If you're a foodie, food is often a big part of the travelling experience. Lonely Planet asked its Twitter followers which countries they have travelled to, or will travel to, for food. Several classic European and Asian food countries make the top 10 list.
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ShareThe world's best food countries according to Lonely Planet readers
Lonely Planet's list of best food countries includes many countries in Europe and Asia. While we agree that many of these countries have great food, we have also had great food experiences in Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Kenya and Tanzania, among others. What are your favourite countries to travel to for food?
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Snows says:
I have to say that I like Italian food. It has something special...
15 December 2011 - 21:32
Elisabeth says:
Agree that both Poland and Hungary have good food.
I am very fond of their flavourful sausages and spicy sauces. Ha dé!
15 December 2011 - 22:47
Pennelina says:
Hum... I've only been to Spain, or Lanzarote... there were many things that were good, but nothing beat their big grilled chickens. I'll never forget them!
I have always been bad at travelling abroad but I cook a lot at home, preferably inspired by the food from Italy, Japan and India 😀.
But to be honest, it's mostly Swedish home cooking... it's not that bad either 😉.
Hugs <3<3<3
15 December 2011 - 23:01
Across the board says:
Understand that Italy is at the top. The food there is wonderful. A little surprised though that France did not come higher than 10th place. But of course I have not been to any of the other countries :) (except Spain then..)
16 December 2011 - 6:50
admin says:
Znogge, there is a lot of good stuff in Italy! Even if we think that pasta is a bit overrated sometimes...
😉
Elisabeth, yes, in eastern countries you can often find substantial food, which can be of quite good quality! We usually think that the "minimum level" is good, ie even simple food in an egg restaurant can taste great!
Pennelina, Swedish home cooking can be delicious! I like the variety. Swedish sometimes, continental sometimes, Asian sometimes...
🙂
Across the board, yes, you might be a little surprised that France is not higher up... Maybe it's a bit more exclusive there and more people have experience of e.g. Spanish food on holiday...?
Katarina, yes, Malaysia got a really top spot! I haven't been there myself, but now I'm a bit curious...?
🙂
16 December 2011 - 10:34
Catherine in Asia says:
Wow, as a resident of Malaysia, I was surprised... There are lots of different cuisines here, Chinese, Malay and Indian... I eat local food quite often, several times a week and now I'm in a Penang time, I eat their food... Hugs
16 December 2011 - 9:51
whole says:
You can get bad food everywhere if you go to bad places. I wasn't too impressed with the food in Rome, but we didn't spend a lot of money on the food either because we were 4 people.
16 December 2011 - 12:13
admin says:
Helga, that is absolutely true! We have quite often had bad food in Italy actually... although we have had good food too.
16 December 2011 - 14:15
Yvonne Jakob says:
We love Italian food, both in restaurants and home cooking.
Thai food as well as Indian food. France also has some good pieces. It is difficult to choose just one country, but we both agree that the food in China was not very good! I don't understand why it came before France on the list? But as I said, the taste is like the cake, shared!!!
Wishing you a nice 4th Advent with good food / Yvonné
16 December 2011 - 15:17
admin says:
Yvonne Jakob, of course the taste is divided ... We like the food in all the countries you mention, but also the Chinese actually. But on the other hand, it depends very much on ... Swedish Chinese restaurants are usually very boring, but in China I thought the variety was fantastic and that there were all kinds of good things, like good soups and vegetable dishes and my absolute favourite: Peking duck. But on the other hand, there is a lot in China that is not very good either.... Wishing you the same, a nice fourth advent!
16 December 2011 - 18:17
Ama de casa says:
France. Preferably on the Atlantic coast 🙂
17 December 2011 - 17:53
Camilla says:
Now I'm not THAT well travelled, but I thought the food in Brazil was fantastic! It is indeed a multicultural country that has taken inspiration from many different countries and continents, but I probably never ate anything that didn't taste good during my three weeks there 🙂.
18 December 2011 - 9:16
admin says:
Ama de casa, we imagine the food in France is great! My only visit to France so far is two days in Paris as a teenager. But we will certainly get there with the motorhome!
Camilla, the Brazilian cuisine sounds exciting (even though it might be a bit of a cultural mix)! We have never been to South America unfortunately.
18 December 2011 - 11:28
Michelin Guide Food Expert says:
The officially voted list where master chefs travelled around and tasted a number of dishes in each country and voted like this is the official list.
Hungary - It's the world's largest cuisine, dating back to the Asian steppe. They were the first to introduce pasta to Europe in 896, and even today you'll find more varieties of pasta than in Italy, which only caught on a few hundred years later.
Hungary's cuisine is different from the rest of Europe and should be savoured and explored.
France - All the foie gras the French eat today is from Hungary. Quite similar to the Hungarian cuisine but the Hungarians have additional gears put in. The Hungarian cuisine has influenced the Italian, French, Serbian, Polish, German, and crappy souvlaki that the Greeks have had the Hungarians before even the Greeks invented the stick!
Italy - Pasta and antipasti...the sausages as they taste today are the original recipe that Italian monks brought from Hungary when they stayed there. The nomadic ancestors of the Hungarians before they settled in today's Hungary had originally used them as dried provisions on horseback. In the 17th century, they innovated the air-dried sausages with paprika, which was a novelty at the time.
China - Some big kitchens but you get bored quickly.
29 September 2012 - 7:21