Your favorite traditional dishes from where you are
It' almost lunchtime here in Spain and I'm thinking what I'll have tonight ... There are plenty of traditional dishes, here are my favorites:
> Jamon (Ham) -> the best of the best dish in Madrid. The "Jamon Iberico" is a more expensive but it's so good!
> Gazpacho (for the summer) -> It's like a cold tomato soup, made with fresh Mediterranean vegetables ... tomato, red pepper, cucumber, onions聽 聽
> Paella (of course) -> I am sure you already know what it is, but be careful, it's not so easy to have a really good one in restaurants. You can find some made with chicken, rabbit, fish and seafood...
> Queso curado (old cheese) -> I like strong cheese
Which traditional ingredients we use in Spanish dishes:
> the use of olive oil almost every time. Whatever they cook there's olive oil in it!
> the use of Saffron, a very tasty spice聽
Of course I forgot a lot of things but those are my favorites!
What about you, which are your local favorite traditional dishes?
Julien
nb: I'm hungry now!
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A couple really... actually make that more than a couple!
Let me see.
> Yakiniku : Actually, I think this originally came from Korea, and you can get more Korean style Yakiniku places as well. Basically, cook at your table, BBQ style. When served with Korean Kimchi extras, lush!!!
> Okonomiyaki : Umm, how do I explain. Sort of like a thick, non-sweet, pancake
> Sushi : Hey, this is Japan after all!
> Soba Noodles : Love this hot in the winter. Usually served in a simple broth type liquid, together with a little beef and Leek/Onion. Simple, but tasty. In the summer, cold soba is great.
> Ramen Noodles : Not instant pot type!!!聽 Proper real ramen in a raman stand/stall. Lush. Can be heavy, so not great in the hot summer. Good post-drinking session food!

OK, fast food time!
If lazy, Yoshinoya's "Butta-kimchi-don" is great. Basically, bowl of rice, topped with pork/onion/sauce. The kimchi is an optional extra topping. I then have a 'han-juku-tamago" (or half cooked egg), to stick on top. Ohh, and a little bit of Ginger. Very cheap, but filling if you are in a rush.
Also, the Mos Burger chain is FAR superior to that so-called food from McDonalds!
Hmm, I'm bloody hungry too now

Cheeseburgers are nice!聽 Pizza, rib eye steak with baked potato, etc.
As for "other" meals, I like the seaweed soup that a fella got from a relative in Japan.聽 I really loved it and the "ramen noodle-style" seaweed dry noodle packs (I'd love to get some more of those!).聽 聽 Greek Gyro sandwiches are awesome!聽 Has to be made properly though.聽 Chicken Quisadillas are good, as are chicken enchiladas (Mexico).聽 And Mutton sandwiches (Navajo) are absolutely killer!
So basically if it's edible, I love it!聽

As for favorites, I tend to be a picky eater, and I have never been one for "foreign" foods aside from Mexican, Italian, and Chinese now and then.聽 The thing that gets me about Greek cooking is how rich it is.聽 Everything my mother-in-law cooks is really, really delicious, but it is too rich for my stomach to eat much of it.
Favorites:
Tzatziki - this is really a condiment (Greeks call it a salad) which is basically yoghurt with garlic and shredded cucumber and who knows what else that gives it the delicious flavor.聽 I used to be a ketchup girl but I have forsaken it for Tzatziki.
Spanikopita - well, there is one place here that makes really kick ass pitas of all kinds, spinach, cheese, squash, eggplant.聽 I am picky about this though, there are some pitas I don't like how they are done.
Souvlaki - well, basically this is just grilled meat with whatever spices each person uses, but its good.
Tsoureki - a sweet bread type thing, again, it depends on the place that makes it whether I like it or not
Profiterole - a dessert, kind of chocolate pudding with cream filled balls of dough in it.聽 Yummy!

Julien wrote:Mel, I think the profiterolles are an Italian dish ... hmm I love profiterolles!
Strange, I always assumed they were French 
What I did know though is that they certainly weren't British! 
Ahh Mel. About the use of Olive Oil. Olive Oil is traditionally a staple ingredient in the South of Europe only (the Latin countries), as it's hot enough to grow Olives there. Though I can't speak 100% for say Northern France, the lowlands, Germany, Scandanvia countries etc, I can speak for Britain. Traditionally we have never used Olive Oil. Lots of animal fat though, with dairy produce (cooking with butter). Of course, thats not too healthy, so we've started using Olive Oil a lot.
I for one used to cook with it all the time, plus Sesame Oil if I was doing some form of oriental food.
Now I'm in Japan, I only use Olive Oil (bloody expensive here, as it has to be shipped from all the way over there in Europe), because my job is to cook the 'Western' food
聽 聽Wife does the Japanese food, which I'm not so good at cooking (I tend to over-season the food. Japanese food is meant to be very simple tastes).
Dammit, I'm hungry again now! 

Fassolakia: green bean stew with tomatoes and potatoes
Fakes: lentil soup with onions and tomatoes
Imam Bayildi: It's actually Turkish but the Greeks have absorbed it into their already rich cuisines. It's got a lots of veggies in it including eggplants.
I never knew vegetables could taste so good until I moved here.
There's another dish where they grate cassava/yucca (it's a root vegetable - sort of like a potato, but still quite a bit different) and mix it with coconut milk. Sometimes they also mash up some ripe bananas. Then they cook it in banana leaves, and it comes out kind of like a bread. It's excellent.
And I've found that the most refreshing thing in the world to drink is the liquid from a young coconut - not really a dish, as such, but it's incredible!
But the best, by far, is the mumu. Usually it's taro, maybe some bananas, chicken or pork, cooked in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves, and traditionally cooked in an underground oven, with heated rocks. Now they usually just put a sheet of corrogated iron overtop to keep the heat in instead of digging a pit. It's then left overnight to cook. It is so good! I think it's pretty much the same way of cooking all over Melanesia/Polynesia, with some variations. If you're interested, I posted a description of the process, along with some pictures on my blog awhile back.
Reading all these posts makes me hungry! That's one of the things that's so nice about living in Melbourne. It's a really multicultural city, and it's supposed to have the best restaurants in Australia. You can find just about anything here. I'd highly recommend it, if you like multicultural dining!

I have had haggis, but not good haggis, so I can't tell you if I like it.
I really enjoyed the street food in China.聽 I was lucky - it never made me sick, but a friend of mine from New Zealand got sick more than once on it.
Hmm... I guess my favorite thing to eat here so far has been Indian take out! *laugh*

Once coming back in France, I tried it ... and what a beautiful surprise ... it is very good.
Since this day, this is my favorite dessert ... and it is now called Nanaimo Bar - the best dessert of the world.
In some words, there are three layers : bottom layer with coconut, chocolate, butter and graham cracker crumbs - then middle layer with butter and ice sugar and with different possibility cherries or mint - then a top layer with just chocolate and butter.
Fabulous !!
:pActually my maid cooks for me and I have taught her to spice it up and everything she makes is great!
Escott
Although my son, almost 15, still needs a pizza every now and then!!

what is not good about French cuisine?
Trading in my bite of hamburger, with fries and chocolate malt years ago for
Baguette, cheese and wine.
They have a cheese for everyday of the year!
and a pastries too!
The aroma of lunch hits teh streets about 12ish, it makes me swoon.
Then there is the sauces, their vegetables variety, and mushrooms!
Though the best thing about food in France, is the ritual and traditions that dance around it!
Also, I never thought I would go for it, but there's something called a putenkasekrainer, a turkey sausage聽 that also has cheese in it, that, when grilled and served with sauerkraut, good mustard, and some nice bread, really makes you warm on a winter day.
We also get incredible smoked fish - trout and some other lake fish - that is deeelicious.
When I first came to Austria, I thought it would all be meat and potatoes, but I have learned that the Austrians are quite the continental gourmets! I love, love, love the food in this country.
Argentina has, hands down, has the best beef I've ever tasted. Even better than the taureau that I had in the Camarague in the South of France (sorry
) but that was really good too. It's possible to go to a really good quality parilla (where meat is grilled over a wood fire) and have tender, juicy, and flavorful steak, that you can almost cut with a fork.
p.s. For the vegetarians out there, Buenos Aires has LOTS of vegetarian options as well, including pastas and a variety of different salads.
Some hamburger restaurants (don't even think about McDonald's or Carl's Jr), where the burgers are juicy, very big, and taste really good. I enjoy the ribs, too (we have made a fantastic ribs with tequila recipe), and the beef in general, which is very good.
But, to know what we like, it's easier to take look at our culinary blog : restoblog.com (lots of recipes and some critics on local restaurants, in french only).

The produce from the nearby Okanagan Valley is delicious, especially stone fruit like cherries, peaches, apricots, and tonnes of berries.
BC wine is excellent too, and we have local micro-breweries, coffee roasters and artisan chocolatiers that more than hold their own.
Sadly, our only First Nations (aboriginal) restaurant shut down several years ago - their food was excellent, and unlike anything else in the city.
I also like chocolate croissants, but doubt its a very local pastry though u do get pasties that are local to Scandinavia.
to answer an earlier comment, there's plenty of olive oil here and at least I use it regularly when cooking. It's certainly not a traditional thing though.
First you have to try the pancakes with mapple syrop. Ok, everybody knows pancakes but thoses that I have didn't taste the same (be sure they're made by a Canadian
)Then I tried their pumpkin pie and blueberry pie for thanksgiving hmmmm
If you lile blueberries you'll be happy there, you can find them everywhere. I advise you the blueberry muffin of Tim Hortons, they're really good. If you're lucky enough to go to Tim Hortons. This is definitely something to do. It's just food but it is a canadian thing. 
The next step is the moose meat. I've never had that before but I was told it was good so I'll try and tell you.

Bon app茅tit !
stoofvlees: a beef stew with Belgian beer
fries: they are not French, but Belgian, at least when you put them in the oil twice.
witloof: chicory or Belgian endive
spruiten: Brussels sprouts, horrible to most people but I grew up on them so...
pralines: the famous Belgian chocolates
wafels: waffles with powdered sugar
pannenkoeken: pancakes (flat and as round as a plate) with soft brown cane sugar)
and my absolute favorite:
speculaas: a short crust biscuit with pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.
>Pork Sinigang or Sour Pork Soup with Vegetables - a typical Filipino comfort food, can be made with either beef, pork or fish and it is always served with rice.
>Bistek - usually lean-cut beef marinated in calamansi or lemon juice and soysauce, pan fried and the marinade added at the end.
and I guess every expat who have once been to Manila have tasted this and would agree that this dish tastes delicious - Adobo!
>Pork and Chicken Adobo - Pork and Chicken in Vinegar, Soy Sauce and Garlic
My Italian mother-in-law is from Ischia (near Capri) and makes a real mean Pasta con fagioli e cozze (beans and muscles). Its a heavy dish and it takes a really long time to make but its oh so delicious and the perfect dish after a day of playing v ball on the beach and swimming in the sea.
Another really good but simple dish is pasta with smoked salmon and a bit of cream. Really simple and easy to make and delish!
If anyone's in Rome and wants to try really good Italian food, the restaurant Casetta di Trastevere is in a great medieval part of historic Rome and I was surprised to pay only 5-7 euro per pasta dish that they heap on. Delicious traditional dishes. I wrote about my experience there on my blog
Although the area has become quite touristy I was surprised that they didn't water down the taste for tourists, nor have they hiked up the prices. There were several Italians there and my husband who is Italian has given his seal of approval- so you know its authentic!
I just had lunch but now I'm hungry again!
Neeya
Potato soup served with smoked sausage and pork loin;
Farmer's breakfast - fried potato with scrambled eggs, bacon and pickled cucumber;
Asparagus with grilled meat and sauce hollandaise;
Fried plaice with crispy bacon.
I could go on and on and on...
In Vietnam, I enjoy eating chicken pho(Vietnamese noodles, and banh xeom(Vietnamese pancake with veges and shrimps)
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