Top 4 Meals Abroad

When Shaun and I travel, one of the things I look forward to the most is the top meals we could have in the different countries we visit. I am the first to say that, while it is important to stay healthy on your trips, I will also be one of the first people that will advocate to my inner fatty – and I’m okay with that. Sure, while my husband Shaun miraculously loses weight when we are abroad from the copious amounts of walking we do, I find myself huffing and puffing at the gym when we get back from the 5 lbs I gained overseas.

So, in celebration of food, here are some of our favorite foods from various countries we have visited:

Barbados: Our honeymoon was spent in Barbados and I can say without a doubt that our favorite is the fried flying fish hands down. You can find this amazing sea creature in most restaurants on the island in different forms. I think my favorite way it was served was breaded and  fried with a side of mac n’ cheese. If you pair it up with fresh pineapple juice and Malibu (the distillery is on the island) you experience a mouth-gasm. I almost felt guilty smacking my lips as they were flying in and out of the water while we were sailing around the island on a catamaran.

Japan: Shaun will always say that the Hida Beef Sukiyaki from Takayama was the best meal in Japan (or in his case, his entire life). While I agree that it was the best meal, I enjoyed the simplicity of ramen accompanied with some of my favorite beers, Kirin and Sapporo. I’m not talking about the dehydrated $.10 package you ate when you were starving in college, but copious amounts of yummy soba or udon noodles in a steamy broth with green onions and slices of pork or tempura shrimp. I crave these delicious noodles all the time. It’s a shame there are no good Japanese noodle shops in Austin (or maybe it’s a good thing seeing as I would be there every day).

London, UK: I don’t want to offend, and I’m sure that there are amazing restaurants everywhere in London, however I think we missed quite a few of them while we were there for two and a half weeks. We’re going to go with the horribly cliche fish and chips as our choice from the UK. Having eaten it several times during our trip, our favorite was at this awesome place called The Sea Cow that offered sustainable fishing choices. If it wasn’t in season or the stock was low, they wouldn’t serve it. I think its a really awesome direction to take a company in regards to the Green Movement.

Madrid, Spain: As wonderful as wine and tapas are, the best meal we had in Madrid was our last night in Spain. There was this awesome Indian/Pakistani restaurant (in which the name escapes me) that we went crazy at. I don’t think I have ever experienced coconut curry chicken with perfectly crispy naan like I had at this amazing place. We ended up ordering seconds of the coconut curry chicken along with three orders of naan. I still daydream about this place. Thank you Lindsay for ruining my taste buds (in a good way).

While reminiscing about our previous adventures I cannot help but be excited for all the new sights, sounds, and tastes that we are going to be experiencing while on our trip to Central/South America. What meals abroad still make your tummy grumble when thinking about it?