authentic pasta napolitana.

Steamed dumplings in Shanghai, China

These delicious morsels seem like ordinary dough balls until you discover that they are filled with a hot broth flavoured with ground pork, crab meat or vegetables. This little surprise is achieved by filling the dumplings with a hardened gelatin that liquefies when the bun is steamed. To avoid scalding your gums with hot soup, do not crunch the dumpling between your teeth but instead nibble it until the liquid seeps out.

Feijoada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Taste buds stage their own Carnaval in honour of Brazil’s national lunch, feijoada, a dark and spicy stew built upon a foundation of black beans and pork. Be aware that the feijoada prepared for mass consumption in Rio’s restaurants usually just contains pared-down pieces of pig flesh, but it may also contain less familiar porcine treats such as ears, tongues and those cute curly tails. Also note that this hearty recipe is a challenge for any stomach to digest, so plan on hitting a couch rather than the waters off Ipanema after eating it.

Gumbo in New Orleans, USA

Scooping out a steaming pot of gumbo is as central to life in New Orleans as listening to jazz, zydeco or swamp blues. This Louisiana favourite is a hearty broth of seafood or smoked meats, thickened with okra or a wheat-and-fat mixture called roux, which is then splashed over a mountain of rice. New Orleans serves up countless variations, from classic Creole style to pungent Cajun.

Couscous in Casablanca, Morocco

The minute you arrive in Casablanca, make straight for Boulevard de la Corniche down on the waterfront, order a cup of mint tea and a plate of Morocco’s staple food, couscous. The couscous grain is made from semolina (ground durum wheat) and is ideally prepared by being repeatedly steamed in a special pot called a couscoussier. It’s then topped with a spicy stew containing either vegetables or a mixture of veggies and meat such as chicken, lamb and fish. Eat it again, Sam.

Nasi Goreng in Penang, Malaysia

Visitors to Malaysia inevitably find themselves ordering the delightfully simple nasi goreng. Literally meaning ‘fried rice’ and also enjoyed across Indonesia and Singapore, this dish is prepared by stir-frying rice with chicken or seafood, vegetables, eggs and a sweetish soy sauce. Nasi goreng is available practically anywhere in Malaysia but is best sampled within the wonderfully crowded hawker centres that dot the island of Penang. The diverse Malay, Chinese, Indian and Baba-Nonya cooking styles conspire to give an otherwise humble dish some special flavours.

Curry in Mumbai, India

Curries are a pan-Asian phenomenon, being cooked almost everywhere between the Punjab and Japan. But the birthplace of curry is India, and you haven’t really tasted one until you’ve tried one in Mumbai. A Mumbai curry typically contains seafood and coconut blended with a masala (mixture of spices). Standard spices include turmeric, coriander, ginger and red chilli.

Hot dog in New York City, USA

So what if NYC has one of the greatest varieties of dining options in the world? Everyone knows the only truly meaningful foodie ritual here is to head to a busy inner-city intersection, find a shabby metal cart topped by colourful a umbrella, and order a dog with ketchup, mustard, onions and either sauerkraut, relish or chilli sauce. For a bit more of a challenge, head to Nathan’s on Coney Island on 4 July and enter the famous hot-dog-eating contest; the record is 53.5 dogs in 12 minutes.

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Comments

15 August 2010 1:56AM tanjaww Report this comment
And of course....Sushi in Tokyoooo!
15 August 2010 2:30PM gtarriba Report this comment
Tacos al pastor (i.e. spicy pork) in Mexico City.
17 August 2010 4:28AM wadams1 Report this comment
barcelona's tapas are overpriced and not nearly as varied or as highly celebrated as they are in san sebastian or even madrid. ...and in granada they come along at no charge when you order a beer or a glass of wine!
and casablanca, morocco's food scene is pathetic compared to marrakesh's famous market square that has dozens of fresh food stalls at night, with spiced veg, beef, chicken, lamb tajine with an array of desserts, also freshly squeezed orange juice and mint tea.
and everyone knows northern italy has better food than southern italy...c'mon lonely planet, this list is kind of a joke...
23 August 2010 6:20PM tiganitos Report this comment
Greece's Mousaka although now with the crisis we are going to use less cream and meat ( we're scre..ed )
24 August 2010 12:48AM _higher_ Report this comment
Come on! NYC's hot-dogs and not Thailand's Pad Thai, like Wadams1 said, is this list a joke?
24 August 2010 3:06AM chelofoodseeker Report this comment
The Ecuadorian Food...or Nova-Andina Food, it is pretty nice and known in South America, cebiche in the Pacific coast, sweets and organic food in the Andes and exotic meals (chontacuros)in the Amazon. Definitely, a country where you can get good stuff... and each city has a different and typical meal shared with a drink (like chicha). Actually, Ecuador is a pretty good culinary stop in South America.
24 August 2010 6:46AM chickochecko Report this comment
The street food in the old French section of Hanoi is incredible, a blend of Vietnamese, French, and Chinese cuisines. And I agree with Wadams1, the tapas in San Sebastian and Bermeo (and even in Bilbao) along the North Coast of Spain are unequalled.
24 August 2010 5:09PM andreaverberne Report this comment
wadams1, I didn't know the food was necessarily better in North Italy than South Italy... so perhaps it's not a case of 'everyone knows...'
I haven't travelled yet, which is why Lonely Planet is a resource for me, and why I also wouldn't know that 'everyone knows' the food is better in North Italy. Also, who's everyone?
25 August 2010 3:12AM wellhello_10 Report this comment
agreed any list that reference La Rambla is muy touristica and muy mal! There is much good tapas - even in Barcelona - just a fair distance from La Rambla, this seems like a lazy piece of "journalism"
25 August 2010 3:12AM wellhello_10 Report this comment
agreed any list that references La Rambla is muy touristica and muy mal! There is much good tapas - even in Barcelona - just a fair distance from La Rambla, this seems like a lazy piece of "journalism"
10 September 2010 9:27AM newyorkstreetfood Report this comment
There's much more to NYC street food than hot dogs. The quality and variety is amazing if you know where to go. The best source for finding the best street food in NYC is http://newyorkstreetfood.com/
20 September 2010 4:17PM susiappa Report this comment
I would say curry in southern india tastes better than those in mumbai. Try the chettinad style cooking.
14 February 2011 11:20PM hirachna Report this comment
A Mumbai curry 'typically' contains anythign from seafood to chicken to veggies Actually I have yet to try a decent seafood curry in Mumbai! Like Susiappa mentioned, if you are looking for seafood curries, South India is the place to go to. Up North, chicken and veg curries are more famous. The 'masalas' differ from region to region. Curries are not limited to a specific city / region in India. Every state has it's own 'specialty' curry.
15 February 2011 2:05AM ysim Report this comment
i would said that why nasi goreng , penang is famous for its nasi kandar and penang laksa, everyone can fried a dish of decent nasi goreng in malaysia and _higher_ i would recommend Thailand Tomyam, best of the best !!!
15 February 2011 2:44AM phylina Report this comment
Agree with wadams1 - food in Marrakesh is soooo much better than that in Casablanca.
Also in Shanghai, 'steamed dumplings' come in many times, I think the type you are talking about is 'steamed small/mini dumplings' (xiao long bao). If you just go around in Shanghai and asked for steamed dumplings, you'll probably get something different.
Plus, street food in Taiwan or Hongkong are surely much more exciting than NYC hotdogs?! And if you really want to list a hotdog place, I'd think the Bavarian bratwurst beats the NYC hotdogs hands down!
7 March 2011 7:59AM chezania Report this comment
Loire Valley 'Garden of France farmers market scoured for picnic enjoyed in the shade of a tree, by a river on a hot sunny day...not another soul in sight....Freshly made quiche, goats cheese, foie gras, rilletes, fresh salad and crusty baguette, chilled vouvray, strawberries, raspberries and freshly creme crue :D YUM!
www.franceholidaycottage.com the location to experience this and for a holiday to happen with ease..
7 March 2011 10:14AM mostinterestingman Report this comment
Good grief! How can you leave out Singapore's street markets, and their national dish--chicken and rice? Even Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman...not newbees to world cuisine, say Singapore (and chicken/rice), is as good as it gets!
7 March 2011 1:43PM susancb222 Report this comment
Doner kebab in istanbul? Thts the worst place for it. I'll even go as far as to say the kebab & toppings r better in australia. These days lp i often wonder if ur writers have even visitd the places thy write abt.
10 May 2011 2:57AM ddiiaann Report this comment
The writer obviously haven't tried nasi goreng aceh - the best nasi goreng ever in my opinion. And the good news is you don't have to go to aceh to have it - you can find it in other parts of indonesia. And for desert, the heavenly durian pancake will satisfy your taste bud. And where can you find it? Indonesia.
30 March 2012 3:45AM dayse_br Report this comment
It may not sound that good the way it was described, but 'feijoada' is really delicious. But truth be told, it is a heavy food. Highly NOT recomended for weak stomachs. And can be found any place in Brasil. Also very good are the 'acarajé' in Salvador (Bahia), and 'tapioca' in Maceió (Alagoas) and in other cities of Brasil's Northeast