Now THIS is what I call fast food....

The Bento Box: (or, the OBento as it is often called on the label of the box) Japan has answered the prayers of train travellers throughout the western world. Be gone stingy sandwich with the filling only down the centre on view. Good riddance over priced glutinous pasties and the guilt ridden remainder of the journey. Hello, fresh, healthy, delicious meals all ready to be tucked in to on your next train journey.

We boarded the Shinkansen bullet train and lifted the lid. Smiles all round... G's box contained: various styles of rice; octopus tentacles better than any we'd sampled over the last two weeks; teriyaki beef; baked salmon; stir fried vegetables; katsu (breaded) potato cake; beef dumplings AND pretty pink radish things... all for Y750. Even better, it sent a brewing hangover in to oblivion and kept the hunger at bay for a good 6 hours.

The only down side to experiencing the delights of a Bento Box? I know the next time I'm standing on the station concourse having to choose from The Pasty Co, Subway and Burger King a little pang of withering gloom will set in and I'll start wondering why a flight to Japan has to cost so much... and certainly too much to pick up lunch.

Okonomiyaki

A major reason of my desire to travel to Japan was because I'd heard it was a food lover's paradise... and I have certainly had that claim vouched for. It seems that every area we visited over the three weeks had its own speciality and for the city and environs of Hiroshima, one special dish is okonomiyaki (translated, it literally means "what you like...").

This dish is cooked on a hot plate in front of you, or perhaps to one side depending on how busy the place is, and you allow it to continue cooking as you serve up slices with your own griddle slicer thingy (!). It's a carbo loaded hit of noodles and pancake with egg, vegetables and seafood served in a stack, all melting together.

Cook your own...

Step 1: cook a thin pancake on one side, and fry off grated cabbage, spring onion on another section of your hot plate. Meanwhile, also fry off the cooked noodles on another section of your hotplate. Make sure all the piles measure the same circumference because they're going to be stacked on top of eachother.

Step 2: create a stack: pancake on the bottom, vegetables as the next layer, then put the (now well cooked) noodles on top.

Step 3: whisk up your egg mix (making sure you include additional flavourings e.g. tiny chopped onion / spring onion / pepper) and create the omelette layer. Meanwhile, get your meat / seafood on the griddle and stir it in to the egg.

Step 4: all cooked. Stack the egg and seafood mixture on top of the noodleyveggiepancake and serve... remaining on the griddle.

Enjoy with plenty of soy sauce. Filling, tasty and easily adaptable to suit your tastes.

Get your greens.

In my view, real comfort food is the food which makes you feel nourished and replenished, a meal where the “stuff” that your body so intuitively craved feels like perfection on a plate. When G and I touched down in Chicago, the extra 5 hours we now had to spend awake when our bodies were craving sleep was just enough to have us teetering on the brink of culinary confusion: was the mean before bed to be Coco Pops or Kung Pow Chicken? Having been fortunate enough to make a number of long haul journeys, I know that the fastest way to regulate your body and relieve jet lag is to get the right meals at the right time, stay hydrated and power through as close to the new bed time as possible. Yet, the weird nutritional cravings just seem too hard to ignore sometimes.

My craving after a flight is pretty much always the same: broccoli. Steamed, stir fried, boiled, it doesn't matter just as long as it's plentiful. I remember arriving back from various Melbourne to Manchester flights and my dad dutifully shlepping to Sainsburys on the morning of my arrival to ensure that we had a fridge full of the stuff, even when I was arriving home at 6am... So imagine my delight when G and I stumbled across a Bubba Shrimp diner at the esplanade in Chicago, a 10 minute walk from the Hyatt where we were staying (I know, the Hyatt: fancy,,,). We stood outside and gazed through bleery eyes at the menu: prawns by the kilo bucket, bottomless root beer and (“Woah! Stop!) my favourite, broccoli.

In less time than it would take to recall whether it is the stem or the floret which contains all the nutrition, we were sitting in a booth giggling at all the 'Forrest Gump' memorabilia in our, now well developed, jet lagged zombie states, We were encouraged to go for more than a kilo of shrimp, but G showed impeccable restraint and I focused all my attention on the mountain of the beautiful green stuff: fresh, steamed, butter free. All cravings met.

An English delight

Our first holiday together was in Cornwall where we went camping (in the loosest sense of the word, thanks to the spot with the electric supply, the George Foreman grill and the ipod speakers). Aside from the plethora of cornish pasties (I can't believe I went so many years not knowing that the twist at the end comes from making sure that the filling stays inside and that the whole thing can be eaten with one hand, the twisty bit of pastry at the end acting as a handle which was usually thrown away had it become dirty in the process), we had delicious seafood, a fillet steak which G still holds up in this top three and the super English tradition of...

... the cream tea.

Not much evidence left in the picture above, but it was probably the most perfect setting to stop on the coastal path and refuel with light scones, smooth, rich cream and homemade jam. There is a reason that scones are a staple on the food technology (or in my day, home economics) curriculum: they are darned tasty. The savoury yet sweet combination wins every time. Simplicty at its best.

And after a meal comes....

Following a long day of hiking and a fantastic meal with the wonderous Roz and Kamel in Petra, G had a very traditional Jordanian khawa (coffee) where the spoon was all but able to stand on its own. Now, he loves a good espresso does G, but this was a new experience all together. A good one, but one that made us wonder how something can taste so good when you are experiencing it in the country, and taste so different, so unlike anything you remember when back home.

Cardamon features heavily in traditional arab coffee and the smell took me back to my first experience of the coffee ceremony in Aswan, Egypt, as I read Adhaf Soueif's 'Map of Love' and gazed at the gathering fellucas at the edge of Elephantine Island.

You can try to find a recipe which works, to recreate the flavour and the memory of that moment. But the joy isn't simply in the pot, cup or bowl before you: it's in the bustling street outside, the heavy air which clings to your skin, or the pause where you get to sink back and actually expeience every flavour of the day. The joy of trying to recreate the taste is actually the joy of reliving it in your memory, and the joy of having the time to breathe in the experience you were fortunate enough to have in the first place.

Oh Chicago

G was very lucky: I surprised him with a trip to Chicago and New York for his 30th (and we happened to be there for my 30something too). Now, putting it bluntly, we both enjoy a good feed and it appears that if there is good food to be had then it is very likely that some of the good eatin' will be found in Chicago.

We'd heard a number of people mentioning this "awesome" popcorn place, but we discussed and reasoned and decided that, really, how good could popcorn be? During a busy (and cold) day sightseeing, we wandered in to the theatre district (just along from the city centre jail with the roof top jail garden?!), turned a corner and pondered on the long queue before us. Garretts Popcorn http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/ was open for business. And, boy, were they doing business. Popcorn business is booming in Chicago. Crowds of people formed orderly queues and discussed the various recipes they'd tried to come some way to matching the quirky taste of Garretts. But no one knew how, so they kept coming back for more 5 or 6.5 GALLON (yes, GALLON) bags of the prized Chicago mix.

The Chicago Mix - CaramelCrisp® & CheeseCorn™
The Chicago Mix is the culmination of our popcorn tradition! Our chefs gently blend CaramelCrisp® and CheeseCorn™ together to create The Garrett Mix. Take comfort in The Mix’s seductive sweetness and wholesome, savory cheesiness.

"That's just wrong!" you may cry. And we thought so too. But when in Chicago, do as the they do so we did and, well, suffice to say that the taste sensation was something to behold.

We went with the "normal" person's size and it was probably a good thing. For the next two days we both had slightly orange tinges to our fingertips (I imagine the 5 gallon fans will be arming yellow elbows!) and slightly guilty looks of pleasure: caramel and chesse. Wrong, but so, so right.

That evening, we headed for the train journey to New York, a gift from my folks for our birthdays. A small cabin had been booked, complete with fold down bunk beds, toilet, sink, and we were invited to spend the first hour in the VIP section for wine, cheese and biscuits. How very civilised. Our friendly meet and greeter sat us on a table with some other Brits and we greeted eachother with smiles and a shake of their slightly yellowed hands.

The husband grinned at our outstretched hands - "You found Garretts too!"

More, more, more!

This is the meal which knocked the socks off the rest of our Seattle eating experience: fillet of salmon, stuffed with clams and smothered in a smooth, creamy, tomato sauce on a bed of crisp salad. This is the meal which makes me now consider writing down the exact contents of a good plate so I can hope to emulate it when no longer on the same continent. But sitting here now, gazing at the picture and putting myself back in the seemingly grotty bar, this is the meal that I wish I could eat again right now...

Chow time

Clam chowder, The Needle. Seattle, WA. USA.

K and I had been lucky enough to get a last minute booking at the revolving restaurant at the top of The Needle. Fantastic value, amazing food. Despite K's outstanding ability to knock over drinks down the revolving wall (therefore dribbling tomato juice around the edge of the entire restaurant), we managed to stay for three mouth watering courses. My first: smoked clam chowder.

Rich, creamy, but still light enough to be able to face more food afterwards, this is what chowders should be all about. Every single mouthful had a new flavour, which, given the ingredients, was almost as impressive as the view.

Croatia

G and I spent 10 days in Croatia, eating our way around the beautiful islands and sampling some incredible food, usually in the sunshine or to the sound of the sea.

A favourite was the squid ink risotto which, given the location of the restaurant (nestled into the wall, next to the harbour, right in the heart of the old town of Dubrovnik), we'd expected to be overpriced and unimpressive. Not at all. The sticky sweet risotto rice initally looked fairly scary due to its shimmering blank inky colour and the lumps of squid certainly appeared to have a lurking quality. How wrong we were. We ended up going back twice and discussed when we'd be able to visit again so that we could work out the recipe.




The food you get on day trips when abroad is often, understandbly in some cases, pretty underwhelming. Sadly, the prevalence of bones in the above picture does hint that this was one of those. Except, when you are munching on crispy, yet soft, fish whilst sitting on a boat gazing over intoxicating turquoize seas, you don't really notice the bones because you simply want fuel for more swimming and sunbathing.

G LOVES oysters... LOVES them. So, whilst I took the opportunity to feast on giant langoustines, he sampled a seafood platter which included huge, squidgy, slippery oysters. I managed to pilfer one and was instantly transported to a world of salty sunshine in one momentary mouthful. I still vote for oysters kilpatrick, but for those people that can't bring themselves to get over the texture, try them in Croatia and you won't look back.

One of our favourite nights out in Croatia was on the island of Korcula, in a fishing village called Lumbarda. We'd had a beautiful day walking through the pine forest to reach a small, rocky cove so returned to the apartment hungry and ready for good eatin'. Once a week, the local producers brought their finest fish, meats, cheeses, wines, cakes and concoctions to either cook for you or pack up to take home. Families and friends gathered under the fairylights or strolled from stall to stall, sampling an array of sweet and savoury snacks. We grabbed a bottle of homebrew for 20Kuna (about £2) and a couple of plastic glasses to wash down the succulent squid kebabs and(more) charcoaled fish. Bliss.

Seaside India

Sticking on the theme of al fresco dining, India remains one of the most consistently reliable places to find excellent food by the sea. Some of my favourites were in Goa...

In my opinion, good dhal is light, yet filling, spicy and creamy, perfect with fluffy chapati or rice. And this was no exception. The sun was setting in Arambol and it was, therefore, beer a'clock. Cue a cold, crisp beer and a steaming bowl of dhal to accompany the sounds of seabirds images of fishermen returning from their day out at sea. It was a pinkish, soft sunset where the clouds hung to the horizon; it was a good half hour until the hues of gold and red broke through and I was able to make a real toast to the closing of another fantastic day.

I love cooking, and I especially love cooking curries, so being in India was the perfect opportunity to try new dishes and really get to learn about the varity of flavours and how to combine them in new and interesting ways. This meal was shared with a few people I met during the day whilst walking the coastal path and reminded me of the many nights spent frequenting restaurants on Manchester's Curry Mile in Rusholme. I was never convinced by the combination of chicken and prawn, but this was exceptional. Lessons from this meal: lemon and coriander = yum; a drizzle of coconut milk is often enough; when combining more than one meat / fish it is far better to let the flavours and textures speak for themselves through slow cooking in a dry dish than being lost in an overly wet sauce.

More charcoaled taste sensations, straight from the fisherman's basket! I spent much of this meal thinking back to the experiences in Essaouira in Morocco of wandering along the harbour trying to decide where to purchase lunch. You simply point at the fish which winks at your taste buds and decide how you'd prefer it to be served (generally charcoaled with a squeeze of lemon and a tear of crusty bread). It was this style of fish shopping which confirmed that octopus is tasty, and can be much more soft than stringy: it really is in the cooking, and if they are cooked less than two hours after being fished then you really would have to be a numpty to get it wrong. Given that there is a distinct shortage of numpty fish chefs living in any coastal place I've visited on my travels, of the hundreds of al fresco meals I've had in my time, fish by the sea will always be top of the wish list.

Just hearing that word...

Gumbo. Seafood gumbo.

Simply one of the most delicious, mouth watering and utterly memorable meals I have ever, ever had the fortune to eat.

Sitting at the docks of English Harbour, Antigua. The Carribean: the fish should be good, right? Of course... But this good? Giant tiger prawns which oozed fresh, sweet juices; mussels the size of my fist (ok, so I'm exaggerating, but there was a gasp of surprise from every member of my family each time I pulled one from the shell!); tender hand dived scallops; flaky john dory; fresh tomato and herbs...

This meal is still discussed today as we reminicse over meals (and holidays) gone by. And every time it does the food envy creeps in, for I was the only one to see the word 'Gumbo' and know that any meal with such a rhythmical name was destined to be one for memory bank.

Fishy Seychelles

With so many of the world's best travel destinations (totally my opinion as a self confessed desert junkie!) being by the sea, it is no surprise that many of the best experiences on my travels involve eating fresh fish; charcoaled until crispy, succulent seafood gumbo, towering bowls of perfect mussels. It's been a fish heavy week for dinners at home and it got me thinking about those meals which stood out as being heaven sent from the ocean...

Above: welcome to the Seychelles. The lovely Sophie (fellow Egyptian) accompanied me for a week before I started leading advemture travel tours out there, island hopping from one beautiful spot to the next. A firm favourite spot was on the capital island, Mahe. Every night, local suppliers set up stalls on the long stretch of road running parallel with the beach; the crispy plantain chips were a favourite of the kids on my tours, whereas the mums and dads routinely went back for more of the whole fish. And you'd be silly not to - flaky flesh tumbled onto the plate with a single push of a plastic fork and melted in the mouth, time and time again. Then, washed down with the traditional coconut cocktail.

Salty beach air, crashing waves on the shore, songs of the seychelles as background noise... pretty good spot for another al fresco dining experience.

In honour of travel bud...

This one is for you Kate on your first day in Quito... Memories of pizza and Bud watching the sun go down at North Rim Grand Canyon.

There can surely be few spots more satisfying to munch on lukewarm pizza and an even warmer beer than this. We'd done a fair few miles that day: headed into Arizona via Lake Powell and a personal favourite spot, Horseshoe Canyon, then took a visit to the consistently mesmerising Antelope Canyon before driving up and over plateaus and ridges to the forested North Rim. Page, AZ is home to a large Safeway Supermarket where I did a significant amount of shopping in my days as a tour leader buying supplies for the 14 passengers I was camping and hiking with, but Page today become the place to grab a good pizza which we sat on the back seat of the convertible (usually reserved for Kate's bag and a box of beer!) and drove half way across the state to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before it was cracked open.

We chased the sunset through golden forested hues and caught glimpses of the spectacle which awaited us then, on arrival at the car park, flew out of the car and leapt (beer in one hand, pizza in other) towards the canyon rim. A few deft steps upwards to perch on a rock and we were set. Slightly soggy dough, a gentle fizz in the beer. Cheers.

ps: saw a mountain lion on the journey home. Oh yes!

Tastes of Amman

Having made incredible friends when working in Egypt, I had been invited to see Roz and K get married in Jordan where they live. Two days after the wedding and it was time to get the last supper before heading back to the UK.

Into Amman, down a couple of alley ways to their favourite spot; a family run cafe in the open air which serves the crispiest, fluffiest falafels I've ever tasted (and, having spent a great deal of time researching falafels in Egypt, Libya, Morocco etc, I feel able to comment!). We sat for nearly two hours combining the hot falafels with the light, almost sweet, breads, and a bowl of smooth tahini which provided the perfect setting for chickpeas and olive oil... not to forget the hot pickle or fava beans.

Life should be forced to slow down sometimes, and this was one of those perfect places to stop still for a while and fill up on great flavours.

Start with a good drink

Kiruna, Sweden (or more recognisibly, Lapland) is home to the Icehotel, an enormous collection of buildings made entirely out of ice. Everything from the beds to stools to glasses is made from the ice each year, though a new hotel is designed before the current one has even melted. The ice is harvested during winter and stored for construction in the October.

Ice glasses are simply the only way to drink straight vodka: clean, crisp and cold. The range of vodkas was wide enough to tickle any taste buds; loganberry, blackcurrant, lemon and lime. The only down side is that they taste enough like cordial to mean you'll happily sample three or four flavours, but not so good that you are drunk enough to knock you out for the horrific night of no sleep on an ice bed!

Sitting with M and A watching them bake scones, nibbling on fresh muffins... smells of home (even though my childhood home was more likely to be bubbling with smells of Greece, India or Malaysia) made me realise, once again, how much food really is the way to the heart. So it felt like time to remember some great meals in great places, very often with great people.