To this day I have had an insane love for the exploration of food. Trying different cuisines is a way to explore different cultures. It’s like travelling without leaving your area. You never know what you’re going to find or fall in love with. This is like my craziest and now funniest food adventure – I hadn’t really heard of Mexican food besides quesadillas until I moved to the U.S. and I remember so well having tacos and enchiladas and fajitas for the first time. And now I can’t even imagine my life without Mexican food. Blessed be I never have to because my boyfriend is Mexican so I hit the fucking jackpot.
Expanding your palate is like the epitome of living and being alive. It’s like being born all over again. It’s one of those new experiences you can have often without much hassle. New experiences really don’t have to be expensive. And again, it’s one of those you can travel without leaving things.
How to find places in your area
❍ Ask your friends – you never know what someone might be eating without you, if there’s something that catches your appetite, have them take you! It’s always nice to go with someone who already knows what’s going on
❍ Google – kind of an obvious one I know but sometimes we forget how many sources there are out there. Maps aren’t the only way. Many local publications will even write articles just on the different cuisines you can try in your area. Use them as your guide. Maybe there’s a local food blogger you can message and ask for recommendations. Use those in your area to feel your way around the food scene
❍ Be fearless – who cares if you show up somewhere and have no idea what’s going on? Ask your waiter. Be honest. Doing something for the first time should be admired and you should feel confident that you’re even there.
Must-try foods
My most favourite cuisines that I hiiiiighly recommend:
🍽. Korean: I feel like out of Asian cuisines, this one is just starting to spread and I’m so about it. Everything from their side dishes like kimchi, steamed egg, pickled cucumber and bean sprout salad to jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles), bibimbap (mixed bowl with meat, veggies and rice), jjamppong (spicy seafood soup), chap jae (stir-fried glass noodles) Korean bbq of course (get the spicy samgyubsal and beef bulgogi trust me)
🍽. Persian: you know how Italian places will give you bread and Mexican places will give you chips and salsa for the table? Well in Persian restaurants they give you a fresh herb and feta plate called Sabzi Khordan. It’s fucking amazing. And it’s one of those things that doesn’t fill you up like all the chips and bread do! So you can actually enjoy your main meal with dishes like Khoresht-e gheimeh (beef and split pea stew), Khoresht-e fesenjan (sour and sweet stew with duck and/or chicken), Baghali polo (rice dish with lamb shank) and Ashe reshteh (soup with beans and yoghurt whey).
🍽. Vietnamese: I fucking love Vietnamese food and if you haven’t tried it yet, your hangovers will stop being as awful once you have some pho. Pho is a beef broth soup with rice noodles and there are tons of varieties of it you can get with different cuts of beef. Vermicelli noodles are delicious (noodles with veggies and meat). Bahn mís are life-changing (sandwiches with cucumber, carrots, cilantro jalapenos, meat/tofu and Vietnamese mayo - you can oftentimes add an egg or avocado to it). Don’t forget drinks like Vietnamese iced coffee (coffee with condensed milk) and avocado smoothies
🍽. Jamaican: I’m still brand new to exploring this one myself but I had Jamaican patties at a random bar in New Orleans this past summer and fell absolutely in love. They were so fucking good (and I had only had a drink at that point so I promise I was sober and it wasn’t drunchies). I’m out ready to try some Jamaican corn soup, jerk chicken, oxtail stew and escovitch fish. Summer may be over but I’m ready for the tropics.
Do any of those catch your eye? What’s your favourite cuisine? Share with us!
Until next time,
Be present in the now and discover the world through food~
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