For a lot of world travellers memorable meals and unique dining experiences are a key part to any great trip. Next time you travel, avoid tourist trap restaurants and disappointing food by following these helpful foodie hints.
Eating Well Before Your Flight
Here’s something to keep in mind on your next layover; Condé Nast Traveler has compiled a list of the best airport restaurants in the world. Brisket in Dallas’ Fort Worth, Oysters in San Francisco SFO, and chili crabs in Singapore Changii—these meals almost make the security line worth it.
Eating before you get on a flight can also maximize your sleep time. Instead of waiting for middling in-flight meals on transatlantic flights, start your journey full and avoid deplaning tired, bloated, and a little hung-over from the complimentary wine.
Plan Your Trip Around The World’s Best Restaurants
Every year, The Diners Club® brings together 900 “trusted and well-traveled gourmets” to pick the world’s 50 best restaurants. This year’s winner is the Danish Noma; Revolutionaries in Nordic cuisine, who, per their website, “look to our landscape and delve into our ingredients and culture, hoping to rediscover our history and shape our future.”
Having spent the last 9 years in the top tier of the Best list, Noma is renowned for their innovative, flavourful cuisine mined from every aspect of the Scandinavian Landscape. Dishes are noted to be varied and memorable – such as a dish of beef tartar and ants – and stands as a destination in itself.
See the full list of winners here, and start planning your next foodie vacation.
Eat Like Locals
You can still enjoy incredible food in any city without splurging on Michelin-starred restaurants. Just do as the locals do. Street food, both trendy and delicious, is a great way to get a taste of the flavours unique to any city. Travel + Leisure has a great guide to safely enjoy local cuisine from Bangkok to Bogotá.
But if you really want to get a sense of the city, take a tip from foodie traveler superstar Anthony Bourdain, and visit the city’s markets:
“When I’m in a city that’s new to me, I try to go to the central market very early in my trip. I’ll go at 6 a.m., when people are shopping for businesses. You get to see what people buy and really eat.” Read the full interview here.
Know Your Apps
Take advantage of your KnowRoaming data, and pull up these apps to find your next great meal.
Yelp is invaluable in North American cities. Using the GPS and “open now” functions can prevent disappointing meals in a strange city when you’re desperate to get fed, even before you find your hotel. Often the key to kicking jet lag is a good meal, and a solid sleep.
While Yelp has a wealth of user reviews and profiles in North America, TripAdvisor is essential for an English-speaking traveler in Europe. It’s easy to search by cuisine and prices, and the large community of users can steer you in the right culinary direction.
Have more great foodie travel tips? Share them in the comments, or tweet us at @knowroaming