International food love

[quidam]

So, I've been obsessing over the idea of Devonshire clotted cream for days. I had it once a couple of years ago, and holy wow, is that stuff great. It's very hard to find around my area; not to mention pricey.

Anyways, I got to wondering what kind of international foods people on here like. Obviously we're not all from the same country, so I'm sure there will be some that seem boring and mundane to some, while exotic for others. What do you like that is easy to find where you are? What do you like that is hard to find?
For those lucky enough to have done international traveling: what have you found that just can't be replicated anywhere else?

[babytarragon]

I miss all of Malaysia's food: Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, all the exotic juices... sigh ^^

[Calivano]

I live in south Texas and I take it for granted. It seems weird to me that food like fajitas, menudo, Huevos Rancheos, Carne al Pastor and mexican rice and beans are hard to come by outside the southern U.S. Im just so used to it. But Ill be damned if I can find a good fish and chips restaurant, a decent pub, a good persian restaurant or morrocan food. Even a great Korean Restaurant, im dying to try some authentic hotoek. I love going to the little hole in the wall asian and middle eastern food markets. The people are always happy to see us.

[OkamiKodomo]

That is one thing I miss about Orlando. The food down there was so eclectic. I knew of a fantastic Puerto Rican restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant, two great sushi bars that also did authentic Japanese cuisine, an Indian restaurant, a Southern-style BBQ place, an American-Italian (Godfather-themed no less) diner, a proper Italian restaurant, a few breakfast diners (not including the Waffle Houses and IHOPs, I mean real diners with Formica tables, tile floors and red vinyl barstools) an Irish pub, and a Spanish Tapas bar all within a 20 mile radius of my house. Oh and of course the smoothie and frozen yogurt bars!~ And a Greek place. I really could go on and on. My ex was a Foodie, so we were always going to different places.

[she_flame]

I have no real experience on international food as I haven't really been outside of Finland. But there are still some reginal foods that are hard to find outside of the spesific are. I lived in central Finland earlier, and there were there Karelian pasties but filled with mashed potatoes instead of rice, and now when I live in Lapland, I find it really hard to get these "potato pasties". I should learn to do these by myself.

[kenaiqueen]

I'm in a small town in Alaska and even tho there are several places that serve pizza, they all suck now, so I'm having to go up to Anchorage to get a good slice of pizza. When I do go to the big town, besides pizza, I love to go to the Greek Corner for their avgolemono soup & gyros, a dive called Sweet Pink Pepper that has the best tempura and my newest obsession is a Nepalese place called Yak & Yeti.

[werepuppy]

In Glasgow, there's this sort of hidden away Japanese restaurant. It is a really fantastic place, with brilliant prices - always a plus - and has some of the best ramen that I've ever tasted. Like, seriously, I think I lived off this ramen for a week or two in uni because I wanted a hot meal, but didn't have the time to cook / would be home too late to ask my Mum to throw something in the oven for me. (My uni was right beside the bus stop; it was cheaper to just commute in than to try to find digs in town)

I also really like chicken chow mien. Noodle dishes in general, I'm very fond of. ... I'm a tad predictable, I fear.

[victoriavictrix]

I can't say there ever was an international cuisine I didn't like something from. Individual dishes might leave me cold, but mostly I love trying food I have never seen before.

Ah, Devon clotted cream....heaven. Here you go. The bottled stuff tastes reasonably close to the fresh English stuff.

http://www.englishteastore.com/british- ... MgodWCQAPg

or you can make it yourself.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... ecipe.html

[Trethowan]

Oh what a wonderful topic. I won't call myself a foodie, per se, but I do enjoy international fare. The food in France, Mexico, and Japan was all so amazing that the restaurants here just can't compare. It's amazing how Americanized the Japanese restaurants are here, now that I've had the real thing. I never once saw a hibatchi joint while I was there.

One thing I remember in France was this amazing cheesy bread, I think it was a Croque Suzette? I'm sure I spelled this wrong and I haven't the time to google, but OOOHHHH it was good. I used to buy two of them and make a sandwich. The ladies in the store thought I was hilarious for doing this.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

I've not yet been there, but I love Indian food - the whole gamut from the some traditional takeaway stuff through to dishes Indian friends and colleagues have cooked for me to prove how bad the traditional takeaway stuff is; and in between good restaurants that those same friends and colleagues (and one in particular) have introduced me to and recipes they've given me or I've found online.

Particular dishes... from southern India dosas (there's a small food market at work every weekend that starts on Friday, and one of the stalls sells mung bean masala dosa and spicy chickpeas on the side), vada sambar and thoran - which has become my standby recipe for "what shall I do with these veg?". From northern India, dal makhani with paratha or poured over rice for the ultimate warming, filling comfort food; and momo, which I must learn how to make as the only place near me that sold them closed a couple of years back.

And now, despite it being just gone 1am and having had a filling dinner, I'm hungry