European Dining Experience for the Hungry Globetrotter

Traveling for me is not only about sight-seeing, shopping, learning about other culture and history of the countries I visit, but it is also discovering and enjoying the food. Dining is an important part of my holiday, so needless to say, I tend to over-eat when on vacation hahahhahaha! I love all kinds of food but I don’t like spicy food so forget that.

I am not  fond of Italian food for some reason, I know, I know, my bad, … but I remember in Italy we ordered all types of pizza! The best pizzas I ever had in my life! I don’t like the taste of red sauce that much so I mostly ordered white pizza.  To satisfy my hunger while sight-seeing, I ate a lot of Italian pastries, chocolate and biscotto that could be found everywhere.

Italian biscotti

Italian chocolate

What I  could remember  while I was in Spain was visiting the Museo del Jamon (Ham Museum), which offered meals consisting of ham, of course. You can order their “picnic to go” if you don’t feel like dining in. There are several restaurants everywhere that will satisfy your taste for Iberian cuisine and taste for tapas. One of the very popular dish specialized by the Spanish is the paella, a Spanish rice dish with seafood. Yummmm!  Visiting Café de Chinitas in Madrid was a special treat, a great place to enjoy tapas while watching the Flamenco dancers performed onstage.

Hams at Museo del Jamon in Madrid Spain

At Cafe de Chinitas, Madrid Spain

Moving across the pond … one of my dining experience highlights was at the very first Hard Rock Café. I could finally say “I’ve been to the very first Hard Rock Café ever!!!” yeap that’s what it’s all about:) On my second visit to England, I had to try the fish and chips from the world famous Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips in Scarborough. It was simply delicious! The fish was humungous, did I ate it all? You bet! :) While in Leeds, Some of my British friends and I had a get-together for dinner.  After looking around for a possible place to eat, we found a restaurant in the city center that served Indian food, that left me desire for more. Another place worth visiting was the place called Roundhay Fox where I ordered their delicious shepherd’s pie with a side of fries (or shall I say “chips").

At the very first Hard Rock Cafe, London England

Fish & Chips from Harry Ramsden's in Scarborough UK

Shepherd's pie from Roundhay Fox Restaurant in Leeds UK

Dining with my British friends at an Indian restaurant in Leeds UK

Chilin' with my British friends in Leeds UK

While on a visit to Scotland, we were treated to fish and chips by our Scottish friends, apparently, these are really popular dish over there as well, I guess it’s popular all over the UK:)  In return we invited them to our hotel (Royal British Hotel) for dinner at its restaurant, the Glendale Restaurant and Bar. By the way, doesn’t my friend look like one of the characters from the TV show “Cheers”? Many people told him so.

Dining with my Socttish friends at Glendale Restaurant & Bar at Royal British Hotel in Edinburgh Scotland

In France, wow, what can I say about French food, let’s say, I remember eating dishes with varieties of cheese on the side. I remember ordering escargot (snail) for appetizer, didn’t know it’s such a popular dish over there until I saw it with my own eyes. When I tried it, it was actually good:) For dessert, I craved for something with chocolate so that’s what I got most of the time. On one occasion, I wanted to go to Chili’s Restaurant, I remember reading beforehand that there’s one somewhere in Paris. I believe the visit was mostly for my favorite dessert, the chocolate chip paradise pie!

One night we went to Maxim’s Paris, one of the most popular and fashionable (not to mention very expensive) restaurants in Paris France. We waited for awhile for them to open, only to be told, “sorry no children allowed”,  much to my disappointment because I really wanted to eat there, but not without our five-year old son. Oh well! My son is very well-behave, in fact during our visit in Nice France, the employees at Hotel Negresco's Le Chantecler  Restaurant (the finest restaurant in Nice France) were very impressed with him because he was so well-behaved when we were dining in, so much so that they gave him a present:) So proud of my boy! By the way, if you ever visit Nice, I highly recommend staying at Hotel Negresco, it's a great hotel and I'm so glad we stayed there.

Escargot appetizer

French meat  dish

Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie

At Maxim's Paris

At Le Chantecler Restaurant at our hotel in Nice France, Hotel Negresco

During a visit to Belgium, I was invited to attend a Barbie doll convention which was organized  by the doll collectors in the area. Since we were going to be in the area anyway, I accepted the invitation. It was a chance to meet some of my magazine subscribers, who before then, I only communicated with through emails and discussion boards online. They set up a table for a Barbie – theme dessert. Very impressive and I remember, delicious.  While sight-seeing in Belgium, I remember buying a lot of Belgian chocolate , which the country is known for, and of course trying the Belgian waffle:)

Dining with friends in Brussels Belgium

Barbie-theme pastry and dessert table

Barbie doll centerpiece

Belgian waffles

Dining in the second smallest country in the world, that is Monaco, was not that much different from dining in France. Their dishes were mostly influenced by France, but with added flavor to make it a completely Monegasque specialty.  We mostly dined at our hotel, though, and  I remember the food to be tasty and pricey:) While not dining in, we tried  the street foods, one in particular was the socca, which is a chickpea pancake.

Socca, a chickpea pancake

Istanbul Turkey is the only city in the world that belongs to two continents,  Asia and Europe, separated by the Bosphorus.  It  is known for its Turkish delights but it’s also popular for its kebab and all types of food. I have tried different Turkish food during my two visits to the country. In fact I felt like that’s all I did during my second  visit there, in February 2011, ate and ate!:) It was winter so I called them my comfort food:) My Turkish friend owns a diner in Bodrum, it became my favorite place to eat while I was visiting. Dining in Turkey was never without a tea, and for dessert, my favorite was the baklava.

Turkish kebab meal

Baklava

One can’t go to Greece without trying their gyros, so I did just that. It was my first time trying this Greek food, although I always read about it. I enjoyed the meal while also watching a basketball match between Greece and Turkey. Greece  is also popular for its seafood dishes. While in Kos Island, I tried a  calamari dish from one of the restaurants. It was not the best I’ve tasted (maybe the high price tag contributed to that conclusion), but given that most of the restaurants in the area were closed because it’s winter time, I couldn’t complain that much.

Greek gyros

Greek calamaris with fries

Greek kebab meal with fries and tomatoes, and yogurt for dips

I’ve visited more countries in Europe like Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Austria and  Denmark and I can honestly say that dining in Europe was certainly some of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. The culturally-diverse  countries offered a wide array of food that could  satisfy everyone’s appetite!  It sure did mine!