Tasty Treats - Local or Foreign?
Hey Travel Lover
Are you the “I’m so adventurous I must try all the foods here”, the “I’m so conservative I must travel with all my foodstuffs” or the “I can try new foods but must also carry some “familiars” just in case.
I have been called a picky or a fussy eater by a number of people and I wear my name with pride . I like my proteins “dry”, no moist chicken, fish or prawns for me. I know, that’s where the nutrients are, but ermmmm next slide please (with as straight a face as I can muster). Though I’m picky and fussy, I like to try the cuisine of the place I visit. I may not be able to eat everything as “my dry” sometimes cannot be achieved but I will eat those agreeable to me.
So, this particular year, I went on holiday to the United Kingdom for five days. We had been eating gourmet Non-Nigerian meals in the house and I was wowed. On my final night in the UK, my host decided to take me out for dinner, I was thrilled. I would get to play dress-up, people-watch and dine at an amazing restaurant. My host was really excited about the restaurant she chose, and the excitement soon caught on as I became super excited.
On our way to the restaurant, she kept telling me you will love this place, you will love the meal, you will love the presentation. I was grinning from ear to ear, my anticipation welling up in me like molten lava about to erupt. Finally we arrive and my joy knew no bounds. Ambience, check check check…I got the shocker of my life however when we were handed the menus….I was expecting “gourmet this, gourmet that” and the first item to jump out at me was Yam and Pepper Soup. Alas, it was a Nigerian restaurant. While I commended my host, I mentioned the outing was more for her benefit than mine. I was travelling back to Nigeria the next day so I would have preferred a Non-Nigerian restaurant. The presentation of the Yam and Pepper Soup was nevertheless noteworthy (rude shock reality, didn’t take a picture) and the meal very tasty.
So Travel Lover, when you travel, do you look for those restaurants local to you or you look for the exotic? Do you bring your food stuffs or you travel light (like me) and explore the cuisine. Do you have your own “Yam and Pepper Soup” story to share? We await you in the comments section
Till Next Week
Truly Yours
Ajalaress
Yaaam?? Sorry dear, no matter the quality and shine of the robe with which you choose to dress yam, my first reaction is usually defensive.
Not that I have not encountered some fantastic yam preparations that totally rinsed my prejudice.
Just that I grew up in a home where most of the people were yam lovers and they force-fed their favorite yam down my throat much to my distaste.
Today, I don't just run, I flee from any dining table that has yam sticking its hairy hands from it.
I flee without looking back but the few times I have lately been ambushed by yam were not really bad experiences just that I don't sit back and reminisce of that feast of yam and I don't go hoping for a repeat.
My unspoken mantra has always been, yam, please, avoid, me!!
A horrible conservative eater, I'm not the ideal person for food tours as I usually eat a specific kind of dish in every restaurant I visit.
The chosen dish must have been fantastic the first time I tried, so in order not to tempt the benevolence of the gods, I stick to the one that worked on the first day.
That's for the sake of peace and for the sake of tomorrow.
Oh my world!! Yam and what?? You dint say the name of the restaurant or the city.....