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GREAT FOOD TOWNS

New restaurants have burgeoned all along the south bank of London’s River Thames, and many of them provide diners with wonderful views of the city as well as great contemporary cuisine.

What makes a truly great food town? Is it the range and variety of its restaurants? Its inhabitants’ passion for their own local specialties? The creativity of its chefs? All of these factors play a part. A place may attract visitors because of its scenery, its historic landmarks, its street life, or the treasures in its museums. But the opportunities for good eating can prove to be as much, if not more, of a draw.

No food-lover needs a more alluring incentive to tour the American South beyond the chance to savor the Cajun delights of New Orleans or Charleston, South Carolina’s legendary she-crab soup. Gastronomic pilgrims in search of authenticity will comb the backstreets of Naples for the definitive Italian pizza or tour the medieval cities of southwestern France to assess their rival versions of the mighty cassoulet. Seafood-lovers may be hard-pressed to choose between the glorious crustaceans of Sydney, Australia, and the exuberantly spiced and curried seafoods of Goa, India. On such journeys as these, unfortunately, three meals a day may never be quite enough.

CANADA

QUÉBÉCOIS CUISINE IN MONTREAL

Place Jacques Cartier in the heart of historic Old Montreal is filled with restaurants, shops, and art galleries.

Quebec’s continental climate, French roots, and entrepreneurial spirit come together in a perfect storm for gourmets.

The province of Quebec is packed with passionate farmers, sun-drenched market produce, and a Gallic sense of flavor and style. The roots of local cooking lie in Quebec’s fur-trapping past, resulting in nourishing, rich food made to keep you warm and content, and in the city of Montreal you can find some outstanding examples, from fine-dining restaurants (or “restos” in the local slang) to smoked-meat joints, where you share Formica-topped tables with other diners. Try poutine, a sort of Québécois fast food: French fries topped with a rich gravy and bites of densely textured, squeaky (unaged) cheese curds. Montreal’s chefs are known for their close links with the province’s farmers, fishermen, and foragers. Look out for the wonderful local cured meats, especially hams and foie gras—some of the world’s best foie is prepared in this area. The maple syrup made in Quebec sugarhouses every spring appears here year-round in some world-class desserts, such as pouding chômeur (sponge cake doused in maple-syrup sauce) and the achingly sweet tarte au sucre (sugar pie). Expect to leave the city several pounds heavier than when you arrived!

Pick of the Best

Au Pied de Cochon is uniquely Québécois, and chef Martin Picard is not shy about luxury and flavor. Try duck in a can: a duck breast wrapped around a lobe of foie gras with a head of garlic, sprigs of thyme, and a heartbreakingly rich balsamic maple glaze, all served on a slice of toasted sourdough spread with celeriac puree. Foie gras here is as good as you will find anywhere and stars in almost every dish on the menu.

The award-winning Toqué! is considered one of Canada’s greatest fine-dining restaurants, and it is here that you will find the area’s best fresh produce, cooked with delicacy and flair.

For a low-budget option, try Schwartz’s. It is the oldest deli in the city and specializes in Montreal smoked meat, a cross between brisket and pastrami. Don’t ask for yours to come lean—all the flavor is in the fat.

SOUTH CAROLINA

CHARLESTON COOKING

Hearty gumbos are a mainstay of Lowcountry cooking.

Stroll the narrow cobblestone streets of Charleston’s historic district to find a wealth of Southern cuisine and hospitality.

The coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia are known as the Lowcountry, and the city of Charleston, South Carolina, is the region’s culinary capital. Traditionally prepared, fresh, local ingredients predominate in Lowcountry cooking: rice, grits, fresh-from-the-farm vegetables and fruits, plus catches-of-the-day are enhanced by African, Caribbean, French, and other international influences. Start the day with grits—coarsely ground cornmeal cooked in milk and topped with generous helpings of butter—accompanied by fried shrimp. If you want to sample authentic plantation cooking, visit Middleton Place House Museum, a restored 18th-century plantation a half-hour’s ride from the center of Charleston. In the restaurant, savor Mary Sheppard’s Gumbo, recreated from an authentic plantation recipe. Hearty flavors, including ham hocks, beef ribs, and okra, surround shrimp, onions, tomatoes, baby lima beans, and more in this thickly delicious dish. Finally, no trip to Charleston is complete without a taste of she-crab soup, named for the female blue crabs that are an essential ingredient. Similar to robust chowders, she-crab soup features blue-crab meat with bright orange crab roe in a creamy base flavored with a splash of dry sherry.

Sample the Lowcountry

■ Learn to cook Lowcountry food from top area chefs. Regular demonstrations and classes at Charleston Cooks! include Taste of the Lowcountry, with a changing menu and a chance to taste the results.

■ Visit the historic district’s Farmers’ Market, open every Saturday from March through November, for local produce, fresh flowers, jewelry, and crafts against a backdrop of live music.

■ Taste your way around Charleston with a guided culinary walking tour. Culinary Tours of Charleston organizes walks and bus trips that combine the city’s cultural history with visits to restaurant kitchens and artisan food producers.

Paris’s Le Train Bleu is named for the luxury train service to the French Riviera, whose heydey was in the 1920s and 1930s.

TEXAS

TEX-MEX IN SAN ANTONIO

Rosario’s, located in San Antonio’s Southtown arts district, is famous for its margaritas and contemporary Tex-Mex food and draws a large crowd nightly.

Aficionados travel a few minutes outside of central San Antonio to seek out the best new tastes or visit longtime favorites.

While you shouldn’t miss San Antonio’s famous Tex-Mex spots, such as Mi Tierra and Rosario’s, if you want to escape the downtown crowds, head north. Start at Cafe Salsita, a tiny indoor-outdoor breakfast and lunch place hidden in a bland strip mall on East Basse Road. All the originality and flavor missing from the decor is packed into the chili de arbol salsa: bright orange and creamy, it has a mole-like consistency and sweetness. Try it with “Eric’s special,” a monster breakfast taco that makes optimum use of bacon—one thick strip complements the scrambled eggs, gooey yellow cheese, and hint of pico de gallo. Another five minutes north, on Broadway, is the quirky Taco Garage, where the race-car paraphernalia, photos, and striped driver chairs blend with the neon signs and tropical colors that give San Antonio’s Tex-Mex scene its vibrancy. This garage is Tex-Mex heaven. You can choose from a menu of tasty classics, such as chile con carne enchiladas, or flip to the back page for the devilishly good chilaquiles—a cross between jalapeño nachos and scrambled eggs, rolled into a spongy, hot-from-the-rack tortilla—a perfect combination of cheese, crunchiness, and spice kick, and vegetarian friendly. For a quieter experience head to Teka Molina, the last outpost of a San Antonio institution dating from 1937. Claim a table among Aztec-themed paintings and wait for your corn tortilla stuffed with cheese, vegetables, and your choice of beans, chicken, beef, or guacamole.

The Adventurous Eater

“Waste not, want not,” goes the saying, and in San Antonio you can enjoy every part of the cow. Get started with a tame choice, a Barbacoa taco at Arturo’s Barbacoa. This is a traditional barbecue from the meat on the head of the cow—soft, juicy, and distinctly smoky.

If you are still hungry try La Lengua at Tito’s Mexican Restaurant. The tongue comes chopped in chunks and doused in gravy-like sauce. Elsewhere in the city, La Lengua is served in tacos, including at Taco Haven, where the Asada version is served with roasted peppers but without the thick sauce.

And, no matter when you eventually work up the courage, stop at Mi Tierra for a cup of menudo soup. Tripe is the main ingredient in this popular traditional breakfast. The good news is that it is rumored to cure margarita hangovers.

LOUISIANA

CAJUN IN NEW ORLEANS

The strains of jazz music accompany visitors all over New Orleans’s French Quarter.

Cajun cooks have combined traditional European dishes and good local ingredients to create new classics.

It was perhaps inevitable that culinary magic should emerge from the kitchens of Louisiana’s bayou region given its multicultural roots—the French Arcadians migrated here from Canada in 1755, and the Spanish, Creoles, and Native Americans also called the region home. From early days, Cajun cuisine blended French country cooking methods with local ingredients, in particular seafood, rice, sugarcane, celery, onions, and peppers. Several Cajun dishes are now cherished well beyond the bayou, among them gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish pie—the three dishes that feature in the classic Hank Williams song “Jambalaya.” But there are plenty more where those came from, dishes with names as exotic as they are tasty—hogshead cheese, catfish court-bouillon stew, maque choux (sautéed corn and vegetables with seafood or chicken). Cajuns have also transformed the bounty of the swamps into finger-licking dishes, such as frogs’ legs with mushrooms and peppers and alligator sauce piquante.

Also known as Floribbean and Tropical Fusion, Miami’s Nuevo Latino cuisine combines zesty Caribbean and Latin-American flavors with time-honored European cooking techniques. At Ola in South Beach, Cuban roots inspire chef Douglas Rodriguez to create gastronomic surprises. Nibble on a squid-ink empanada filled with lobster, avocado salad, and salsa rosa. Then crunch on crispy pork, slow-roasted for 27 hours and served with fried yucca dressed with lemon mojo, black bean broth, and cilantro mojo. Dessert calls for a deconstructed Key lime pie—tart Key lime custard over a bed of toasted-meringue and vanilla-bean ice cream, finished with a toasted-cinnamon walnut tuile. At Yuca, also in South Beach, chef Ramon Medrano entices with yuca ceviche—an intriguing concoction of fresh grouper, shrimp, calamari, octopus, and lobster lightly tossed in a ginger-and-lime marinade. A dash of scotch bonnet pepper adds a punch. Away from the ocean, in the suburb of Doral, Chispa shines with spark-shaped fixtures and energetic Latin music. The cuisine mirrors the high energy. Seared octopus and marinated shrimp rest on a fan of fried plantains paired with a dollop of creamy guacamole and queso blanco, while a relleno-style mahimahi stuffed with spinach and manchego cheese is accompanied with yucca fries and lemongrass-cilantro mojo.

Plantain Side Dishes

A staple food in tropical climates, the plantain looks similar to a banana but is thicker-skinned, longer, firmer, and lower in sugar content. It is generally cooked as a vegetable, and its mild flavor and texture provide ideal accompaniments to Latino cuisine.

To make maduros, overripe (black-skinned) and therefore sweet, plantain is sliced diagonally into pieces about 0.5 in (12 mm) thick. The slices are fried in hot oil for a couple of minutes on each side to a golden brown. Some chefs roll the slices lightly in white or brown sugar before frying them.

Tostones, on the other hand, are fried twice. Underripe, green plantains are cut in pieces and fried, and excess oil is soaked up with a paper towel. The pieces are then squashed flat and fried again. These deep-fried chips are often eaten with a hot sauce for dipping. Sometimes they are served with a cheese topping as an appetizer.

PUERTO RICO

SAN JUAN’S NEW CUISINE

A multitude of traditional and modern restaurants now add to the attractions of Old San Juan, founded by Spanish colonists in 1521 and marvelously preserved.

The city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico, is the center for a bold new fusion cuisine.

Whether you call it Nuevo Latino, New Caribbean, New Puerto Rican, or exótico criollo (exotic Creole), this modern culinary style has few signature dishes because it encourages adventurous experimentation. Packing intercontinental fusion twists, it is a playful modern reinterpretation of Latin American dishes—themselves a blend of Amerindian, Spanish, African, and other influences—using French cooking styles. Its undisputed pioneer, Alfredo Ayala, went on a food journey of a lifetime, including training at top restaurants in New York and France. He returned to Puerto Rico in 1981, determined to apply his culinary knowledge to the island’s eating scene. At his first restaurant, Ali-Oli, he set about reinventing Puerto Rico’s traditional criollo dishes. Initially aghast, islanders were soon coming back for more. Ayala opened new outlets and became an inspiration to other chefs on the island. His most acclaimed disciple, Wilo Benet, is the chef-owner of the hip Pikayo, inside the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico. Other trailblazers include Mario Ferro of the Caribe Hilton, Myrta Pérez of Pasión por el Fogón, and Dayn Smith of Perla. Despite its globe-trotting pedigree, Nuevo Latino cuisine thrives on freshness and typically uses humble local ingredients, such as plantains, yucca, and goat meat, emboldened with zesty marinades, often mango- or citrus-based, and dark rum sauces.

Island Specialties

■ Despite growing almost no sugarcane, Puerto Rico is one of the world’s largest rum manufacturers, producing 200-plus brands. Two local favorites are DonQ and Barrilito.

■ The Oof! chain is a San Juan culinary highlight. Its restaurants include the Aquaviva, Parrot Club, and Koco for Nuevo Latino, Dragonfly for Asian fusion, and Toro Salao for tapas.

■ The weekend-long Saborea Culinary Festival each April is a beachside showcase of Puerto Rico’s cuisine, where you can sample food from the island’s top restaurants. It also features a demonstration tent with classes from Puerto Rican and international celebrity chefs.

MEXICO

FLAVORS OF MEXICO CITY

Fresh, spicy, and wholesome moles—regional sauces and stews—are served in traditional-style restaurants across the city.

Clever combinations of traditional and contemporary flavors and techniques are transforming an ancient cuisine.

Known by locals as “El DF,” for Distrito Federal, Mexico City has more than 15,000 restaurants. With regional food from every state, as well as local specialties and Mexican nouvelle cuisine, there is something for every appetite and budget. Some of the best regional dishes available in the city, including pork carnitas from Michoacán (succulent, spicy “bits” or “shreds” of pork), are served by chef Titita Ramirez at El Bajio, a small restaurant in the Axcapotzalco colonia, or neighborhood. If you want to sample Oaxacan specialties, try Casa Neri in Colonia Portales, south of the city center, where customers eat outdoors on an attractive colonial patio. And for a wide selection of Puebla’s famous moles, (delicious sauces made with chilies, spices, and chocolate) and pipián (a similarly piquant sauce often with a base of pumpkin or sesame seeds), go to Ikaro in Colonia Narvarte. The pibil (spiced marinated pork) dishes of the Yucatán Peninsula are presented in traditional style at El Habanero in Colonia Napoles, while nouvelle cuisine is best sampled at Izote in Colonia Polanco, north of Chapultepec Park, where the menu borrows cleverly from pre-Hispanic culture with such dishes as squash blossom soup and fragrant shrimp in hibiscus mole sauce. But for the genuine pre-Hispanic cuisine of the Aztecs, visit Fonda Don Chon in Centro, the historic city center, where fried grasshoppers, worms, armadillo in mango sauce, and ant roe are served to adventurous diners.

Tostadas-tortillas topped with shredded turkey from Yucatán

Mealtimes in Mexico

Desayuno is a light breakfast, usually consisting of sweet rolls and coffee. For an authentic Mexican morning meal, try tamales sold at street stands.

Almuerzo is brunch, a mid-morning meal typically consisting of an egg dish such as huevos rancheros or chilaquiles (fried tortilla strips smothered in salsa and topped with chicken and cheese). Most restaurants serve almuerzo by about 10 a.m.

Comida is the main meal, eaten between 2 and 4 p.m. Look for comida corrida, literally “meal on the run,” fixed-price specials.

Merienda is a light, early-evening meal, usually consisting of coffee and pastries at a café or cocktails and snacks at a bar.

Cena is a late, light supper eaten at about 9 or 10 p.m.

A pineapple-seller patrols Ipanema beach.

BRAZIL

FEIJOADA IN RIO DI JANEIRO

Feijoada with traditional accompaniments

Brazil’s national dish is made in homes and restaurants throughout the country using 1,001 different, hotly debated, traditional recipes.

Brazil’s national dish is, by tradition, not on weekly menus. It is served in restaurants only on Saturdays and holidays, at noon, as o prato do dia (the special of the day), so seeking out the famed feijoada offers the food-loving traveler the opportunity for some real Rio exploration. Feijoada consists of a thick broth produced by slowly cooking black beans and meat together, ideally over a wood fire or in a brick oven. The cuts of meat vary, but traditional feijoada is made from pork trimmings, bacon, sausage, dried beef, and pork loin. Some feijoada chefs, particularly at upscale restaurants, replace the pork trimmings with more succulent cuts of meat, while a few restaurants have also created a vegetarian version. The dish is served with white rice, farofa (fried manioc flour), couve (finely cut, fried collard greens), and orange slices. The ideal accompaniment is a cold light beer or a caipirinha—a traditional drink made with cachaça (distilled sugarcane juice) and lime over ice. On public holidays feijoada is everywhere, from Ipanema’s five-star restaurants to makeshift firepits in the hillside favelas. Confeitaria Colombo, an establishment famous for its spectacular Art-Nouveau decor, offers one of the best traditional Saturday feijoadas in Rio. But if you really cannot wait for the weekend, visit Casa da Feijoada in Rio’s southerly Ipanema district, which serves several variants of the dish seven days a week.

Creation Myths

Popular myth holds that feijoada was created by Brazil’s African slaves, who used discarded pork trimmings to flavor their bean, dried beef, and manioc rations. However, bean and meat-based stews were—and still are—a common dish in Portugal, and some historians think the dish was introduced to Brazil by the early Portuguese settlers.

Whatever its origins, the indigenous contributions to the dish are unmistakable: The manioc flour used in making farofa—which is essential to any authentic feijoada—has always been a staple part of the diet of Brazilian Indians.

Like many of the world’s great dishes, feijoada probably evolved out of a variety of ingredients and preparation techniques from many cultures.

ARGENTINA

STEAK IN BUENOS AIRES

From Café Tortoni, stroll west along the Avenida de Mayo to admire the Palacio Barolo (completed in 1923), whose design is inspired by Dante’s Divina Commedia.

You can eat beef for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Buenos Aires, making the city the carnivores’ capital of the world.

In this elegant, spirited, Latin-American city there is always an opportunity to stop for steak. Blessed with the best beef in the world, many locals eat it every day, with supersize steak meals available for less than $20. For a perfect Sunday, head to the city’s oldest neighborhood, San Telmo, where you can browse the antiques stalls in Plaza Dorrego, which sell everything from swordsticks (canes with a sword concealed inside them) to vintage buttons, watch the tango dancers, and then head to the casual, friendly Desnivel for a perfectly grilled steak washed down with a spicy Malbec. In Palermo, the colorful shoppers’ heaven in the northeast of the city, La Cabrera is the outstanding neighborhood parilla, or steakhouse, where delicious, classically cut steaks come with a dazzling array of side dishes. Afterwards, profit from the whole cow by buying beautifully crafted handbags or shoes and relaxing over ice cream at one of the city’s many exceptional ice-cream parlors (try dulce de leche, or “sweet milk” ice cream, an Argentinian specialty with a caramel flavor). Downtown, grab a taste of café culture with pre-dinner drinks in Café Tortoni on Avenida de Mayo before heading over to happening riverside Puerto Madero, where upscale and pricey Cabaña Las Lilas serves beef raised on its own ranch. Other food specialties to try include empanadas—tiny pastries with a wealth of savory meat fillings, and locro—a corn, meat, and vegetable stew. Argentinian sparkling wine is also excellent and a bargain.

Cutting It in Argentina

Argentine steak cuts differ from those in America and Europe. The four main cuts are bife de lomo, bife de cuadril, bife de ancho, and bife de chorizo, which approximate respectively to fillet or tenderloin, rump, rib eye, and sirloin. Other cuts include tira de asado (ribs), vacio (flank steak), and bife de costilla (T-bone). Steaks are cooked flat on an open barbecue pit or on a vertical spit over the barbecue.

Cheaper cuts are sometimes marinated in chimichurri, a sauce of chili, peppers, herbs, garlic, salt, onions, olive oil, and vinegar, which can also be served as an accompaniment.

At a typical barbecue you may also get the chance to sample kidneys and sweetbreads (the thymus gland).

JAPAN

TOKYO’S IZAKAYA

Workers end the day with drinks and a selection of dishes at an izakaya in Tokyo’s Asakusa district.

Diverse and delicious foods make the city’s bars some of the best destinations for diners.

The three characters representing izakaya mean “store,” “alcohol,” and “room.” Serving a comprehensive selection of beer, sake, and shochu (spirits made from grain, fruit, or vegetables), a typical izakaya has all the bustle and buzz of a Western bar or pub. But the Japanese like to eat when they drink, and izakaya also serve excellent food. The dishes are often compared to Spanish tapas, but tend to come in larger portions, although no dish is a meal in itself. Izakaya pride themselves on a little exoticism, and however tangy the vinegar-drenched daikon salad or fresh the sushi, foods such as baked potato with cheese or miniature pizza are usually on the menu—familiar to Westerners, but more exotic for Japanese. At the big franchises, such as Tengu, some tables are large enough for groups to share while smaller ones are crowded together, so you will inevitably meet local people. The more dignified Katakura has been on the same site since 1848, and its fare is superior to that of the big chains. “Any food that goes with alcohol is good,” says the jovial owner, but a tofu with the consistency of cream cheese (zarudoufu), tiny grapes of seaweed dipped in a sweet fruit vinegar, and the potato with salmon and basil are all excellent.

Izakaya Know-how

There is no language barrier in an izikaya: whether you are ordering gyoza (pan-fried stuffed pasta parcels) or garlic bread, just smile and point at a picture menu, ordering drinks and dishes whenever you please.

Cooked and raw dishes are served. Beef tongue stew, grilled eggplant, squid liver, oysters, and sushi are just some of the dishes that appear on izakaya menus.

For a local drink, try a grapefruit sour, whose Japanese name, conveniently, is “grapefruit sour” pronounced with a strong Japanese accent. It is served in a large mug and consists of watered-down shochu with ice and the juice of half a grapefruit, giving a pleasant long drink with a kick.

Tengu and Tofuro are izikaya chains with multiple outlets across Tokyo and beyond. Tofuro satisfies the growing preference for quieter and more private izakaya, offering cubicles with sliding doors floored with traditional tatami matting. You use the bell push to call for service as needed.

For the best view of the Maldives’ sharks, rays, turtles, groupers, and a whole host of tropical fish, visit Ithaa during daylight hours.

PHILIPPINES

SPIT-ROASTED PIG IN MANILA

A pig vendor arranges his wares in Manila’s lechon district. The pigs are roasted over huge troughs for around three hours and then sold on the spit.

Lechon is the spectacular dish of choice in the Philippine capital. Try it takeout, in markets, and in specialty restaurants.

For non-Muslim Filipinos (about 90 percent of the country’s population is Christian) pork is king, and the version that reigns supreme is lechon, or whole spit-roast pig. Seasonings and accompaniments vary, but north to south there is little disagreement about what makes a superior version: The skin should be smooth, caramel colored, and exquisitely crispy; The meat should pull away from the bones in succulent, tender shreds. And whether seasoned only with salt and pepper, as in Manila and the northern island group of Luzon, or with lemongrass, scallions, and other seasonings, as in the southern island groups of Visayas and Mindanao, a lechon should taste utterly, extravagantly porcine. La Loma, Manila’s lechon district, is chock-full of restaurants and takeouts displaying row after row of bronzed specimens—beautiful to look at, although this is not necessarily the best place to sample them. Try the original branch of Kamayan, an endearingly kitschy Filipino restaurant where pigs are roasted behind glass in full view of the entrance. The milk-basted lechon de leche (suckling pig) is served with sweet, sour, and spicy dipping sauces. Lydia’s, a down-to-earth chain with a number of branches, made its name with its tremendously moist lechon made from pigs raised on the owner’s ranch in Batangas. And the Saturdays-only Salcedo Community Market offers an appropriately boisterous atmosphere in which to sample lechon—and the opportunity to compare the different regional versions of the dish.

Eating Etiquette

Lechon is something to be shared joyfully with friends and family, but a certain etiquette is nevertheless required. It is customary for everyone to gather around the table to await the lechon’s arrival, whereupon you all dig in at once, aiming first for the highly prized crackly skin, and then for the ears, tail, ribs, and fatty neck meat.

Eating with your hands is allowed—cutlery is out of place with a dish such as this—and cements camaraderie among those sharing the meal. But don’t be greedy—Filipinos look poorly upon the guest who captures more than his or her fair share.

SINGAPORE

DINING SINGAPORE STYLE

Coconut palms grow along the Island city’s waterfront, with sleek modern skyscrapers rising beyond.

From fluffy Indian crepes to fragrant spring rolls, Singapore’s cuisine is a flavorsome kaleidoscope of cultures.

If there is one trait that defines Singaporeans, it would be their fanatical love of food. When the traditional local greeting is not “Hello,” but rather “Have you eaten?,” you know gastronomy is a passion. The real joy of a gastronomic tour of Singapore comes from seeing how the island nation has made the cuisines of many cultures its own. Begin with a morning stroll through Tekka Market in Little India, a lively warren of stalls stacked with tiny brinjals (eggplants), coconuts, pungent bunches of cilantro and lemongrass, plump tomatoes, and fat chilies alongside trays of mackerel, river fish, and pink prawns. The neighborhood around the market is jammed with little eateries giving off the aromas of fish-head curries spiked with cumin and pineapple chunks, fluffy naans, and buttery chicken stews. A few train-stops away in Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown tempts the taste buds with silky noodles and seafood cooked in clay pots, while the Arab Quarter presents an exotic mix of multihued cakes and saffron-tinged rice served with fragrant rendangs—beef cooked in fresh coconut milk. If you are short of time, you can dip into this dizzying blend of cuisines in one of the 120-odd alfresco hawker centers that dot the island, selling everything from oyster omelets to fried spring rolls.

Peranakan Cuisine

The Peranakans of Singapore are the descendants of Chinese merchants, who settled in Singapore in the 18th and 19th centuries, and indigenous Malays. Over the years, the respective cultures merged into a unique hybrid of language, dress, customs, and-most importantly-food.

The epicenter of Peranakan culture is along the East Coast quarter, especially East Coast Road. Here, it is possible to lose entire afternoons wandering from stall to stall tasting spicy laksa soup studded with sliced fish cakes, rice dumplings filled with pork and gingko nuts, and pandan-scented cakes coated with coconut flakes.

Peranakan restaurants in the quarter serve dishes such as chili sambal, chicken with black nuts, pork and crab meatballs, and aromatic fish cakes. Among the delicious choice of sweets are sago pudding with palm sugar and tapioca cubes in sweet coconut milk.

CHINA

BEIJING ROAST DUCK

The flames blaze In a traditional wood-fired oven used for roasting duck.

Crispy duck roasted in fragrant wood-fired ovens is a triumph of culinary simplicity—and one of China’s greatest dishes.

The presence of a large, yellow-billed, concrete duck in the street indicates the location of a branch of the ubiquitous Quanjude, the best-known name in Beijing roast duck. Founded in 1864, the original restaurant was one of very few to survive the suppression of private enterprise during the first few decades of communist rule. Now franchised city-wide, Quanjude’s greeters beckon to tourists, who can also choose from a wealth of other options. Available throughout the city as everything from a polystyrene-boxed, backstreet takeout to part of a multiple-course gourmet banquet, Beijing duck is still usually roasted using the Quanjude method, the birds hung in ovens that are fired with the stumps of apple, jujube (a small date), pear, and persimmon trees. First, water is injected between the duck’s skin and flesh, then the duck is cooked at a high temperature to crisp the skin and bring the meat to a tender softness. The sliced bird is served with dishes of shredded green onion, strips of cucumber, plum sauce, and a pile of small pancakes. Diners smear the pancake with a little sauce and place a few greens near one edge, then pile pieces of duck on top before rolling the pancake up. The meal is usually followed by duck soup and can be accompanied by dishes involving almost every other part of the duck, including roasted hearts, webs (feet) in mustard sauce, and fried tongues.

Seeking Duck

■ The new, low-fat duck at either branch of Da Dong Kaoya is currently thought the capital’s best, especially when accompanied by some of the chef-owner’s imaginative new-style Chinese dishes. Choose your selections from a bilingual picture menu.

■ Expat lovers of Beijing hutong (alley) atmosphere take their duck in the battered traditional courtyard residence that has become the Li Qun Kaoyadian, a duck restaurant lost in the rapidly disappearing labyrinth southeast of the ancient Qian Men towers. The route to the tiny dining rooms is via the kitchen, where you may see your duck in preparation.

CHINA

DIM SUM IN HONG KONG

A street-side restaurant in Kowloon sells piping hot dim sum to take out.

Assemble a custom-made banquet from a seemingly limitless menu of steamed snacks and delicacies.

If non-Chinese know any words of Cantonese at all they are likely to be dim and sum, which together refer to small steamed morsels of chicken, fish, and assorted stuffed rice pancakes, pastries, noodles, desserts, and soups, taken with cup after cup of Chinese tea. Hong Kong claims to have the best dim sum in the world, from street level basics to pricey rarities and fusion versions served in high-rise restaurants. The classic menu items by which any dim sum restaurant can be judged are har gau, prawns in a bite-sized, rice-noodle wrapper, and siu mai, steamed minced pork bound into a small round parcel with tofu skin, topped with crab roe. Dishes such as jelly-like beef balls served with Worcestershire sauce and steamed squid in curry sauce reveal the influence of the 150 years of British colonial rule that ended in 1997. Smaller items come three or four to a bamboo steamer, while more exotic items, such as little pasta bags of steamed hairy crab, can be ordered at a price per item that would buy a whole plate of pan-fried pork dumplings. Most restaurants group dishes into small, medium, and large categories, referring to price rather than portion size. Mayhem often breaks out at neighboring tables as Chinese etiquette leads customers to fight over the bill: Not to avoid it, but for the right to pay it.

Dining on Dim Sum

Dim sum is found wherever a visitor might want to go: the cool old-world interior of Shu Zhai at Stanley Market; the Easterngate Seafood Restaurant at the ultramodern Citygate shopping mall at Tung Chung; and outlying islands, such as Lamma, where harbor-front restaurants offer cheap dim sum with views.

In some restaurants, towers of bamboo steamers containing the dim sum are wheeled around on carts. Waitresses lift the lids to reveal the piping-hot contents, and ordering is simply a matter of pointing.

Bars and restaurants line a street in downtown Chengdu.

CHINA

SICHUAN COOKING

The Anlan Suspension Bridge, west of Chengdu

Visit what the Chinese call the heavenly kingdom—Sichuan, in the southwest—to sample divine dishes, some of which are hellishly hot.

Heat is the keynote of Sichuan cooking—and it is imparted by the tiny Sichuan pepper which, despite the name, is related neither to the black pepper nor to the chili pepper. These tongue-numbing delights, fruit of the prickly ash, have a lemony aroma. In China, food is medicine as well as sustenance, so the heating properties of the food are said to combat the effects of a humid climate and its many overcast days. But heat is not the only thing going for Sichuan food. Skillfully blending the full range of flavors—hot, sweet, sour, salty—local chefs use dozens of cooking techniques to make the most of the province’s abundant ingredients. The provincial capital, Chengdu, is the best place to sample the most famous dishes: mapo dofu (the so-called “pock-marked woman’s bean curd,” bean curd cooked over a low heat in a chili sauce), fish-fragrant eggplant (a vegetarian dish made with a spice mixture usually used for fish), tea-smoked duck, dry-fried beef shreds, gong bao ji dong (spicy chicken and peanuts), and an army of pickles. Hotpots, a kind of casserole, are another Sichuan specialty. Other dishes, such as duck tongues, braised turtle, tendons, tripe, and offal of every variety, are eaten with gusto by the locals but are a step too far for many Westerners. Snack foods, available from street vendors, noodle shops, and restaurants, tempt the taste buds in every corner of Chengdu with the promise of hot pork-stuffed zhong dumplings or slippery, spicy dan dan noodles with a topping of minced beef and preserved vegetables.

A Haven for Tea Drinkers

A visit to a teahouse can be an all-day affair with snacks, visits from a fingernail-cutter or ear-cleaner, a card game, and a never-ending supply of jasmine, green, or oolong tea. As soon as you have drained your cup, a waiter, known locally as a “tea doctor,” will replenish it by pouring water from a long-spouted copper pot over the leaves remaining in the bottom. In a show of skill, some waiters pour tea into tiny cups from across the room.

Sadly, teahouses, where young and old mingle in a relaxed yet lively atmosphere, are vanishing from China, pushed aside in the rush to modernity. In Chengdu, however, they can still be found throughout the city, often in parks or Buddhist temples.

If you are lucky, you may witness the ritual of ear-cleaning. Using an array of prongs, scoops, and feather brushes, the cleaner probes the customer’s ear with astonishing delicacy. You may want to experience it yourself.

THAILAND

SENSATIONAL BANGKOK

Office workers eat lunch at the Ban-Klang-Nam restaurant on the banks of the Chao Phraya River (River of Kings).

For aficionados of Thai cuisine, the vast and vibrant city of Bangkok is the culinary capital of the world.

Maneuvering past a thousand motorcycles and meat skewers, weaving through the noise and the noodle stands, sensory overload sets in long before you set foot in the restaurant. This is Bangkok, where the atmosphere is electric and so is the food. With a little guidance, one can eat shockingly well here. The human tongue can supposedly detect just five categories of flavor—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (meaty or savory)—but real Thai food makes one wonder why such a conservative estimate has been so widely accepted. Soup is a safe bet—tom yum pla (hot and sour fish soup) sings both of those notes loud and clear, while stepping out a little with something like fish viscera soup might yield the fieriest dish you have ever fallen in love with. If you are looking for something more solid, consider the impossibly plump river prawns or indulge in the Thai spin on fried chicken—dusted with pungent slivers of crispy fried garlic. Salads offer further adventures in taste and texture as rare fruits combine with seeds, vegetables, and exotic additions, such as shredded banana blossom. It is difficult to pass up all the street food on the way to dinner, but when you are heading for one of the city’s hundreds of restaurants you need to save room for culinary exploration.

Bangkok’s Best

■ “What do you feel like eating today?” This is the question the kindly woman greets you with when you sit down for lunch at a tiny, long-established restaurant on the edge of Ko Ratanakosin, the old island center of the city. She will then return to the kitchen and loudly whip up a meal so good you won’t know whether you owe the thanks to your own well-judged requests or to her thoughtful recommendations. This is Chote Chitr, a restaurant with a name that is difficult to pronounce but easy to love (146 Prang Pu Thorn, Tanao Road).

■ A little sense of humor often goes a long way, and such is the case at My Choice restaurant on Bangkok’s lengthy and vibrant main shopping street, Sukhumvit Soi. The 1970s’ hotel lobby decor may not appeal to everyone, but it puts the focus back where it belongs-on the plate.

AUSTRALIA

SEAFOOD IN SYDNEY

Roasted marron tail with artichoke heart and cherry tomato tastes as good as it looks in Sydney’s Pier restaurant.

With an abundance of ingredients at their fingertips, Sydney’s chefs have taken seafood cooking to new heights.

Sydney is a foodie’s paradise. With a population of five million it is Australia’s largest city, and a diverse multiculturalism ensures that its restaurants offer an ever-changing array of “Mediterr-asian” cuisines. Chefs select from some of the world’s finest ingredients, including grain- and grass-fed beef, succulent lamb, free-range poultry, and the more exotic kangaroo and crocodile. But seafood is Sydney’s real specialty. Chef Neil Perry’s flagship restaurant, Rockpool, in The Rocks district around Sydney Harbour Bridge, has set the standard for seafood in central Sydney for more than 20 years, while Pier—Greg Doyle’s restaurant at Rose Bay overlooking a pretty stretch of Sydney Harbour—serves fresh fish, scallops, oysters, and crab with imagination and respect. Dishes such as pot-roasted lobster with kaffir lime and basil, accompanied by a crisp Australian white wine, offer a quintessential Sydney experience. For “Australian modern,” Tetsuya’s on Kent Street near Darling Harbour is renowned for its marriage of Japanese seasonal ingredients prepared in the French tradition—confit of Petuna ocean trout served with konbu (kelp) and fennel is an outstanding signature dish. If all you want is something simple, such as classic fish and chips, go to Frenchmans Beach at Botany Bay in the eastern suburbs, where you can eat a perfect takeout while watching the sun set across the bay.

The Freshest Fish

Sydney Fish Market at Pyrmont sells fresh fish and seafood from all over Australia, including Tasmania, tropical Queensland, and the Northern Territory. Take an early morning tour (every Monday and Thursday, reservations essential) and experience the Dutch auction market, auction floor, and sashimi arcade. Don’t miss the Sydney rock oysters, Balmain bugs, snapper, blue swimmer crabs, John Dory, and farmed Atlantic salmon.

The market has simple seafood restaurants and a Chinese restaurant offering yum cha (small dishes with tea). It also hosts a cookery school offering sessions by local and international chefs.

Restaurants are packed cheek-by-jowl in San Francisco’s Chinatown, along with bakeries and tearooms.

Visitors stroll along Vagator Beach in north Goa.

INDIA

GOAN MELTING POT

A cow stands outside a restaurant near Calangute Beach.

Famous for having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, India’s smallest state also offers a richly diverse cuisine.

Drenched in spices, often fiery and red in color, the dishes you savor in Goa are quite different from the food elsewhere in India. Here, coconut, tangy kokum (the dried skin of the mangosteen fruit), and red chilies brought in from Kashmir are among the dominant flavors. Seafood is the Goans’ first love, but they also relish pork—introduced by the Portuguese, who ruled the enclave until 1961—and chicken. The varied local cuisine is the result of a blending of traditions—indigenous, Iranian (via the medieval Muslim sultanate of Bahamani), and Portuguese, as well as influences from East Africa and other regions that had trade links with Goa. As you travel along the spectacular coastline, you can sample some of the best of this fare in numerous small seaside restaurants. At Anjuna Beach in the north, Xaviers behind the flea market is famous locally for its seafood “catch of the day,” cooked Goan style with coconut, curry leaves, and other spices. Souza Lobo on Calangute Beach serves outstanding fried mackerel; Florentine in Saligao has what many say is Goa’s best cafreal (an African-inspired spicy chicken dish), while at Teama in Murod Vaddo near Candolim Beach, the fish and seafood curries are a must. In the south, don’t miss Zee Bop, a shack offering authentic Goan cooking in a great ambience on Utorda Beach, or Martins Corner on Betalbatim Beach. Watch the setting sun as a delicious meal is served on small platters, accompanied by feni, the local alcoholic brew.

Liquor, Sausages, and Sweets

■ Goa’s local drink, feni, is a double-distilled spirit made from coconut or cashew nuts. You can drink it straight or on the rocks, but it is usually more pleasant mixed with pineapple juice. Be warned: feni is fearfully potent.

■ Every Goan home has a supply of spicy homemade sausages in the kitchen cupboard. Made from diced pork seasoned with a fiery mix of spices called Goan piri-piri, the sausages were a way, before refrigeration, of keeping meat edible during the terrible heat of summer. A side order of sausages with the local pao bread makes a perfect snack.

■ Among local sweet dishes, keli halwa (bananas in sugar syrup) is Indian-inspired, as are the sweet rice dishes. But for those with a sweet tooth, the most typically Goan offering is the Portuguese-inspired bibinca, made from layer upon layer of coconut pancakes.

■ The most colorful showcase for Goan food is the Friday bazaar in Mapusa in the north. The name Mapusa means to “fill a measure”—or make a sale—and this is where anybody with anything to sell comes to trade. Browse among stalls laden with Goan sausages, huge tins of locally grown cashew nuts, or bottles of feni. Look out for delicious homemade currant, ginger, or beetroot wine.

INDIA

THALI IN BANGALORE

Two wadas are served in the traditional way, placed on a banana leaf on a thali (metal plate), with their accompanying sauces and a drink of chai.

In the South Indian city of Bangalore, a traditional thali meal, with its mouthwatering variety of dishes, is yours for two dollars.

Word of mouth keeps the Mavalli Tiffin Room filled with hungry clients from the moment it opens until it runs out of food. Popularly known as MTR, the restaurant occupies a former home near Bangalore’s Lalbagh Botanical Garden, with the hall as the main serving area. The utilitarian look of the place is quite forgotten when the food arrives. Much of the menu must have been devised in 1924, when MTR opened as an eating house … and it is all the better for it. This is South Indian cuisine at its best—aromatic, served in piping hot courses, with even the snacks enjoying their share of delicious accompaniments. The food is cooked in ghee (clarified butter), made on the premises, and the spices are more for taste than mouth-searing pungency. A full thali meal—brought to you on a round metal plate called a thali—typically includes an Indian bread (roti, chapati, or parantha), rice, a sambar (a lentil-based brew) or similar curry-like preparation, rasam (a clear spicy soup flavored with tomatoes), cooked vegetables, a salad of freshly sliced cucumber, and yogurt or buttermilk. Around you, elderly dhoti-clad gentlemen wandering in for breakfast mingle with joggers in running suits and sneakers—reminders of Bangalore’s status as India’s Silicon Valley. At lunchtime, the line of would-be eaters is serpentine. Parking problems are part of the package, but nothing deters those who have tasted the fare or been impressed by accounts of it.

Tiffin Time

By a quirk of etymological and former imperial fate, a Scottish dialect word, “tiff,” meaning “sip,” has evolved into a widely used South Asian term for a snack or light meal. A “tiffin room” is where you buy such snacks or meals.

Classic South Indian tiffin snacks, eaten for breakfast or in the late afternoon (“tiffin time”), include idlis and dosas, made from ground parboiled rice and white lentils, mixed into a paste and left to ferment overnight. For idlis, the paste is steamed in special containers. For dosas, it is griddled to make crisp brown pancakes.

Wadas, another local snack, are small dumplings made of yellow or white lentils ground to a paste, seasoned with green chilies and diced ginger, then fried in hot oil. Like idlis and dosas, wadas are served with coconut chutney and sambar.

GREECE

ATHENIAN TAVERNAS

The Parthenon stands atop Athens’s Acropolis, the kind of view that gives added piquancy to any meal.

Discover the Greek capital’s authentic flavors—meat and seafood grilled to perfection and served with the freshest of vegetables.

Old photos and murals of local bon vivants adorn the walls of Taverna tou Psiri. Situated in the Psiri district, north of the world-famous landmarks of the Acropolis, the restaurant has been a favorite with Athenians since World War II. Here, you can feast on superb paidakia (lamb chops) or other grilled meats, keftedes (meatballs), kolokithia keftedes (deep-fried zucchini balls), horta (boiled greens), and salads. East of the Acropolis, on the edge of the tourist-thronged Plaka district, you could wander past Paradosiako Cafeneon without giving it a second glance. Paradosiako occupies a space on the corner of Nikodimos and Voulis streets that might be more suitable for a barbershop. But it includes a kitchen where Kyria Euginia cooks, and her husband Dimitris serves, some of the best home cooking in Athens. The menu is simple, with specials that change daily. If you order grilled seafood, it will be fresh, especially the whole thrapsala and calamari (different kinds of squid). The fish is usually the inexpensive kind you eat on the Greek islands—grilled sardines or kolios (mackerel), or fried gavros (anchovies). Sausage-lovers should ask for souzouki. Around the corner on Apollonos, Euginia’s and Dimitris’s children run Oinomagerio Paradosiako. Euginia oversees the cooking there, too, so expect similar delights.

Basement Restaurants

Athens’s basement restaurants are one good reason to visit outside the main tourist season. Often shut during the summer, at other times of the year they are among the coziest places to enjoy a good meal.

Try Taverna Saita, a former bakaliaro (fried salted cod) restaurant on Kydatheneon Street, which serves fish, grilled meats, and oven dishes. For lunch, where better than Diopoto (Two Doors) in the Central Market on Socratous? You sit down, and the owner-cook puts down a paper tablecloth and a pitcher of wine. There may be three things to choose from: a fish, a stew, and a salad. By 2 a.m., Diopoto is a party in full swing, and when the local Albanian accordion player appears, the room breaks into singing and dancing. Don’t look for a sign-there is none.

Overlooking 50 miles (80 km) of rugged coastline, Nepenthe is one of the most scenic spots to eat in California.

ITALY

PIZZAS IN NAPLES

This is Naples, after all, so expect your pizza to be prepared, cooked, and served with theatrical panache.

Luscious tomatoes and vibrantly aromatic basil are two key ingredients in pizzas made in their southern Italian birthplace.

Something is always boiling in Naples, and it isn’t lava from nearby Mount Vesuvius towering on the horizon. Instead, in pizzerias around the city, mozzarella di bufala (mozzarella made from the milk of the domestic water buffalo) bubbles and blisters in the volcanic heat of wood-fired ovens. It is destined for the queen of pizzas, the Margherita—literally regal, since this gastronomic gift was invented in 1889 for Queen Margherita, consort of Umberto I of Italy. To create a Margherita, the mozzarella is combined with vibrant basil and locally grown San Marzano tomatoes—white, green, and red, the colors of the Italian flag. Also found on the menu of every Neapolitan pizzeria is the marinara, topped with deep-red tomato puree and wildly fragrant oregano. Non-purists may gild the lily with an unmistakably pungent touch of garlic or a few leaves of basil, but if anyone goes beyond that, politely say “Ciao” and follow your nose to the next place down the block. Wherever you stop and whichever pizza you choose, the crust will be distinctly Neapolitan, with a chewy rim, a crisp bottom, irregular pockets of air, and smoky charred patches. The pizza bakes for just 90 seconds, and is often devoured just as quickly.

Sfogliatelle Napoletane

After Margherita and marinara, the two most important words to learn before traveling to Naples may be riccia and frolla. They specify the two different kinds of sfogliatella (plural: sfogliatelle), the ubiquitous sweet treat found in cafés and pastry shops around the city.

These clam-shaped pockets of multilayered pastry pleasure are filled with egg custard flavored with sweetened ricotta cheese, vanilla, and tiny pieces of colorful candied fruits, such as orange and lemon.

Riccia means “curly,” which describes this version’s scalloped, crunchy exterior. Bite into a sfogliatella riccia and prepare for the shower of flakes that will inevitably cascade down your front. The frolla (“tender”) variety is softer, doughier, and often sports a beautiful golden-brown sheen.

Timing is key with sfogliatelle. Go mid-morning to the pastry shop of your choice to have them just as they emerge piping hot from the oven.

ITALY

BOLOGNA

Enjoy the north Italian sunshine in Piazza Maggiore, flanked on one side by the San Petronio Basilica, the world’s fifth largest church.

Italy’s gastronomic capital, Bologna is known for the richness of its cuisine, earning it the nickname “La Grassa” (the Fat One).

The red-roofed city of Bologna in northern Italy is known for its medieval arcaded walkways, its ancient university, and its love of food. The city is the birthplace of the world’s most famous ragu sauce (eaten here with handmade fresh fettuccine, not dried spaghetti), but its range of foods is far more diverse. Stroll down the tangle of narrow lanes east of Piazza Maggiore around Via Clavature and Via Drapperie. This corner of Old Bologna is the site of the city’s original medieval markets, today replaced by dozens of botteghe (little stores)—fruttivendoli (fruit sellers), pescherie (fish dealers), pastifici (pasta stores), and latterie (cheese stores), where goods spill out of open storefronts creating a street market feel. Best of all are the salumerie, or delicatessens—try Tamburini or Bruno e Franco—where you will find scores of cheese varieties, fresh tortellini with numerous stuffings, truffles, wild mushrooms, and golden olive oils. The stars of the show are cured meats, such as mortadella (a large smoked pork sausage flavored with peppercorns, pistachios, and olives), culatello, zampone, and prosciutto. To savor the potential of such ingredients, step into one of the city’s many outstanding restaurants—Ristorante Diana and the less expensive trattorias, Da Gianni and Anna Maria, are all nearby. Order a local favorite, such as lasagne (made from green-spinach flavored pasta), bollito misto (a soup made from several kinds of meat and vegetables), or cotoletta alla Bolognese, a pork cutlet covered with prosciutto and cheese.

When in Bologna…

Sample the handmade yellow egg pasta known as sfoglia (or sheet) because it is rolled to paper-thinness. Melt-in-the mouth and silky in texture, it is made from soft flour rather than the more usual durum wheat. The sheets are cut into fettuccine or shaped into parcels. Tortellini is stuffed with pork or prosciutto, spices, and Parmesan cheese, and traditionally served in a clear broth (in brodo), while the larger tortelloni is filled with spinach and ricotta and eaten with butter and sage.

Munch on the local breads: crescente (a square bread made with pork fat, with the addition of prosciutto or pancetta); crescentine (a light puffy dough served hot with cold meats and cheese); and piadina (a flat round bread served like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich).

DENMARK

DANISH SMØRREBRØD

Stop off in a bar on the Nyhavn waterfront to watch the activities of boats and people as you sip Danish beer and enjoy a tasty snack.

In Copenhagen, eat your fill of truly wonderful open-face sandwiches with a multitude of tasty toppings.

With friendly, English-speaking people and centuries-old buildings rising alongside smart hotels and boutiques constructed in modern Danish design, Denmark’s capital is also home to excellent cuisine. Its smørrebrød—pronounced something like “smer-er-bruth”—translates as “butter and bread” and describes the city’s famous open-face sandwiches. As the name suggests, each smørrebrød starts with a piece of bread—usually rugbrød, Denmark’s deep brown, sourdough rye—spread with a thin layer of butter. A wide variety of ingredients is used to top this base to make a savory snack or light meal. One popular version is bread topped with pork liver paté and served with crunchy pickled cucumber, bacon, and fragrant fried mushrooms. Fish abounds in this harbor city, and seafood lovers will relish a topping of smoked herring adorned with egg yolk, chives, and grated radishes. Alternatively, try smoked salmon, whose robust taste goes well with mushrooms in a creamy white sauce, or shrimp—you may find Danish shrimps smaller than the ones you are used to, but what they lack in size they make up for in succulence and flavor. To sample the fullest range of toppings, from fillet of plaice to excellent Danish cheeses, head for Restaurant Ida Davidsen. The eatery on Store Kongensgade boasts the world’s largest sandwich menu, with about 300 varieties of smørrebrød.

Smørrebrød Etiquette

■ Danes are very mindful of manners. They eat their open-face sandwiches with knife and fork rather than pick up the bread with their hands.

■ The whimsically named Veterinarians’ Midnight Snack (Dyrlægens Natmad) is an open-face sandwich that starts with a base of liver paté and includes corned beef and meat aspic topped with onions.

■ As well as being one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, opened in 1843, brims with restaurants and cafés. The colorful harborside area, Nyhavn, is another good place for bars and restaurants.

THE NETHERLANDS

RIJSTTAFEL IN AMSTERDAM

The numerous dishes of a rijsttafel are a colorful feast for the eyes as well as for the taste buds.

Fiery beef stews, vegetables in peanut sauce, and fried bananas are just some of the dishes making up an Indonesian “rice table.”

The rain-soaked cobbled streets and tree-lined canals of the Netherlands’ largest city are a world away from the rijsttafel’s tropical birthplace, but even in a damp North European metropolis, the multiple dishes of this spice-laden feast are true to their origins. Step inside one of Amsterdam’s Indonesian restaurants, such as Tujuh Maret or Sama Sebo, and immediately the decor, the courteous welcome, and above all the scent of exotic flavorings evoke a distant, warmer world. Either presented as a buffet or brought to your table on trays and placed on plate-warmers, every dish is a different taste experience, from mild and fragrant to searingly hot. For 320 years, Indonesia was a Dutch colony, and although it cut most of its ties with the former colonial power after independence in 1949, its food has remained a strong feature of the Netherlands’ culinary landscape. In the old colonial days, the rijsttafel signified the grandest of repasts, enjoyed beneath the ceiling fans of large, airy restaurants in Jakarta, Surabaya, or Jogjakarta, each dish borne to the table by a young server in traditional dress. Nowadays, all across the Netherlands, not just in Amsterdam, there are hundreds of Indonesische eethuizen (small restaurants and takeouts), where you can sample the kinds of dish that make up a rijsttafel.

Rijsttafel Dishes

A rijsttafel may consist of between six and 20 dishes and condiments—sometimes even more. In a classic example of Dutch understatement, the name simply means “rice table” (from the words, rijst and tafel), because of the central role played by rice.

■ Typical rijsttafel meat dishes include nasi goreng (fried rice with meat or seafood), babi ketjap (pork with soy sauce), rendang (a spicy beef stew), perkedel (fried potato-and-meat cakes), sate or satay (grilled skewers of meat with a peanut sauce), and sambal goreng (various stew-like dishes of meat or fish in a hot sauce). Sambal is a chili-based relish.

■ Other common dishes are atjar (a spicy sweet-and-sour salad of sliced vegetables), gado gado (vegetables with a peanut sauce), pisang goreng (fried banana), nasi kuning (Indonesian yellow rice), and krupuk (light-as-air fried prawn crackers).

One-time microbiologist Philip Howard prepares a dish at The Square.

ENGLAND

LONDON’S RESTAURANTS

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Once a culinary joke, the British capital is now home to some of the world’s best chefs producing some of its most exciting food.

A block away from London’s Smithfield meat market, the Shaker-like austerity of chef Fergus Henderson’s St. John Restaurant sets the tone for a menu of nose-to-tail eating, where roasted bone marrow and chitterlings (pigs’ intestines) share space in season with roast game birds, such as woodcock and widgeon. St. John is typical of a new breed of restaurant that has emerged in London during the past 30 years, many clustered around the city’s historic market centers—no coincidence and an opportunity to try some of the country’s freshest food. Even in the plushest enclaves of the West End, the showcasing of Britain’s seasonal produce and gastronomic traditions is a priority for chefs such as Philip Howard at The Square or Richard Corrigan at Corrigan’s, both in Mayfair. Success breeds success. TV chef Gordon Ramsay earned his fame with an eye for delicacy and detail, and cooks from his stable, including Angela Hartnett and Mark Sargeant, are now names in their own right—Sargeant presides over the kitchens at Claridge’s Hotel, time-honored haunt of film stars and foreign royalty. Farther west again is the place many regard as one of London’s holiest shrines of consistently good eating: The River Café. Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers opened the Thames-side restaurant in 1987, and they still supervise a menu that changes with the seasons. The dishes are Italian, but the majority of the fresh ingredients are sourced locally from the highest-quality British produce.

St. John’s Welsh Rarebit

This makes a steadying snack or a splendid savory at the end of a meal, washed down with a glass of port.

Melt the butter in a pan, and stir in the flour. Let them cook together until they smell biscuity but are not browning. Add the mustard powder and cayenne pepper. Stir in the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce, then gently melt in the cheese. When it is all of one consistency, remove from the heat, pour out into a shallow container, and let set. Spread ½ in (1 cm) thick on the toast and place under a preheated broiler. Eat when bubbling golden brown.

SCOTLAND

FINE FOOD IN EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Castle (on the left) and the spire of The Hub (a former church) punctuate the skyline view from The Tower.

In the Scottish capital, relish the country’s incomparable culinary resources in a new generation of award-winning restaurants.

Edinburgh is justly regarded as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Its attractions, including its castle, the elegant 200-year-old “New Town,” and the internationally famous arts festivals in August, have long drawn visitors. But until recently the city would never have figured on anybody’s list of gourmet destinations. Happily, things have changed, and Scotland has learned to appreciate national produce that includes seafood from crystal-clear northern waters, Europe’s finest beef cattle, lamb with a delicacy of flavor that comes only from grazing by the sea or on heather-clad hills, wild mushrooms, game, and luscious soft fruits. With their inspired treatment of these riches, pioneers such as Andrew Radford—founder of The Atrium and its more informal sister establishment, Blue—have transformed Edinburgh’s eateries. And the gradual regeneration of the ancient port of Leith, a short taxi-ride from the heart of the city, has led to the emergence of a lively quayside dining quarter, where chef-patrons Martin Wishart and Tom Kitchin have earned Michelin stars for the restaurants that bear their names. Back on the higher ground of the city center, The Tower, on the top floor of the Museum of Scotland in the atmospheric Old Town, offers you some of the best of modern Scottish cuisine, all garnished with spectacular views.

Farmers’ Market

Make time to explore the Castle Terrace Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here, you can graze on sweet and savory free samples, or sit down for brunch at a cluster of tables among the stalls. Try hot porridge—that Scottish breakfast classic—garnished with fresh fruit, preserves, or whiskey and cream. Meat-lovers might prefer a sandwich of hot roast pork, reared on a farm in the Scottish Borders, with stuffing, apple sauce, and crisp crackling. You may be lucky enough to find the Scottish seafood specialty called the Arbroath smokie—a delicately flavored smoked haddock, prepared in a mobile smokehouse, boned to order, and ready to eat.

FRANCE

BISTROS MODERNES IN PARIS

A dizzying choice of French cheeses-served before dessert, not after-will be a high point in any bistro moderne meal.

A “new wave” of Parisian chefs offers fabulous bistro dining, good for both the palate and the wallet.

The bistro moderne movement began as a reaction against the fussy cuisine that used to prevail in Paris. Chefs started to look to seasonal market goods, less expensive cuts of meat, and food from local producers to offer customers excellent meals at affordable prices. Spearheading the move was Yves Camdeborde, a classically trained chef who had worked at the Ritz, Maxim’s, and La Tour d’Argent. In 1992, he set up his first restaurant, La Régalade, in southern Paris, serving rich gourmet French bistro fare at prices that were unheard of in the city at the time. Other chefs observed his success and quickly cottoned on to the formula, with the result that there is now a plethora of options. On the Left Bank, try Jean-François Debré’s Les Racines in Rue Monsieur Le Prince or the Delacourcelle brothers’ Le Pré Verre in Rue Thénard—ideal for lunch after viewing the stunning “Dame à la Licorne” (Lady and the Unicorn) tapestries in the nearby Hôtel de Cluny. In eastern Paris, sample the menu at Thomas Dufour’s L’Ébauchoir near the Bastille or the Nidhsain brothers’ La Boulangerie in Ménilmontant. As for the man who started it all: Chef Camdeborde sold the La Régalade in 2005 and now heads up a tiny bistro called Le Comptoir at the Hotel St.-Germain, also on the Left Bank. There are only 20 tables, and all the diners eat from the same five-course, prix-fixe menu. It is one of Paris’s most authentic and delicious meals—and will cost 45 euros (about $60).

Bistro Fare

■ Terrines, sausages, cured meats, and unusual cuts are the order of the day in a Parisian bistro moderne. Look out for boudin noir (blood sausage), plates of charcuterie, riz de veau (sweetbreads), pieds de cochon (pig’s feet), and joue de bœuf—the cheek of a cow, a rich and delicious cut of meat.

■ Bistros modernes are also great places to sample some of the best of France’s cheeses. Ask the waiter to talk you through the cheese cart. Some bistros will have more than a dozen to choose from. A good waiter will help you pick out exactly what you want—and a wine to go with it.

From Carcassonne’s Cité, view the countryside that gave birth to cassoulet.

FRANCE

SECRETS OF THE CASSOULET

A cassoulet in its cassolle

In southwestern France, three cities and the regions round them claim to make the best cassoulet. Why not try all three?

In Carcassonne, they insist that the meat of the red-legged partridge is the key to a good cassoulet. In Toulouse, cooks add sausages and confit de canard (preserved duck) to enrich the flavors of this hearty dish of beans, pork, onions, and carrots. In Castelnaudary, between the other two cities, the essential “added value” ingredients are pork ribs and confit d’oie (preserved goose) from the surrounding Lauragais region. The different traditions are jealously maintained—Carcassonne and Castelnaudary even have confréries du cassoulet, brotherhoods pledged to defend their particular interpretations—and they reflect the essentially sociable nature of cassoulet. Traditionally, it was a way of using the ingredients on hand to feed a crowd—a harvest crew, say, or a family gathering. Despite the variations, beans are the basic ingredient—haricots de Tarbes or lingots de Castelnaudary—and long, slow baking is vital to allow a crusty top to form. In the old days, people would prepare cassoulets at home, then take them to the local baker, who slid them into his oven after the day’s baking was done. In Castelnaudary, they still puncture the crust four times while cooking to let it reform and seal in the flavors. Ready to let your taste buds loose? Within the medieval walls of Carcassonne’s Cité, head for L’Écu d’Or, where you can choose from five versions of cassoulet. In the center of Toulouse, after a walk along the historic Canal du Midi, Au Gascon offers top-notch cassoulet for a modest price. In Castelnaudary, join aficionados for a cassoulet lunch at the Hôtel de France—you may pick up a cassoulet-maker’s secret or two.

Cassoulet Country

■ The Carcassonne-based Académie Universelle du Cassoulet (Universal Academy of Cassoulet) has devised a Route des Cassoulets, which allows you to explore the different versions of the iconic casserole. Driving past fields of wheat, beans, and sunflowers, and farmyards with noisy ducks and geese, you understand the origins of the dish.

■ In Toulouse, visit the main square, the Place du Capitole, which becomes an organic farmers’ market every Tuesday and Saturday morning. Nearby is the covered Marché Victor Hugo, where vendors sell fresh produce daily. In winter, you may find stalls selling black truffles.

■ The Not brothers in Mas-Saintes-Puelles, northwest of Castelnaudary, are among the few potters who still produce the broad earthenware dishes called cassolles. These give the cassoulet its name—caçolet or lou cassoul in the Occitan language spoken across southern France. You can see some original cassoles in the Musée Présidial, overlooking Castelnaudary.

■ Full-bodied, regionally produced Languedoc wines stand up well to the strong rustic flavors of cassoulet. Try a Cabardès, a Malepère, or a deep garnet Corbières.

FRANCE

THE REAL BOUILLABAISSE

At restaurants like Le Miramar, the fish makes one course, with the broth used for cooking it served separately.

Once simple fisherman’s fare, bouillabaisse marseillaise has evolved into one of the world’s most delectable seafood concoctions.

When in France’s chief Mediterranean seaport, don’t order just any bouillabaisse. Marseille’s famous herb-flavored seafood stew requires a specific combination of ingredients, all laid down by tradition. In the old days, when Marseille fishermen returned to harbor, they sorted out the best of their catch to sell and took home the unmarketable leftovers to be boiled and served with garlicky bread crusts and rouille—a spicy mayonnaise-style sauce. Then, as Marseille rose to prominence as a trading port in the 19th century, the city’s upper classes finessed bouillabaisse, creating the extravaganza eaten today. Be warned: There are imposters waiting to take your euros for lesser fare, sometimes labeled soupes des pêcheurs or bouillabaisse à notre façon. In 1980, a group of chefs signed a charter stating which ingredients should go into a bouillabaisse. To be assured of the truest, finest specimens, meeting the charter’s criteria, head for the area around the beautifully renovated Vieux Port. Here, Le Miramar looks out over bobbing yachts and fishing boats and the two forts guarding the port’s entrance. Nearby, two other restaurants pride themselves on serving the real thing—Chez Michel on Rue des Catalans and Chez Fonfon on Rue Vallon des Auffes.

Authentic Ingredients

Purists insist that bouillabaisse must contain at least four species of indigenous Mediterranean fish, most commonly scorpionfish (rascasse in French), conger eel (congre), red gurnard (galinette), and John Dory (St. Pierre). If the fish is cooked with fresh tomatoes, potatoes, a hearty measure of fresh fennel, and perhaps some anise-flavored Pernod, it has the makings of an authentic bouillabaisse. Due to overfishing in the Mediterranean, the indigenous species are harder and harder to find. Even so, bouillabaisse with salmon is never the real thing, and with shellfish it is debatable.

Traditionally, bouillabaisse is served up in two courses. First comes a bowl of the broth, which is ladled over garlic-rubbed bread croutons, smothered with rouille. The croutons should never be added afterward to float on top of the broth and never covered with grated cheese. After this, you have the fish, which your waiter will fillet for you as you watch. The perfect wine to accompany bouillabaisse is a dry, white Cassis or Bandol rosé—both, naturally, from near Marseille.

SPAIN

BASQUE COOKING

San Sebastián’s famous beach forms an almost perfect round shell shape-hence its name, Playa de la Concha (the beach of the seashell).

With more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere in the world, San Sebastián in northern Spain is a top global food destination.

The elegant resort of San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is famed for its scallop-shaped bay and stunning belle epoque architecture. It also boasts a stellar triumvirate of chefs, Juan Mari Arzak, Martín Berasategui, and Pedro Subijana, all running restaurants at the cutting edge of culinary innovation. But if you restrict yourself to top-end establishments, you will miss out on other Basque eating experiences. From asadores serving roast meats to restaurants offering specialties such as bacalao al pil-pil (spicy salted cod), the food is outstanding whatever your tastes and budget. Sample the fare in a sidrería (cider house), where you drink cider drawn from oak barrels as you eat, or in a harbor- or beach-side café serving seafood so fresh it still quivers. But for the most authentic Basque experience, head for bars such as La Cepa in the narrow lanes of the Parte Vieja (Old Quarter) to enjoy San Sebastián’s best pintxos—equivalent to tapas in the rest of Spain. These exquisite bite-sized morsels include potato tortilla (omelet), slices of glistening ham, green peppers deep fried and eaten with sea salt, chorizo sausage, and cod croquettes—don’t forget to look at the blackboard for special items that need on-the-spot cooking. Pile what you want onto a plate and enjoy it with some txakoli—the local semi-sparkling white wine, traditionally poured from a height to aerate it. Go from bar to bar like this for an evening as the Basques do, and you will be in exalted company—Michelin-star chefs are said to come here for inspiration.

A Culinary Revolution

Owner of San Sebastián’s triple-Michelin-starred Restaurant Arzak, Juan Mari Arzak is generally regarded as the champion of new Basque cuisine. Inspired, it is said, by hearing French chef Paul Bocuse speak about nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s, he was determined to use Bocuse’s principles to reinvent Basque cooking. He organized reunions among fellow chefs, in which he presented updated versions of classic Basque dishes along with original creations. His revolution went on to form the basis of new Spanish cooking, La Nueva Cocina. Arzak still runs his restaurant with his daughter Elena, and he is still creating imaginatively innovative food based on classic Basque dishes. Try the lobster in white olive oil or fried potato with prawns in a saffron sauce.

SPAIN

SUCKLING PIG IN SEGOVIA

Be warned: When your roast suckling pig arrives at the table, you will be In no doubt about what you are eating.

Just over an hour’s drive northwest of Madrid, a 19th-century mesón (inn) offers visual delight combined with epicurean bliss.

Through the latticed windows of the multistoried Mesón de Cándido, you watch the afternoon sunlight stroke the graceful arches of the ancient city of Segovia’s 2,000-year-old Roman aqueduct. Beside your table, a waiter is apportioning the crispy roast suckling pig you ordered. This feast, a Segovian specialty, is not for the squeamish. It starts with a carefully selected 21-day-old unweaned piglet. Having passed through the butcher’s hands, the suckling pig has its bristles singed off and is rubbed with a mix of garlic, bay leaf, and lard. It is then slow-roasted for two hours over glowing oak coals in the Méson de Cándido’s 150-year-old brick oven. The pig is now ready for the table. According to ritual, the waiter divides it into serving portions using the edge of a plate to demonstrate the roast’s crisp perfection on the outside and the meat’s melt-in-the-mouth tenderness on the inside. After that, the plate is shattered on the stone floor for extra brio. A good red Ribera del Duero wine, from grapes grown in the Duero valley north of Segovia, stands up well to this winter favorite. Take your time and enjoy the repast while, outside, the low slanting sunlight turns the immense aqueduct to deepening hues of gold.

Castilian Hospitality

The family-run Mesón de Cándido is more than a restaurant—it is an institution. Its heyday began in 1931, when Cándido López Sanz (1903–92) took over the operation of the mesón from his mother-in-law. His motto was that anyone “who honors this house with their presence, whatever their nationality or condition, deserves the respect and all kinds of attention to which Castilian hospitality is obligated.”

During his long lifetime, Don Cándido played host to guests including royalty, the legendary bullfighter El Cordobés, the writer Ernest Hemingway, and numerous film stars, from Orson Welles to Ursula Andress. His children and grandchildren still run the restaurant, which now bears his name, and in 2006 they opened the luxurious Hotel Cándido on the outskirts of Segovia.

SPAIN

PAELLA IN VALENCIA

For valencianos one of the best ways of cooking paella Is over an open-air fire on a mild, sunny winter day.

The city of Valencia on Spain’s Mediterranean coast is the undisputed capital of the country’s most famous dish.

People in Valencia have strong opinions about their relationship with Barcelona and Catalonia to the north, their language (which many refuse to call Catalan), and paella. First made by Moorish peasants in the days of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula, paella started life as poor man’s fare, using short-grain rice cooked with olive oil, saffron, vegetables, and anything else at hand, usually chicken, rabbit, duck, or snails. Short-grain rice is still the key ingredient, which in a perfectly cooked paella should be soft on top, while the layer beneath is crunchy and caramelized—this lower layer, called the socarrat, is considered the best part. There are two basic versions: paella valenciana, made with meat, and its seafood rival, paella marinera. Purists in Valencia do their best to enforce paella-making commandments—thou shalt not add sausage, mix seafood with meat, fail to add green peas, omit broad beans—but in the end, the best thing is just to enjoy the dish. Well-known emporiums in Valencia include Casa Roberto, El Forcat, La Pepica, La Marcelina, and El Rall. The city’s Michelin-starred chefs, meanwhile, are busy creating inventive versions of paellas at restaurants such as Ca Sento and La Sucursal.

Pans and Variations

■ Paella is almost literally synonymous with the broad, shallow steel pans that are used to cook it—the word “paella” derives from the Latin patella, meaning “pan.” Paella-loving Spanish households always have stoves with an extra-large burner on top to accommodate a paella pan.

■ In Barcelona, the dish called arròs (literally, “rice”) is virtually identical to paella. Its many variations include arròs a banda (made with shelled seafood) and arròs negre (“black rice,” dyed black by squid ink). Another dish, fideuà, is made with vermicelli noodles instead of rice, and also cooked in squid ink.

■ Valencian purists never add sausage to paella. But the dish has largely escaped Valencian control, and entire autonomous communities on the Iberian peninsula would never touch a paella if it did not include some spicy chorizo sausage.

■ A fast-food version of paella, called Paellador, is often offered in tourist traps. It cannot compare with a proper home- or restaurant-cooked paella.

Situated in London’s Covent Garden, Rules is famous for its game, which is sourced from the restaurant’s own Pennine estate.

SPAIN

MADRID’S RESTAURANTS

Customers relax in a café in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor (main square), with the prospect of tapas galore in the streets nearby.

Spain’s culinary traditions are richly varied, and in the capital’s eateries you have a perfect “anthology” for sampling them.

King Philip II is best known in the Anglo-Saxon world for his attempt to bring Elizabethan England to heel with the ill-fated Spanish Armada. He was also the man who in 1561 moved Spain’s royal court from Toledo to the Iberian peninsula’s geometrical center, Madrid, making it the new capital of his far-flung empire. He probably never imagined the magnetic pull that the wealth pouring into the city would have on Spain’s four corners. Madrid has long been famed as Spain’s first “port,” where fish from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean arrives in pristine condition, better in quality than products left behind on the coasts for locals to consume. Regional Castilian fare stars roasts and stews, best in winter, but in Madrid’s restaurants, with the pick of the entire national cuisine to choose from, you will find food for every season—Andalusian gazpacho, Mediterranean rices, Basque fish, Galician seafood, and modern Catalan “molecular” gastronomy. For roasts, go to Asador Frontón I; for cocido madrileño (a hearty bean and meat stew, typical of Madrid), try La Bola or Lhardy, while Casa Ciriaco or Casa Lucio are best for other Castilian dishes, such as partridge and broad bean stew. Ranging further afield gastronomically, Casa Benigna and L’Albufera are good for rice dishes, La Trainera and Combarro for fish, Asador Gaztelu and Julian de Tolosa for Basque beef, and La Terraza del Casino and Santceloni for creative contemporary cuisine.

Tasty Tapas

Tapas and the itinerant grazing known as the tapeo have always been popular in Madrid. Originally morsels served with drinks, tapas in Spain have become miniature culinary art. Look for a crowded space with the boisterous sounds of an open cocktail party. Go in and sample saucer-sized platefuls of boquerones (anchovies), gambas (shrimps), queso manchego (a ewe’s milk cheese), grilled pimientos (peppers), and other delights. Plaza de Santa Ana and Calle Huertas have dozens of tapas bars, beginning with a famous Hemingway haunt, the Cervecería Alemana. Below the Plaza Mayor in Cava Baja and along Calle el Almendro are a series of popular tapas taverns. The Barrio de Salamanca is another hunting ground.

PORTUGAL

FISH IN LISBON

The funicular tram called the Elevador da Bica hauls its way up from Lisbon’s fish market area to the Bairro Alto.

For seafood, it is hard to do better than the Atlantic-seaboard capital of a nation that is crazy about fish.

Portugal consumes more fish per capita that any other country in Europe, and one of the best places to experience this piscine passion is Lisbon’s Bairro Alto—the lively “high town” of narrow streets, set above the grid of the city’s central Baixa (“Lower Town”) and the Tagus estuary. Up here, the air fills in summer with the smell of sardines being grilled on makeshift barbecues, and dozens of restaurants offer menus crammed with octopus, squid, crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, swordfish, mackerel, hake, and bacalhau (salted cod). At heart, Portuguese food is the food of the people. So why not try your luck at the Toma-Lá-dá-Cá, a popular family restaurant just south of the Bairro Alto? Any kind of fish may be served here, but it is likely that bacalhau will be on the menu. In Portugal, bacalhau comes as a starter called pastéis de bacalhau (deep-fried fish balls), as bacalhau à brás (with onions, potatoes, and eggs), as bacalhau com pimento e chouriço (with pepper and sausage), and as bacalhau com molho de caril (with curry sauce). In fact, there are said to be 365 different ways to cook bacalhau—one for every day of the year. If you want to enjoy a similar menu in grander surroundings, try the Pap’Açorda—all mirrors, gilt, and crystal chandeliers, even though it is named after a simple soupy dish of bread and seafood.

Fish Baked in Sea Salt Peixe Assado no Sal

Salt baking enhances a fish’s delicate taste and texture. It is particularly well suited to meaty fish with delicate, white, lean flesh. In Portugal, robalo (snook) is commonly used to make this dish, but sea bass is a good alternative. The fish, which must be very fresh, is gutted and cleaned but otherwise left whole.

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 7. Line a large roasting pan with wax paper or aluminum foil. Pat the fish’s outside and inner cavity dry. Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the salt, and mix well-the mixture should resemble lightly packed snow.

Spread about a third of the salt mixture evenly across the lined pan. Lay the fish on its side on top and stuff the cavity with the lemon slices and fresh herbs. Mound the remaining salt mixture over the fish, gently packing it around the fish with your hands. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

To serve, crack the crust and carefully remove all the salt and skin. Move the fish to a clean plate, fillet, and serve with olive oil and lemon.

TUNISIA

FEASTING IN TUNIS

Couscous forms the centerpiece of a colorful Tunisian feast, washed down with fresh mint tea.

The banging of hammers on brass and the muezzin’s call mingle with the scent of spices and grilled meat in the Tunisian capital.

Start your tasting tour of Tunis in North Africa by entering the Medina (old quarter) through Bab el Bahr, one of the gates into the city’s medieval heart. Inside you can lose yourself in a maze of narrow alleyways, all of which lead to the souk, or marketplace. Each part of the souk features a different product (perfumes, carpets, clothes, and so on), but everywhere hole-in-the-wall restaurants beckon. Sit inside or at one of the tiny tables that line the narrow alleys and enjoy a snack of merguez or brik at rock-bottom prices. For a more formal lunch or a delicious dinner, visit La Galette, Tunis’s port. Like all ports, this one appears to have seen better days, but it is worth the trip if only to visit one of the neighborhood’s fish restaurants. Avenue Franklin Roosevelt is lined with eating places, including Le Café Vert and L’Avenir, both of which serve sparkling fresh fish to an enthusiastic local crowd. At any time of day, you will find Tunisians drinking strong, sweet, cardamon-scented Arabic coffee or enjoying a glass of fresh mint tea. In Sidi Bou Said, a few miles northeast of Tunis, visit Café des Nattes, where the Swiss-born painter Paul Klee found inspiration. A few streets away, sit on whitewashed benches outside Café Sidi Chaabane, drinking in gorgeous views of the sparkling blue Gulf of Tunis along with your tea.

A Tunisian Lexicon

The national dish, couscous, is usually eaten for lunch, although tourist restaurants serve it at dinner, too. The grains form a base for a thin, fragrant stew of meat and vegetables. Mloukia is a thick lamb or beef stew flavored with bay leaves, usually served with French bread. Merguez are thin, spicy lamb sausages, served grilled with a squeeze of lemon. Brik à l’oeuf is a flaky pastry parcel with a lightly cooked egg inside. The outside is crisp fried, while the inside is soft and molten, making for a delicious mess when you attempt to eat it. It is served as a starter with a squeeze of lemon. Tunisian tajine is a cold egg dish—not to be confused with the famous Moroccan stew of the same name.

SOUTH AFRICA

DINING OUT IN CAPE TOWN

At Blues restaurant in the smart Cape Town suburb of Camps Bay, beachside eating is brought to a pinnacle of quiet elegance.

It is said that you can eat somewhere different in Cape Town every night of the year.

French pastries for breakfast … fresh local snoek fish for lunch … full English afternoon tea … and you still have to choose among French, Ethiopian, or local Cape Malay for dinner. Such is your delectable dilemma when eating out in Cape Town. Restaurants with sea views abound along the coastline, from stalwart Blues in Camps Bay and Salt perched above the rocks in Bantry Bay to the Mariner’s Wharf in Hout Bay. Gourmands will enjoy exploring the funky, varied restaurants of the City Bowl, where you can sample Ethiopian injera (sourdough pancake bread) at Addis in Cape Town, Turkish meze at Anatoli, or innovative Afro-European menus in historic properties, such as Aubergine or 95 Keerom. Colonial influences are strong at the Mount Nelson Hotel, while the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Waterfront caters to all tastes and budgets. The surrounding Cape Winelands, meanwhile, offer classic French fine-dining options, including Constantia’s La Colombe or Franschhoek’s Le Quartier Français. Fresh seafood is always on the menu, whether wrapped in newspaper on the beach at Mariner’s Wharf, as sushi in trendy Balducci’s, or with a view at Baia. Be sure to try the spicy flavors of Cape Malay food in Biesmiellah, and authentically African dishes, such as umnqushu (samp and beans). Above all, don’t miss some of the innovative combinations of local ingredients and classic dishes that are surfacing, including Thai green ostrich curry, springbok carpaccio, or fynbos honey bavarois.

Pumpkin fritters Pampoenkoekies

These sweet pastries are an easy South African favorite.

Mix the flour, baking powder, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, and the salt. Beat the eggs well, combine with the pumpkin, and stir into the dry ingredients. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve sprinkled with a mix of three parts granulated sugar to one part ground cinnamon.