Indulging in mouth-watering foods, being mesmerized by unfamiliar flavors, and exploring different cuisines are some of the things that make us uniquely human and bridge the gap between cultures. Below I have listed the most unforgettable foods from some of the countries I've visited - the ones that made me fall back into my chair with a big loud "Mmmmm" or a "Oh my gawwd." Let's get right into our delicious list of foods from different countries.
Picture: Breakfast in Rize, Turkiye
This list is in no particular order and just represents which foods came to mind first. The pictures of biltong, asado, and cağ kebabı are not my own, I guess I forgot to take pictures.
POLAND - Befszyk Tatarski or Beef Tartare
The reason why this very popular Polish dish came to mind first was most likely due to how much the taste surprised me and how much disbelief it caused me. I was in a state of utter confusion and couldn't believe just how delicious this dish was. Why was I so shocked? Well, it is raw... That's right. High-quality raw ground (or thinly sliced) beef with a raw egg on top. I cannot even begin to explain the tastiness of this dish and I'm pretty sure I am still confused about it a year later. It is mixed with a variety of spices that you put in yourself and is an absolute must-try. Weirdly enough, it did not taste the way I expected raw meat would. It simply tasted delicious. We were with some of our Polish friends who ordered the dish, commonly an appetizer, for the table and our companions told us of how their fathers commonly ate beef tartare and washed it down with vodka, you know... just in case. (Also please excuse my low-quality picture. Sometimes you're too busy taking in the moment).
TANZANIA - Ndizi Nyama & Ugali
Ugali is considered the national dish of Tanzania and appears to be the main carb source, made from maize flour and is a thick, sticky consistency that Tanzanians typically eat with their hands. You roll a small piece into a ball, make a dent in it with your thumb, and use it to get a scoop of the meat or stew, which leads me to the other dish - Ndizi Nyama, a plantain and beef stew. I absolutely loved this meal and, what made it even better was being accompanied by the host of our Airbnb, Mama Elijah, who made the dishes for us. To me, it was almost a comfort food, warm and savory that gave me a sense of coziness - like a food made with love. I had never really had plantains before, so I was very interested to find that they were not sweet and almost resembled potatoes. This was one of those dishes that I always said I would make myself one day and I still plan on it.
SOUTH AFRICA - Biltong
As a South African myself, I can say that Biltong is a thing of national pride and I yearn for on a consistent basis. Biltong is essentially dried meat cured with spices such as coarse salt, coriander, black pepper, sugar, and soaked in vinegar. This delicacy is not raw and is cooked via the "no-heat" method I just described. Meat in general is a huge part of South African culture, so it may come as no surprise that Biltong is a very common snack that people walk around eating like it's popcorn. Literally, because you can buy little baggies everywhere and snack as you go. Many of my family members make their own biltong at home and it's always a nice surprise when I go visit.
South Africa is rich in tasty dishes and I have a whole post dedicated to some of my childhood favorites as well as some cultural info, just check out my blog post on Must-Try South African Dishes.
HUNGARY - Langós & Gulyás (Goulash)
These two dishes are tied for first as they both caused a very similar reaction in me that can be described as flavor euphoria. What I love about these dishes is that they are both topped with sour cream and, similar to Ndizi Nyama from Tanzania, have an emotional aspect to them, particularly the goulash.
Before I get carried away, Langós (right) is a super popular Hungarian street food that can be found virtually everywhere in Budapest. It is a circular-shaped fried dough topped with sour cream, bacon, sausage, onion, and cheese that are all piled on top making it a little bit difficult to eat, but worth the mess. The place we went to had many different topping options, but I got the original version and it was quite large to my surprise as we had trouble finishing them despite being starving.
Now, for the goulash (left). I am salivating just thinking about this food and it is the number one reason I want to go back to Hungary. It is a warm, hearty, beef-stew topped with sour cream and served with what they called "egg dumplings." Normally I wouldn't go for such a hearty dish in the middle of summer, but I devoured this in the middle of summer nestled into a corner of a non-airconditioned, packed to the brim, mom-and-pop restaurant and couldn't leave without ordering seconds.
EGYPT - Lamb Fatteh
This is yet another savory dish that you cannot miss consisting of tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb, fatteh, rice, topped with a garlicky, tomato-based sauce served with yoghurt. If you have never had yoghurt with meat, you are missing out as it is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. Fatteh is crispy pita bread and is said to be an ancient dish that spans across the Middle East; with each country having its own rendition. If I had to pick my favorite dish from our entire two weeks in Egypt, this one takes the cake.
THAILAND - Goong Hom Pha (Shrimp in blankets)
Whew, these little shrimps had me raving. They are served with a sweet and sour sauce and the saltiness with the sweet, the sour, the shrimp, the crunchiness is all the flavor combination you need. Again, flavor euphoria. We came across this dish in Chiang Mai and the presentation was a little bit different as the "blanket" portion seemed to be fried slivers instead of a solid piece. I am absolutely determined to make this myself one of these days and could have easily eaten them every day on our trip.
GERMANY - Flammekueche (German Pizza / Flame Cake)
Flame Cake? German pizza? That may or may not sound appetizing depending on your view of German food. However, I am quite certain this dish actually originated in France near the German border. Perhaps then this is not a "German" food, but what can you do? Flammekueche is a crispy, very thinly rolled-out dough, topped with things like onions, cheese, and tomatoes without a sauce base. It is not intended to be eaten with sauce and, honestly, it didn't need any. I really enjoyed this dish, as did my husband and we have both deemed it our favorite in Germany.
ARGENTINA - Asado (BBQ)
If you didn't know, Argentina is known for its meat, and for good reason. The word 'Asado' essentially means BBQ and consists of a variety of different grilled meat. I can't tell you how many restaurant windows I passed with huge steaks hanging over coals, slowly cooking to tender perfection. Now that I think of it, my time in Argentina was probably the only time in my life when I ate meat nearly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner paired with red wine by the bottle. The quality of the meat was absolutely fantastic and the BBQ culture reminds me much of the BBQ culture in Turkiye. I'm coming back for you Argentina!
ZANZIBAR - Seafood BBQ
From the previous food on my list, you may have noticed that I'm a big fan of BBQ and grilling. Well, I also happen to be a fan of seafood and I have never had fresher, more various seafood than in Zanzibar. The fishermen literally bring the fish, crab, octopus, shrimp, you name it, right out of the ocean for it to be grilled and served. I was in awe of the piles of freshly caught seafood on my plate for as little as $10, a feast fit for a king. Normally, when you order a seafood platter, you get like 3 shrimp, a couple of crab legs, maybe four mussels, and perhaps a little fish filet. Not in Zanzibar. The crab legs were piled onto their own plate in a mountain of overflowing goodness. For some reason, my past self didn't think to take a picture of this glorious meal and I couldn't find a picture online that justifies it. So just picture white sand, crystal clear water, and lobster on top of an open grill.
SPAIN - Tapas
Oh, what a broad category, I know. Tapas are small appetizers or snacks that can literally be anything from shrimp to olives to meatballs and are served before meals or as a whole meal. I loved these so much because of their variety and the idea of having a little bit of everything. My absolute favorite experience in Madrid was strolling through Marco De San Miguel (how touristic of me), sipping on Tinto de Verano, and stuffing my face with tapas from different food vendors. I couldn't get enough of all of the flavors dancing on my tastebuds, not to mention I was getting quite tipsy as time went on. Although it was a bit pricey, it was the most heavenly time and I was in my own little world of pleasure.
TURKIYE - Cağ kebabı (roasted lamb kebab)
Oh, Turkiye. The place I have been lucky enough to call home for the past three years. I could write a book about all of the foods and flavors I have come across. To this day, I still come across foods I have never seen before, that don't even resemble anything I have seen before in terms of taste or visual appearance. The funniest thing of all is when I turn to my Turkish husband (who has lived here all his life) and ask "What is that?" His response: "I have no idea." To me, Turkish food is the best in the world and no, that is not a biased opinion. I have so many favorites such as mezze, lahmacun, cevizli sucuk, that I needed to write multiple blog posts about the different categories of food, there's just so many that you can't miss. Article coming soon!
There I go, rambling again - just getting lost in the sauce. So, let's get back to the dish. Cağ kebabı is a hearty, filling, lamb kebab roasted on a rotating spit over coals. The edges of this lamb spit are then sliced off and served on metal skewers which you eat with lavash (Turkish bread). On the side, you are given onions covered in sumac, tomatoes, and yoghurt. The idea is to tear off some bread and use it to take a piece of meat off the skewer followed by adding your toppings. I highly recommend adding all of the toppings or playing with the combinations to explore all of the flavors. A word of advice: don't walk, run.
PORTUGAL - Pastel de Nata
When I tell you this tart had me stopped in my tracks, it had me stopped in my tracks. It is also known as Pastel de Belém, but the important thing is that you do not miss these. They are little egg-custard-filled tarts, so divine, so flaky on the outside and so creamy on the inside. I honestly did not think much of these tarts when I saw them because they look quite ordinary, but man do they pack a punch. I believe my husband and I exchanged "raised eyebrow" glances simultaneously after our first bite followed by a long whistle.
SERBIA -Pljeskavica (Serbian Burger)
I had never been so confused when ordering a meal as when I ordered this burger.
When I ordered, I simply asked for one burger and the server looked at me so long that I felt something must be wrong. He then asked me if I wanted bread. "Err... yes?" He then said "I will add cheese. You will like it." I think he could read my confusion due to the bewilderment on my face. To my surprise, it comes as a patty and you order the bread, cheese, and toppings. This burger came in what looked like a pita pocket with the cheese inside. Despite it only being meat and cheese, because I'm a dummy and didn't order toppings, it was so good I unconsciously slammed my fist down on the table. To this day, I do not know how to order one of these things and I am not sure if all restaurants operate in this way. It remains a mystery. (The one picture is a second one I had from a different place, also delicious, but the bread was a bit different.)
AUSTRIA - Kasnocken (Cheese dumplings)
One thing I must say first and foremost is that the portion sizes in Austria really surprised me because they were HUGE, like American standard huge. It was very atypical compared to the rest of Europe and even the famous Austrian coffee is substantially larger than what you typically in Europe. I, for one, was not complaining when I got a very hearty portion of nocken, or spaetzle, after a long day of walking the streets of Vienna. The carbs were well-deserved.
Kasnocken (in Germany, Spaetzle) appears to be the Austrian rendition of gnocchi and is quite similar to gnocchi in terms of the cooking process, but it's not made with potatoes and is referred to as pasta dumplings covered in cheese. As you can imagine, it was a warm, savory meal served on the side of chicken schnitzel. Despite the portion size, I was determined to finish this and really took my time savoring every bite.
Key Takeaways
As mentioned before, these dishes were all my personal preferences and the ones that were most memorable to me. Are some of them basic? That may be so, however, they were tasty and left an impression on me strong enough to write about them. I hope you enjoyed this list and if you have any favorites, let us know!
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