Eating around the world Part II

More food from around the world….continued from previous post

An enjoyable part of travelling is that you get to try the different cuisine from around the world. Admittedly, I am rather picky with my food and my palate is not as adventurous as I would like it to be, but I have made it a point to at least taste the different cuisine from different places.

Streetfood in Finland. These small fried herring found at the Market Square in Helsinki, paired with reindeer meat soup, was my lunch on one cold finish afternoon.

What do you eat when you are in Frankfurt? Frankfurters! I must have ate at least 3 frankfurters everyday when I was in Frankfurt.

Freshest catch at 4am at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo! Love it. Awesome.

Another fresh catch.  Succulent lobsters on the island of Maldives. Great food, great location, an experience I definitely want to relive.

How can you not eat Fish and Chips in London?

The original Sacher Torte from Hotel Sacher in Vienna.  Vienna is a really nice place with lots of mouth-watering pastries. This small piece of chocolate cake with apricot under its icing is something everyone should try when they are in Vienna.

 

Polish food at Krakow.

Czech cuisine borrows the tastes of Germany and Hungary's schnitzels, strudels and goulashes, but adds the culture's own unique twists. This plate of Roast chicken with Czech’s cabbage (slight difference from the German’s sauerkraut) was one of my best meals in Prague.

Quesadilla in Mexico. This corn tortilla filled with a savory mixture of cheese and other ingredients, then folded in half and fried is common dish you can find in a typical Mexican’s eatery,

In a Costa Rican meal, one would expect black beans and rice (gallo pinto). This simple, standard dish, often referred to as comida tipica, is the backbone of Costa Rican cuisine.

In Guatemala, many traditional foods are based on Maya cuisine and prominently feature corn, chiles and beans as key ingredients.

I enjoyed Peruvian food a lot.  It was in Peru that I tasted al paca meat, guinea pig meat and chicken hearts. I loved Peruvian cerviche  and its Chicha Morada – a purple drink made with the ears of purple maize. It is no doubt that Lima was declared gastronomic capital of Americas.

These are Coxinha - Brazilian Chicken Croquettes, a common Brazilian street food typically enjoyed for lunch or as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. I was initially quite surprised to find them in Brazil as they reminded me of something you would find in a HongKong DimSum place. They  tasted pretty yummy as well.

Bowls of Pho which our Vietnamese host cooked and delivered to our room every morning. We did not have much of an appetite in the morning but forced ourselves to eat at least half the bowl so as to not hurt her feelings.

Your Travel Beacon,
Cindy

Maldives - A little piece of heaven on earth.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
One of the most romantic destinations to spend Valentine’s Day is in Maldives. A nation with 26 atolls situated southwest off the coast of India, Maldives is a little piece of heaven on earth.

I visited Maldives in 2007 and it has remained one of the most beautiful places I have been to. We landed on Hulhule Island at night and took a speedboat to our resort - the Full Moon Maldives.

The accommodation was magnificent. The Indian Ocean was, quite literally, at our doorstep. Maldives, considered the smallest county in Asia, is the lowest laying country on Earth. Located on the Equator, it never fails to see the Sun throughout the year. From our room, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise every morning. On our 3rd day, playful dolphins ventured into the calm and shallow waters right outside our doorstep!

The view from our room

There’s plenty to do in Maldives. You can island hop to the Maldivian capital, Male. Male is the heart of all commercial activities in the country. Many government buildings and agencies are located on the waterfront. The local and fish markets are always bustling with activity. Experience the local Maldivian lifestyle with day trips to villages like Himmafushi, on the Kaafu atoll.

In such azure waters, snorkeling and scuba diving is a must. We snorkeled next to stingrays, turtles and schools of fishes. Don’t fret about not having a scuba license - The dive schools provide an introductory “Discovery Scuba” course for first-timers. You can also choose from a variety of water sports that include windsurfing and wakeboarding.

Clear waters

Another sport I would recommend is fishing. Board a boat with your local guide who will hand you a spool of nylon and some bait. Cast your line and within seconds, and a fish will be tugging at your line. The average size of each catch was a foot long! The best part – you get to eat what you catch!

Our catch and dinner

Lying on the patio reading a book in the glorious sun, followed by a relaxing spa treatment and scrumptious fresh seafood for dinner is an ideal way to spend a day in this sun-kissed paradise too.

Despite being blessed by such natural beauty, Maldives faces an unusual future. 80% of its 1200 islands sit just above sea level. With the projected rise in sea level, scientists estimate that in a 100 years, Maldives will be submerged by the very sea that brings it life. The country’s 390,000 citizens would be forced to evacuate. This is a place that I would definitely want to revisit before its beauty is stripped by time and tide.

Your Travel Beacon,
Cindy