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If there's one thing you can learn from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it's that Greeks love food. But Greek cuisine is not just about kebabs and yogurt. Greece has one of the most delicious cuisines, with hearty meat dishes and rose-scented desserts. Check out our list of must-try dishes in Greece.

Papoutsaki

The name of the dish translates as “little shoes”, it consists of eggplants stuffed with meat, tomato sauce and béchamel sauce.

Pastitsio

This pasta dish is somewhat reminiscent of lasagna. Its preparation requires several layers of pasta, minced pork or beef, tomato sauce with mint and cinnamon, as well as bechamel and grated cheese. This is very tasty as a stand-alone dish, but also goes well with a salad.

Taramasalata

This is a delicious spread of caviar mixed with olive oil and potatoes or bread. It's incredibly delicious when eaten with pita bread. The dish has a lot of fat, but it also has enough protein and Omega-3 acids.

Avgolemono soup

This delicious chicken broth is topped with beaten egg, lemon juice and rice - it's the perfect winter weather dish and a great cold remedy. Chop up some chicken and bell peppers to add even more flavor to the broth.

Halloumi

This cheese is prepared in Cyprus. Halloumi has a delicate texture with a slightly salty taste and is made from sheep and goat milk. This is a universal cheese that can be eaten either in its pure form or in a salad, on a sandwich, and even with watermelon. Unlike other cheeses, this cheese does not melt when grilled, baked or pan-fried.

Kleftiko

This lamb roast is usually seasoned with garlic, onion and oregano and served with potatoes and vegetables. If the meat has been marinated long enough and cooked correctly, it will flake easily under the fork and practically melt in your mouth.

Kuluri

It is impossible to imagine a Greek feast without a basket of koulouri - this is bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, which is usually baked in the shape of a circle. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This bread is often prepared with olives or feta and is especially delicious if served while still warm.

Koulourakia

This name sounds similar to the previous one, however, the dish is somewhat different. These are butter cookies with sugar that can be both crunchy and soft inside. Cookies are served all year round, but are especially common at Easter.

Galaktoboureko

For dessert, try a slice of the sweet corn quiche. It has a delicate rosewater scent and a flaky pastry crust.

Spanakopita

Not all Greek pastries are sweet. For example, spanakopita is a savory pie made from spinach and feta. The pie crust is made from crispy phyllo dough.

Keftedes

These crispy fried meatballs are usually made with pork or beef, seasoned with oregano, onion, garlic and a pinch of cinnamon.

Tzatziki

The popular sauce is made from regular yogurt, mint, cucumber, olive oil and garlic. This is a great addition to either roasted pork or chicken skewers or pita bread.

Sheftalia

These succulent lamb or pork sausages are a dish from Cyprus. The Greeks cannot imagine a family barbecue without such a product.

Kalo prama

This dish literally translates to “great thing”, and when you try it, you will understand the essence of the name. It's a corn cake soaked in rosewater syrup and topped with almonds. An ideal dish for a light and sweet dessert.

Kritaraki

This pasta dish with onions and tomatoes is prepared with different types of meat - lamb, pork, beef or chicken. In any case, it turns out very fragrant.

Gemista

This dish requires peppers and tomatoes; they are stuffed with rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. The result is a hearty and healthy main dish that can also be used as a side dish.

Souvlaki

Many people think of kebab, but have never heard of souvlaki - grilled skewers of meat, usually pork or chicken. The meat is served on pita bread with salad or eaten straight from the skewer.

Dolmades

Hand-rolled rolls of minced pork, rice and parsley wrapped in grape leaves are tricky to make. But they are incredibly tasty both hot and cold. The meat can be replaced with peppers for a vegetarian version.

Loukoumades

If you love donuts, you'll love loukoumades. This is a popular dessert sold on the streets and consists of small fried pieces of dough served with syrup and cinnamon or nuts.

Aphelia

This dish is pork marinated in red wine. It takes a very long time to prepare, but the incredible aroma justifies all the effort - be sure to try it if you love meat.

Kurabiedes

During the holiday season, many Greek grandmothers make cookies with walnuts and powdered sugar, vanilla and orange. Try these cookies along with traditional Greek coffee without milk to balance out the sweetness of the dessert with the drink.

Mavromatica

This is one of the most useful products on this list. The protein-rich dish is made with black beans in tomato sauce. It can be with or without meat.

Moussaka

Layers of minced meat, usually lamb or beef, cooked in tomato sauce and accompanied by eggplant and béchamel sauce are a classic of Greek cuisine. If desired, the dish can be prepared without meat - eggplant with aromatic sauces turns out great.

Lukaniko

Lukaniko is a spicy-flavored smoked sausage cooked with fennel, orange and sometimes chili. This is a great snack when eaten hot, straight from the grill, on a halloumi pita sandwich.

Baklava

Baklava is popular in both Turkey and the Middle East, but in Greece it can also be found in every pastry shop. The dessert, made from phyllo dough and pistachios, is usually cut into squares or triangles. The dish also includes honey, lemon juice and cinnamon. It turns out to be an incredibly tasty and mouth-watering dessert.

When you come to Turkey, forget about fast food chains. National Turkish cuisine is tasty and varied. On the Turkish cuisine menu you will find a mixture of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan culinary traditions.

That’s why it’s so difficult to narrow down all the variety to a short list of must-try food items in Turkey. But I still tried to highlight the main and most delicious dishes that Turks cook and eat at home and in restaurants.

Turkish breakfasts

Turkish breakfast food is a little different from European food. Instead of coffee, it is customary to drink tea in the morning. Often a vegetable plate with chopped tomatoes and/or cucumbers is served for breakfast. People eat white bread, but recently trends in healthy eating have reached Turkey; now you can choose grain bread made from rye or other grains for breakfast.

White cheese similar to feta, old cheese ( kaş ar peyniri), olives or black olives ( zeytin), butter, honey, jam, omelette or boiled eggs ( yumurta) are the main components of a Turkish breakfast.

You can also eat for tomorrow sucuklu yumurta And bö rek. Sucuklu yumurta is a dried beef sausage with garlic and spices (red pepper, cumin and sumac). Sujuklu fried in a frying pan along with eggs, it turns out greasy, but very tasty. Bö rek(burek or burek) it is a thin sheet of dough stuffed with cheese, minced meat and/or vegetables, fried or baked.

Miniman/menimen (Menemen) - very tasty Turkish omelette. Fried onions and peppers are stewed with tomatoes, and then poured with eggs, sprinkled with herbs and ground pepper.

© foodista / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

National Turkish vegetable food

Turkey grows a lot of vegetables, which is noticeably reflected in local dishes. If you are a vegetarian, then it is important for you to know that Turkish dishes that do not contain meat are called zeytin yağ lı , cooked in olive oil. As a rule, these dishes are served cold. Here are the best vegetable dishes in Turkey:

  • Sarma (Yaprak Sarma) - grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions and spices (mint, currants, pepper and cinnamon).
  • Dolma (Dolma) - Fresh or dried eggplants, peppers, tomatoes or zucchini stuffed with rice, onions and spices.
  • Taze Fasulye- beans or chickpeas (chickpeas) stewed with tomatoes or tomato paste and onions.
  • Dzhadzhik (Cacı k) - refreshing Turkish soup. It is prepared from finely chopped cucumbers, sour cream, garlic and mint. On a hot summer day it is served with ice cubes.

Turks love meat very much, and therefore all the dishes listed above, except for the last soup, can also be found in a meat version.

Turkish meat dishes

  • Karniyaryk (Karnı yarı k) - fried eggplants with minced meat, onions, parsley, garlic and tomato filling. This dish is definitely worth trying. To make sure it's of good quality, look for eggplants. The dark color of the skin should not be transferred to the peeled pulp, and the meat should not be dark and dry.
  • Lahmajun (Lahmacun) - Turkish pizza with meat, onions and spices on thin puff pastry. Served with tomatoes and salad. Many people prefer to squeeze lemon juice onto the lahmacun, roll it up and eat it like a Mexican taco. Authentic Turkish street food.
  • Kuru Fasulye (Kurufasulye) - dry beans. Turks simply love legumes. This national dish of Turkey is usually served with slices of dried beef ( pastı rma), rice (sade pilav), pickles and sauerkraut turş u.

© ruocaled / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

The most famous national dishes of Turkish cuisine

  • Kebab (Kebap) - this is meat skewered and grilled over coals - a familiar shish kebab. Usually lamb, beef or chicken are fried. There are a huge number of varieties of kebab in Turkey, I advise you to try the popular Iskander kebab.
  • Dener (Dö ner) - shawarma or shawarma. This is meat roasted on a spit with salad, local herbs and spices.
  • Kofte (Kö fte) - cutlets or meatballs of various shapes and sizes. Minced meat is lamb or mutton with boiled bread, onions and spices. The most popular dish with cutlets is Izgara Köfte. In it, the meat is grilled along with green pepper, parsley and dry red pepper and served with rice or bread.
  • Manta rays (Mantı ) – very tasty Turkish dumplings. The ingredients are simple dough, meat (beef or lamb), onion, salt and pepper.

© hewy / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

Popular Turkish side dishes

Pilav (Pilav) - There are many options for preparing pilaf in national Turkish cuisine. This is not quite pilaf, although it is based on rice, and these two words are consonant. The most popular pilaf in Turkish cuisine is sade pilav. It's just rice boiled in water with vegetable oil and small şehriye noodles. Typically, rice is mixed with eggplant, chickpeas, meat or pieces of liver and, of course, spices: cinnamon, pepper, thyme, cumin and even almonds.

Bulgur pilaf (Bulgur Pilavı) – at first glance it seems that this Turkish dish is just a plate of boiled rice, but in fact it is wheat. Most often it is prepared with fried onions, green peppers, tomato paste and mint.

Fried vegetables– fried eggplant, green peppers and zucchini with tomato sauce or sour cream is one of the best dishes. There are a lot of options for Turkish food made from fried vegetables, choose any combination to suit your taste.

Mujver (Mü cver) - zucchini, eggs and flour - this is the whole composition of very tasty Turkish potato pancakes. Mujver is prepared with white cheese, green onions and mint, lightly fried in olive oil and served as a side dish.

Meze (Meze) - a set of snacks that are often served along with raki or other alcoholic drinks. Restaurants that specialize in serving meze are called meyhane. Most often, the waiter comes to the table and presents all the meze options on a large platter, and you can choose according to your taste.

Sweet Turkish desserts

© shutterferret / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

Kunefe (Kü nefe) - This is a traditional Arabic cheese pastry. Unsalted cheese is placed between two layers of dough made from a simple mixture of water and flour. Kunefe is served warm and soaked in syrup. The dessert is sprinkled with pistachios on top. The sensations and taste are very unusual. On one side there is crispy dough, on the other there is soft cheese soaked in sweet syrup.

Baklava (Baklava) - another Turkish dessert with a simple set of ingredients (dough, nuts and syrup), but very tasty. The decisive factor is how thin the layers of dough are. Whether walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios will be in your baklava depends on the region where you try it.

Street food in Turkey

Street food culture is very common in Turkey. In Istanbul, small street food stalls can be found on every corner. Most often these are national dishes of Turkey, which you are already familiar with from this article. I decided to once again list the names separately so that you know what you can eat inexpensively while exploring Turkey.

Hot food

Kebab and doner(kebabs and shawarma) are the main representatives of Turkish street food.

Borek– flatbread with various fillings: ı spanaklı bö rek(with spinach), peynirli bö rek(with cheese), kı ymalı bö rek(with minced meat) and patatesli bö rek(with potato).

Pide ( Pide ) - stuffed dough boat. Kaş arlı Pide(with cheese) and Sucuklu Pide(with cheese and hot sauce) are the most popular types of pide.

Pizza Lahmajun (Lahmacun)

Mizir (Mısır ) Boiled or grilled corn on the cob. It is salted or sprinkled with spices and sold during the summer months.

Chestnuts ( Kestane ) and in winter, instead of corn, trays of roasted chestnuts appear everywhere.

Balyk ekmek ( Bal ı k ekmek ) – literally translated as “fish in bread”, which is exactly what it is. Before your eyes, the seller fries the fish and stuffs it into a large bun.

© nifortescue / flickr.com / CC BY 2.0

Cold street food

Simit ( Simit ) – a crispy, round salty bagel covered with sesame seeds. There are 2 main variants of simit: sokak simit– sold on the streets, very crispy and pastane simit– sold in stores, softer.

Achma ( A ç ma ) a round bun, one might say, a donut. Very tasty, but oily.

Pogača ( Po ğ a ç a ) - delicious crumbly cookies. There are options without filling - sade, or with filling: peynirlicheese, kı ymalı - chopped meat, zeytinli– olives cut into pieces.

Carefully

While you wander the streets of Istanbul or other cities, you will come across these two Turkish dishes more than once. They are very tasty, but should be purchased with caution on sunlit streets.

  • Dolma from mussels (Midye dolma) – stuffed mussels. They are very tasty, I recommend eating them in restaurants.

Kokorec ( Kokore ç ) grilled sheep's offal (guts, heart, etc.) with a bunch of spices. A very popular snack after a stormy night or with alcohol. From the outside, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which is shawarma and which is kokorech. Fortunately, shawarma is cooked on a vertical spit, and kokorech on a horizontal one.

Our experts answer the most tricky questions about holidays in Greece.

Greek food is tasty and varied; the most adventurous can find a large number of unusual, beautifully prepared dishes in the national Greek cuisine. Cooked in a variety of ways, fish can be the tastiest dish of your dinner. The fish that the sea gives to the Greeks is a real delicacy. The Greeks love red mullet, red mullet, anchovy, and mullet; they also catch flounder here. A small mullet covered with reddish scales is a special delicacy. Of course, lobsters and lobsters are prized.

Popular holiday dishes

As in other countries, the Greeks love and know how to celebrate national holidays. These days, festive tables are set, which are bursting with the most exquisite dishes of local cuisine. Let's give just a couple of examples.

Octopus and other seafood


photo: In Greece, octopus is most often prepared for the holidays

A festive table is not complete without marinated or oven-baked octopus. Octopus is a traditional and relatively inexpensive dish of fish taverns. They catch it with a trident or spear, luring it out from under the stones. Processing octopuses is not for the faint of heart. First they are thrown into a stone hole, then they are grabbed by the tentacles and their insides are pulled out, and then they are frantically beaten against the stone slabs. From a distance, it looks like a housewife bleaching laundry - the white foam abundantly released from the poor mollusk increases the resemblance. It turns out that thanks to this treatment, the octopus meat is softened, harmful liquid is removed from its organs, and it is also easier to skin it. The cut octopuses are dried in the sun, after which they end up in the kitchen.

In addition, the festive table is often decorated with seafood dishes. Lobsters and king prawns fried in olive oil can often be found on the holiday table.

Lamb


photo: No “meat-eater” will refuse such a treat

Another favorite dish is young lamb meat. Most often, lamb ribs are roasted on a spit, or grilled, or baked in the oven. On Easter it is customary to roast a lamb. For this holiday, they also prepare shish kebab from lamb offal - kokoretsi. But in the tavern you can order kokoretsi at any time of the year. The Greeks also eat other types of meat and poultry - beef, pork, chicken. You will find dishes made from them in grill restaurants or kebab shops. Many dishes are prepared from minced meat: suzukakya (something like lula kebab), cutlets, chopped steaks, cabbage rolls, pastitsio - a casserole made from meat and pasta.

Food for every day

Greeks, as a rule, do not eat soups. Nevertheless, their cuisine includes lentil soup, bean soup, fish soup and broth with lemon-egg dressing. In addition, on Easter and Holy Saturday, upon returning from church, it is customary to break the fast with magiritsa - soup made from sheep's offal. But fruits and vegetables occupy a large place in the diet: oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and of course olives.

Where to try real Greek cuisine?

Food in Greece is more important than any social affairs. Whether with family or among loved ones, lunch is a reason for celebration, a time when a good mood comes.

The most popular among Greeks are taverns, a bastion of Greek cuisine.

Taverns are more or less similar in design and menu. If you come to a tavern, it means that you have come to a place where you will be offered delicious food, from which you will enjoy and eat until you are full.


photo: It’s better to try local cuisine in national taverns

Taverns are by no means the only place to eat. You may also find a "stiatrio" - a restaurant in the usual sense, more elegant and clean than a tavern, with rows of table-covered tables and higher prices; “Pistari” is a restaurant (kebab house) that specializes in cooking lamb, piglets or chicken on a spit; a “psaro tavern” specializing in fish; "uzeri" - a beer hall where snacks are also served; “gyros” - a sandwich shop with round sandwiches and “souvlazitiko”, where they serve salads.

The Greeks, especially the Cretans, are known for their longevity, and it is generally believed that one explanation for this phenomenon is their healthy diet.

Here are some Greek dishes that you are likely to find on the menu if you visit Greece, especially during the summer months.

Popular Greek dishes

Tzatziki- cucumber salad with yogurt, garlic, oil and seasonings

Taramosalata- salad of fish (usually cod) roe with onions, potatoes or bread, lemon juice and butter

Moussakas— eggplant casserole with minced meat and béchamel sauce Souvlaki — kebab

Melizanosalata— eggplant caviar: baked eggplants, onion or garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, oil

Greek salad- a rustic dish of large-leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, Greek feta cheese, oregano and olives

Dolma- cabbage rolls made from grape leaves, rice and herbs (mint, parsley, dill). Served with lemon-egg sauce

Tacos- dry bread with a sauce of fresh tomatoes, salt and plenty of olive oil

Yemista- tomatoes, peppers or eggplants stuffed with rice and herbs (with or without minced meat)

Stifado- stewed meat (beef, liver, rabbit, etc.) with lots of onions

Avgolemono- chicken broth seasoned with egg and lemon

National alcoholic drinks in Greece


photo: Ouzo vodka is the most popular strong alcohol in Greece

There is a huge variety of Greek wines, ranging from light whites, sweet or dry, to rosés and reds, semi-sweet and sweet. Each region produces its own wines. You can find them both bottled and on tap (the latter tend to be cheaper, but not always of good quality). One of the characteristic Greek wines is retsina, which has a specific resinous aroma. Of the strong drinks, the most famous are ouzo, aniseed vodka made with grape spirit, and raki, grape vodka. There are restaurants called ouzeri that serve this particular drink with a variety of snacks. but of course there are other strong drinks at your disposal.

In addition, in Greece you will find all types of beer, both foreign and local, in bottles and draft. From white grape wines, we suggest trying Chateau Matsas, Tsandali, Aghioritiko, Dtrofilia; from pink - Tsandali, Calligas; from red - Naoussa Boutari, Hadjimihali, Chateau Karras. Don't miss the famous Greek cognac "Metaxa" and pay attention to tsikoudia (a type of crayfish), which is made in Crete.

Spanish food in the country itself is as much of a tourist attraction as the Sagrada Familia or, say, flamenco. It would be a big miss to visit here and not try the famous national dishes, even if you have to give up your usual diet to do this. The local cuisine is famous for its hearty dishes, which certainly do not fit into the Mediterranean diet.

A little about culinary preferences

The formation of Spanish cuisine was influenced by several factors:

  • historical background caused by numerous conquests by different peoples;
  • territorial location on the Mediterranean coast;
  • climatic conditions.

A distinctive feature of everything that is eaten in Spain is the incredible nutritional value of the dishes that are prepared here. This characteristic has its roots in the distant past. After all, as you know, local cuisine was formed not in royal palaces, but in peasant families, in which the main task of each housewife was to cook a lot, tasty and satisfying. It is for this reason that in many dishes of local origin you can sometimes find the most incompatible ingredients, for example, seafood and chicken.

The second feature is the influence of many cultures that appeared here in different historical eras thanks to new conquerors - the Romans, Moors, and the Spaniards themselves. In addition, it should be noted that each individual Spanish region is unique, and they can be distinguished from each other precisely by the composition of the dishes and the menu as a whole.

National menu

If you don’t know what food to try in Spain, we recommend trying everything they serve. You definitely won’t be disappointed, and you won’t leave hungry either. It is simply impossible to list all the national treats, so we will focus on those through which the whole world learned about Spain.

This dish belongs to the category of appetizers. The name comes from the word “lid”. Once upon a time, travelers were treated to cool wine in large glasses, the top of which was covered with a piece of bread with cheese, meat or tomato so that the wind would not blow dust and sand into the container. Since then, such “lids” have become a regular treat in any bar where travelers drop by.

Today, tapas bars are not just a culinary phenomenon, but also an entertainment one. The main entertainment of local residents on Fridays is visiting such establishments, of which they can count at least a dozen in one evening.

Tapas are always served with beer or wine. The main ingredients are olives, tuna, almonds, jamon, marinated pork, and cheese. The base can be a piece of bread, which is incredibly tasty in Spain.

In your list of what dishes to try in Spain, be sure to include gazpacho. This is a vegetable soup, which is mainly prepared from tomatoes, and is not subject to heat treatment. Cool gazpacho is especially good in summer. Its recipe is very simple: pieces of bread are soaked in water, then mixed with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and seasonings.

Caring housewives usually prepare this treat in the evening. First, to let it sit overnight. Secondly, so that the soup reaches the desired temperature. If you find it not cool enough, you can add ice cubes to it.

Paella was invented in Valencia. It was here that the first dish was prepared, which the whole world now enjoys eating. The peculiarity of paella lies in the combination of the most contradictory products.

The basis of paella is rice - one of the main ingredients in Spain, which is included in most dishes. It is prepared in a special frying pan from many ingredients - rice, chicken, seafood, white wine, spices, herbs, fish. In total, there are more than 300 recipes for this treat in the country. In some regions, rice is replaced with beans, another popular national product. But classical technology is still based on the use of rice.

Jamon has long been loved by gourmets all over the world, and you can already find it on the shelves of almost all stores. But you can only try real jamon in Spain itself. This product is a smoked pork ham, which is prepared using a special technology. The whole process takes at least a year.

It is believed that the ham is prepared from a special Iberian breed of pigs, which is fed exclusively on acorns. It is for this reason that jamon has a pronounced nutty taste.

The national food in Spain also includes incredibly delicious desserts, representatives of which are Catalan cream and turrones. The latter, by the way, were inherited by the Spaniards from the Arabs and are nougat made from egg whites, honey and various types of nuts.

Vietnamese cuisine is very diverse, tasty and, in most cases, healthy. Its basis is the freshest vegetables, fruits, herbs, seafood, fish and meat. Moreover, if you are going to Vietnam, you will be very pleased with the prices for food here - this is one of the cheapest countries in terms of food (and housing) where I have ever been.

Conventionally, all Vietnamese cuisine can be divided into three large sections - soups, street food and main courses (we also include a few desserts).

Soup is the most popular dish in Vietnam. There are a lot of variations of them here, although most of them are based on noodles and meat. I have already talked in detail about Vietnamese soups in.

Now let's talk about the must-try main dishes in Vietnamese restaurants and cafes.

So what do I think must try food in Vietnam :

Com there

Rice is the boss of everything. In Vietnam, and throughout Asia. It is eaten as a separate dish and served with other dishes instead of bread. In Vietnamese, rice is lump. Kom Tam is a dish consisting of rice, fried pork, egg and vegetables. Very tasty and filling! And in most cases - cheap.

In addition, try fried rice in any of the variations - with seafood, with egg, with tofu, with vegetables, etc. The dishes are simple, but they know how to cook rice so deliciously that even those who don’t usually eat it like it.

Ban Thich Nuong

This is the name of rice noodles with grilled pork. This and the previous dish can be found not only in cafes, but also as street food, and in the prepared food section in large supermarkets (Lottemart, Big C, etc.). In stores they cost about 20-30 thousand dong, they are cheap and convenient to take with you or eat right at the food court.

We also really like noodles with beef or shrimp and vegetables.

Kho To

My favorite dish. It consists of caramelized shrimp, fish or pork in a clay pot. In Nha Trang, I liked this dish most at the Lanterns restaurant (however, everything there is delicious).

Beef Onion varnish

Very tasty tender beef stewed in sauce, served with rice and vegetables.

Beef in bamboo

The Vietnamese know how to cook beef, and it turns out delicious in most dishes. But I want to especially highlight the beef in bamboo. If you see it on the menu, take it with confidence))

Salads

Salads you need to try in Vietnam:

  • with mango;
  • with papaya;
  • with a pomelo.

Most often they are cooked with shrimp or other seafood and seasoned with spicy sauces.

Exotic animal meat

In Vietnam, many cafes and restaurants have frog, ostrich, crocodile, turtle or shark fin soup on their menus. Some tourists come here specifically to try dog ​​meat, but it is found much less often in local establishments (fortunately, in my opinion). I know only one such place in Saigon and two in Hanoi, but I won’t give the names and addresses - I love dogs and don’t want to contribute to their eating.

Seafood

You can often see bowls of seafood on the streets of Vietnam. In most cases, they are fresh and still alive. Choose what you like and they will prepare it for you right away. Cost varies by location. In non-tourist places they cost pennies, in tourist places they are significantly more expensive. But still cannot be compared with prices in Russia.

Fish

Stewed in tomato sauce, grilled, baked with lemongrass - delicious in all versions! There are many types of fish, we most often took red snapper, cobia, and tuna (more on that below). Never take basa (aka pangasius, sole). This fish itself is harmless, but in Vietnam it is caught in the Mekong, one of the dirtiest rivers in the world. Therefore, here the quality and safety of this fish leave much to be desired.

Tuna

I’ll make it a separate point, because Vietnam has VERY tasty tuna. In Nha Trang, be sure to try the tuna with strawberry sauce at the Story restaurant. I still dream about it at night)) For its sake, I’m even ready to return to Nha Trang)) Although in other establishments the tuna was also delicious, but here it was especially so!

Flan

Flan is a dessert. The most famous and delicious of Vietnamese sweet dishes. It is a caramel pudding similar in taste to crème brûlée.

From drinks You should definitely try Vietnamese coffee with milk, coffee with beaten egg (popular in the north of the country), various variations of iced coffee (I like coconut the most), cane juice, freshly squeezed juices and cocktails made from them.

I will not recommend Vietnamese alcohol. The rum, wine and beer here are of very low quality. Although, to be fair, their price is also not high. Out of curiosity, you can try Dalat wine, Saigon beer and Chavet rum, but I warned you - don’t expect any special taste pleasure. Although many tourists love local rum and even take bottles of it home. Perhaps it’s just me who didn’t appreciate it at all, like other Vietnamese alcoholic drinks))

P.S. More information about our travels and photos in my

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