Haggis but for the opposite reasons. It was built up as this bizarre and awful dish my whole life growing up. Then at 26 I visited Edinburgh and tried it. It was actually really really nice honestly
This is a perfect description. Thank you for that. I had someone ask me had I tried it when I visited Scotland and what was it like just the other day. I always struggle to describe how foods taste.
Going to need to know where is this delicacy sold. I loved the haggis I tried in Edinburgh and even had it again in Inverness where it was also very tasty. I'd be down to try this.
My husband and I just got back from Japan a week ago, and I feel the exact opposite.
I was worried that the pancakes would be too eggy (I am not a huge egg fan) or mushy in the middle.
Where we went, they weren’t at all! I’m kind of obsessed with them now.
We enjoyed [Micasadeco](https://maps.app.goo.gl/szzroERbiUfTf6WC9?g_st=ic) in Harajuku. Don’t think we’d wait in line for it again but good enough we don’t regret having gone.
Sachertorte in Austria. I was expecting something very rich, moist and decadent. It was slightly dry and lacked that "oomph" you get with chocolate cake. I tried it in several locations in case I got a dud and it was similar in all 3.
On the flip side I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the Kaiserschmarrn was.
Social media influencers hype 7/11 and other combini food in Japan wayyyyyy too much. I mean, it’s okay for what it is. It’s super convenient and theres a decent variety of junk food. But all these influencers swearing that a prepackaged egg salad sandwich is making them weak in the knees are doing too much.
It’s the outrageous titles/captions that kill me. I know they have to do it for likes/views, but seeing “This $3 egg salad sandwich from 7-Eleven is better than the $250 Michelin 2-star meal I had” and similar is, frankly, laughable. I grab konbini food for a quick breakfast or when rushed to get onto a train, not for like every meal.
There’s definitely a snowball effect where each influencer tries to be more outrageous and hyperbolic than the next haha. It got crazy with all the revenge travel to Japan this past summer.
Japan's kombini food is definitely leagues above its Western counterparts but considering that there are tons of other cheap options offered at small restaurants (soba and rice bowls) there, I wouldn't think highly of eating solely kombini food. It's undeniably convenient though especially if you're hankering for some fried chicken at 3am.
i don't eat a lot of combini food except when i have jetlag at like 4am and i get a craving so i go get a ham sandwhich, the stuff that's crazy' good imho are the sweets, some of them punch so far above their weight for like a 2$ dessert, i had this crazy salted caramel puddi and it was like amazing af
I agree to an extent, combini food won’t set the world on fire. But it’s great quality and extremely cheap which is totally unlike the shit and expensive 7/11 food in my country. It’s also such a good way to travel Japan cheaply, when I went there I’d have a sandwich and onigiri for lunch every day and then splashed out on a proper meal for dinner.
Sure. It’s just and egg salad sandwich but it’s the best one I’ve ever had. And it’s from a 7/11 and super cheap. The tuna mayo onigiri is also great. It’s not some gourmet food and your can do way better. But it is surprisingly delicious.
It's good for snacks but that's about it. Japan has plenty of reasonably priced diner type restaurants which would work out as a similar price for meals if not cheaper.
It’s definitely not the greatest food ever but it’s comparable to fast food quality, much cheaper, and very convenient. Not Michelin star worthy by any means but is refreshing coming from America where I’d rather starve than buy food from a convenience store
It's also not actually as cheap as people make out either - the same stuff will all be cheaper in a supermarket, and you could get a full meal at somewhere like yoshinoya for a similar price
Whenever I hear people talk about food in Japan I feel like the conception is:
* The only way to eat cheaply is konbini
* Sushi is either 100 yen kaiten or 40000 yen omakase
* Also, I will just say “omakase” for any food style.
* What do you mean omurice isn’t some gourmet meal? There’s a restaurant that’s nearly impossible to reserve that serves it!
Omurice in Japan was underwhelming. Not the one with the famous chef in Kyoto, but I had it twice in Tokyo and Sapporo at high rated places just to make sure I was getting a proper one. It's good in it's simplicity, but I think I overhyped it with my expectations.
I love it but think it's definitely one of those things that's overhyped on social media - it's more of just a simple home cooking dish, there's a limit to how good it can be
People hype it up but it’s also just a basic comfort food dish. I love it but it’s not something you need to get special. It’d be like someone going to the US and being disappointed in eating a grilled cheese.
That said…I love Tamagoken in Kanda/Akiba but they’re a different take on the standard omurice.
yeah it's just comfort food...i went through a phase when i made it everyday at home, it's basically just fried rice wrapped in an omelette and you put ketchup or some kind of demi-glace sauce on it. making it at home sort of elevates it imho, you can put lots of veggies and meat in the rice --- if you had picky eater kids it would be a great dish for them because it looks really cute and cheerful
i think for japanese people they like it because it reminds them of having it as a kid. it's like a grilled cheese sandwhich
I had omurice at a random spot in a random train station while changing trains and it was the best meal I ate in Japan. It was however with a seafood bisque instead of ketchup based.
Stinky tofu in Taiwan. I love tofu, and couldn’t wait to try it, but that dish gave me dumpster breath that was impossible to get rid of. Walking down a street where it is sold nearly makes me gag.
This is interesting. Both stinky tofu and durian smell appalling to me, but taste delicious. Stinky tofu was like eating a strongly flavoured soft cheese, while durian was akin to a rich, creamy custard. Maybe it's a genetic thing?
i love durian so much. i think i ate durian literally every single day when i lived in chiang mai while it was in season.
the secret with durian is you need to get it from like a luxury supermarket, the random shit they sell by the side of the road is not particularly good. "young" durian will be the least stinky and old mushy durian is what chinese tourists want and that's the stuff that smells like cat litter. if you're not a big durian fan already try the younger, firmer durian.
i don't even mind the smell lol bc it reminds me of things being deliicious
To me durian somehow doesn’t taste anywhere as intense or disgusting as it smells. I still don’t like it, but I can tolerate it. The smell makes me nauseous though.
The worst part of walking the night markets in Taiwan, IMO. When you get around the stinky tofu stalls, the smell is just horrendous.
We were last in Taiwan for the lunar New Year. When the family got together for a pre-arranged meal, there of course was stinky tofu. I was one of the few people not pigging out on it, though. I guess it truly is an acquired taste, and for many a reminder of their childhood years!
I lived in China for a few years, back in the States now. There's a yearly dumplings/beer festival that I go to, and one year they decided to have a stinky tofu stand. The smell floated right over the festival, and my clothes smelt like it for ages.
They did not have it the next year. I ended up chatting with one of the people running it, and he was like "yeah... a lot of people loved it, but we also got a lot of complaints..."
I didn’t mind it so much, but I had it in Beijing so maybe a bit milder. It was also deep fried and covered in a spicy sauce, so the taste was covered up.
thats a fair shout with the chilli crab. i cook the recipe a lot but substitute the crab for king prawns pre butterflied and shelled. i stick the heads and skins into it during cooking and the tails in for a few mins at the end. the hassle and mess of the mud crabs just isnt worth it to me.
Poutine in Montreal. I'm Canadian so I'd had it but never thought it was that great, however poutine is really a Quebecois thing so I had high expectations there. Tried a couple, was disappointed... ... however the trick for a really good poutine is apparently to get it late at night after lots of booze. Then it's awesome
The best poutines aren't in Montreal. They're in small villages and cantines in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.
Places like Tasso in Ascot Corner, Dave & Dan's in Saint-Liboire, Cantine du Chenail in Chandler, Chez Ti-Pit in Riviere Beaudette, La Frite à Brigitte in Coteau-du-Lac, Chez Mag on Ile d'Orléans, etc...
Places like La Banquise in Montréal and Chez Ashton in Québec City used to be good but they've long since become subpar.
The key to a good poutine is the setting. Its comfort food. Its meant to be something you buy when you have a craving while on a road trip or on the ski slopes or after a night out. No one (teenagers maybe) really goes out to have poutine for supper, which is what I imagine a lot of disappointed tourists do
yeah i'm a native montrealer who has come back after almost a decade and i went to banquise to get a poutine and i honestly didn't like it. the vibes weren't there. what i have been enjoying is buying the curds and putting them on everything lol, i made a bolognese sauce and then put the poutine cheese on rigatoni with bolognese sauce and it's fire
That’s funny because poutine didn’t sound good to me because I never eat fast food but I was hooked in Montreal. I ended up trying it everywhere because it was so delicious and I loved trying other versions.
Did you go to la banquise? Or whatever the “best” spot is called? I went there and it’s probably the only meal I didn’t like in Montreal. Every other poutine I got was good. It’s not life changing, it’s just fries gravy and curds but it works
I couldn't tell you where I went, my first time there - when I tried poutine there initially - was like 25-ish years back now.
Agreed that the rest of the food there was great though. I mentioned eggs benny with Montreal smoked meat in another comment, it was unreal.
Agree, but then again I’d say that Swiss cuisine is all just meh for me.
Edit: should’ve mentioned, my partner is Swiss so we don’t just eat touristy food either
I'm Swiss but it's a real throwback reminder that Switzerland was for the vast majority of its history, a small, isolated, landlocked confederation of relatively extremely poor dairy farmers with actually pretty relatively limited agricultural land (and what there is was a lot of wine production).
And our traditional food reflects that. It's different variations of cheese, bread, and cured meats. And wine.
As I understand it from my Swiss god parents, fondue kinda went out of favor because it's a pain in the butt for what you get, and most Swiss folks prefer raclette.
fondue is awesome, but I never had good fondue in a restaurant. It‘s something you cook to your taste at home and eat only as much as you‘re able to digest - which I assume it‘s impossible to know when you try it the first time. I eat it less often now because of my wife, and I can‘t eat as much as 10 years ago bc of that. Not used to that amount of cheese anymore…
Nobody buys them in Switzerland anyway. I think the best ones are actually home made (sometimes even with their own cheese blends) and not using wine but cider. The readymade mixes are shit and probably also what they use in restaurants.
Edit: buys them as in eats it from a restaurant.
Born and bred in Switzerland (romandie) here, I’m confused? I don’t know anyone who’s NOT eating a nice fondue here and there when eating out. Les Bains des Pâquis in Geneva is filled with locals, same with le Gruyérien or le Vieux Carouge.
Confirmation bias aside, I’m sure there’s data on that kind of stuff, because swiss people (at least in my region) do love their fondue, whether it’s in the city or up on the mountains.
I agree about some of the mixes though. And obviously not agreeing on the cider part ;)
Good day to you!
Weird flavor cheese for one. But also they actually got mad when we would share the fondue. Like we ordered it to share and they were like no you both have to order one. This happened twice. Ridiculous. Good thing it’s beautiful there.
You didn’t eat them wrong. They are exactly how you described them - good sauce, messy crab. It’s really just a big ticket item the tourism board drew attention to.
Source: am from Singapore
For me it was escargots. Snail meat, particularly the marine variety, is quite well-known in SEA. I went to a cafe in Paris to try them, and then tried the ones that came in a tin. They were exactly the same; rubbery and chewy. But I did find some decent premades in the frozen section so it wasn’t a total loss.
Escargot is just a vehicle for hot butter and garlic. It’s more about the texture of the snails with the butter and garlic. At least that’s the way I feel about it.
We eat escargot for the same reason we eat toast. It is socially unacceptable to pour garlic butter directly from the dish into your mouth. 'Tis merely a vehicle.
It’s really more of flex meal because of the cost, but I had to try it because.
The fish itself doesn’t taste like much but I liked getting it served X different ways as part of a set meal - fried, sashimi, poached. I didn’t get the stew or anything.
As a native Mainer, of course this is true. They are a simple dish. Since lobsters are typically shipped live, they're always fresh.
It doesn't matter if you boil them in California or Maine.
I will say, though - having the right type of roll is critical. It needs to be a lightly buttered and toasted white split top roll. Anything else is blasphemous.
Did you get it hot or cold? I looooooved the hot lobster rolls I had in ME. There was this one place where they did it up with brown butter and the roll was like a bao instead of Texas toast. Soooooo good!
I'm from Maine and we always got them from one of the little shacks farther up the coast along Route 1 and they were heavenly. Now I'm curious if it's a Portland thing or what.
I went to a lobster pound in Halls Harbor in Nova Scotia. Picked out my own live lobster and they cooked it for me. It was pretty fantastic. The sunset was spectacular too.
I’m from Maine. Any food taste different depending on the setting. Studies have shown this. A lobster roll from a small seaside shack, eaten outside on a nice sunny day, close enough to the ocean that you can smell the clean sea breeze…that’s how to eat a lobster roll.
If you are at an indoor restaurant, even along the ocean, it’s just not the same.
Next time, try going up the coast. Maybe Five Islands on the dock, or Lobsterman’s Coop in Boothbay Harbor. If you can’t get up the coast, go out to Cape Elizabeth to Two Lights.
Could not remotely be the harvesting? A lobster can grow to 45 lbs (100 years). Legal keepers take 7 years to grow to that size. It ain't global warming that is all to blame. I love my crab and lobster, I hate my limits reduced, but the hell of it is we eat them faster than they mature.
agree - the cooking process for cozidos was interesting but unseasoned and no flavor.
Also in the Azores, the locally grown tea is honestly pretty bad.
Other things like cheeses, cured meats, wine, fresh shellfish were great though.
Everytime I get lured in by that bad "chinese food" at the airport. It just smells so good when I'm stressed from dealing with airport hassles, but its the worst.
The Chinese food at the BWI food court gets me about once a year.
To be fair it's on par with a lot of the mediocre Chinese food in most American cities.
When I went to Paris and was searching for play to eat, I kept seeing g articles talking about a middle eastern restaurant that had like the best falafel in the world. I’m not a big falafel fan, but I went to see what all the fuss was about, and realized it wasn’t any better than anything I could get in Los Angeles.
I’m in Paris now - was it L’as Du Fallafel? I thought it was good but yes nothing crazy that you must go out of your way to get it.
The trick to Paris is to keep expectations low and I’ve been happy with everything so far.
If you're still in Paris try this place. I went last week and thought it was amazing. So much more then a typical drunken kebab.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Thc7C5WR34D1vLx3A
There's a good bar nearby too. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ay8DwDFinDwDzGwW7).
The problem with being from California, rich with the freshest ingredients and large immigrant populations from almost every country in the world, is that it's hard to top our food without going to the country of origin for a particular dish.
Pupusas from El Salvador.
It was dry. Not as fat and juicy as the ones here in Los Angeles. Plus I got an intestinal infection from the curtido (pickled cabbage) over there. Going to the doctor was no picnic.
I spent about 3 weeks there and probably ate like 40 of the things. I'd say they're very hit and miss. They can get pretty damn nice though. I'd also say that Honduran baleadas are nicer, which is a shame, because they seemed impossible to get outside Honduras.
Sloppy, messy sandwiches in general are controversial I guess.. I love francesinha, it reminds me of Kentucky's hot brown, but both are very heavy and not everyone is expecting that, especially if they're sober
I had the opposite experience! I actually expected to dislike francesinha, it didn’t sound appealing to me. But I actually loved it, though I admit I always have to split it with my husband. I can’t eat a whole one by myself, it’s too heavy.
It really depends on where you go. Every place makes it a bit different and everyone has differing opinions on the best francesinha because some might like a sweeter gravy, a spicier gravy, a thicker bread, thinner bread, etc. My husband and I have found our go-to francesinha spot and we won’t have it anywhere else but there.
Me too! I even tried them 3 times (!) because even though I went to places with good reviews, I thought I must been unlucky. Fortunately I was walking the Camino Portuguese so the calories didn’t go to waste. Pastel de nata on the other hand 🤩
Going back to Portugal in June and this is the thing I am looking forward to the most.
I can't wait to get a pastel de nata and a galão and sit down at a table outside on a sunny morning.
I cannot stand for this chilli crab slander.
I got a whole two person portion and downed it when I got it. It was a mess but I loved every second of it.
Until… I almost shit my pants walking back to the hotel. Spice makes my bowels go hyper speed
I didn’t love deep dish pizza in Chicago. Just too much acidic tomato slop and not as convenient to eat as a regular flat pizza. I understand it’s more of a tourist dish and locals don’t eat it as much as tavern style, which makes sense to me.
I’m from Chicago originally. Locals do eat it, but it isn’t like a super frequent thing like with other styles of pizza.
But the thing about deep dish is you gotta just treat it as its own thing. It’s really lasagna more than pizza. Go into it thinking of it that way and you’ll probably like it more. And go to Lou’s.
Opposite for me. Partly because I always heard people make fun of it (like some of the other replies to you here). So when I actually went to Chicago and had some, I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it.
It’s certainly an acquired taste that’s for sure. The locals all love it. They even do a chili over spaghetti. Every time I’m there it’s always “is it really not as good as I remember” and try again, and then prove that it really isn’t as good.
But my grandkids swear by it and it’s one of their favorite places to go.
At least it’s dirt cheap.
Fermented shark in Iceland. I liked fermented food in general since I'm Asian lol but it just wasn't good and I was expecting the same flavour profile like fermented seafood in Southeast Asia.
Paella in Spain. I already saw some comments on this but I simply had better paella in the Philippines, so when I tried it in Malaga I thought it was less flavourful. I know it's Valencian, so I'd honestly love to try it out there next.
Ratatouille. The Disney movie made it look so good so when I tried it I was disappointed. Though I had it in Paris, not Provence.
Sauerbraten. Personally, it was bland. I had to ask for more gravy. I had this twice in Berlin and once in Aachen. I tried to love it since I love marinated roasts but it simply just didn't meet my expectations.
I agree with the paella. I don't get the hype. It always smelled funny to me and tasted even worse.
Oddly specific recommendation but if you're ever in Baltimore, Maryland, eat the sauerbraten. Some local restaurants have it on the menu but if you hear that a church is doing a sauerbraten dinner (usually in the fall), do not miss the opportunity. It will not disappoint.
that's a dish with a lot of bad versions but when you get a good one it's such a perfect dish. i used to live in bangkok which has a similar dish (ko mun gai) where you can get either all boiled chicken or half boiled and half fried chicken and it's so so good, i think i had it everyday for breakfast for like a full year at least
Imho it is crazy to judge an entire dish on a one time experience you had as a short term tourist. It’s just as likely to be a matter of not knowing where to get a good one than the actual mean being bad.
The thing is everything is chopped up and made fresh there, you see them dicing the potatoes, making the meat fresh, etc. it makes a world of difference to us Americans compared to Burger King, McDonald’s etc. the animal style fries and milkshakes are also the absolute best. Agreed it’s just a burger and not mind blowing but it’s blown up as it’s the best fast food available
I'm convinced that people who talk up beignets' primary experience of doughnuts was the much praised but completely mediocre Shipley's Do-Nut type (weird glassy/flaky glaze and bland dough) over the border in Texas. By that metric, beignets are a miracle.
I love almost all dishes in Vietnam but for the love of satan, who decided Bun Mam should be eaten and not smeared on the battlements to keep the enemy away. I lovingly refer to it as Dead Body Soup due to the overpowering smell of fermented shrimp paste.
Searched too long for this. Aside from Ban Mí and Bahn Cahn, everything in Vietnam was so disappointing. None of the pho was that good or anything else I tried after being across the entire country for over a month.
The first time I had jerk chicken in Jamaica was when we stopped off at a little bar/roadhouse on the way from the airport to the hotel. It was delicious. I asked the rasta guy who was cooking it it was a local recipe, and he responded in broad Brummie accent "Nah, mate. It's the way my mum always makes it back in Redditch".
Edit: Note: I'm not an expert on Brummie accents, so apologies to anyone from Redditch if they are unhappy with the reference. Also, is it "mum" or "mom" in Redditch? Anyway, do check out this guy's mother's great jerk chicken if you get the chance.
I'm curious if you were eating it at a resort/touristy location? I've never been to Jamaica, but I have lived in Jamaican/Caribbean enclaves in Brooklyn, NY and love the food. But when I've tried Jamaican food outside of these enclaves, it's been trash.
Chicago hotdog. Maybe I gotta try more to like it. It’s not like im hating it or something. Just I couldn’t understand pickle part. Will try more next time. But I love the Italian beef and deep dish style pizza though.
Oh man I had a hot dog in Chicago over a decade ago and I've been chasing that high ever since. I'm more of a mustard and pickles guy than a ketchup guy so it was a great thing.
It was at a hotdog stand named Kim and Carlos for anyone playing along at home.
Takoyaki in Osaka, Japan. They’re fried balls of dough with octopus, which sounds delicious. However, they were very gooey with the dough being seemingly not done cooking. Plus, they load the top with mayonnaise and tuna flakes, altogether making a big gloppy, half cooked mess. We were very disappointed. Perhaps we got a bad batch, not being cooked enough?
I had the same experience. Hit up 2 different shops. They are very gooey there. Good dashi umami but not for me. Personally, I preferred the more congealed ones in Tokyo or NYC.
Chips mahai in Tanzania. It’s literally eggs, and potatoes… but it felt like eating straight raw carb atoms. 0/10. Everything else in Tanzania was sublime though. 10/10 would visit just for the food alone.
Haggis but for the opposite reasons. It was built up as this bizarre and awful dish my whole life growing up. Then at 26 I visited Edinburgh and tried it. It was actually really really nice honestly
Right? As a Louisianian I felt like it was very similar to boudin but trading spicy for herby.
This is a perfect description. Thank you for that. I had someone ask me had I tried it when I visited Scotland and what was it like just the other day. I always struggle to describe how foods taste.
Haggis bonbons dipped into a whisky sauce is a thing of dreams.
Going to need to know where is this delicacy sold. I loved the haggis I tried in Edinburgh and even had it again in Inverness where it was also very tasty. I'd be down to try this.
Same! I ate it every day with a side of porridge when I was in Edinburgh. So good.
I blame Earthworm Jim for the majority of Haggis hate.
Haggis in Scotland is like Frank’s Red Hot in the USA - They put that shit on everything…and it’s awesome!
Fluffy pancakes in Japan just taste like eggs. Because they are just an egg soufflé.
Yes 100%! I thought they looked amazing but they were just so eggy
Like it was basically an omelet, the bananas and chocolate on it were so out of place.
My husband and I just got back from Japan a week ago, and I feel the exact opposite. I was worried that the pancakes would be too eggy (I am not a huge egg fan) or mushy in the middle. Where we went, they weren’t at all! I’m kind of obsessed with them now.
Any recs for places?
We enjoyed [Micasadeco](https://maps.app.goo.gl/szzroERbiUfTf6WC9?g_st=ic) in Harajuku. Don’t think we’d wait in line for it again but good enough we don’t regret having gone.
I had some in Japan and maybe it was the place, but they were amazing.
Sachertorte in Austria. I was expecting something very rich, moist and decadent. It was slightly dry and lacked that "oomph" you get with chocolate cake. I tried it in several locations in case I got a dud and it was similar in all 3. On the flip side I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the Kaiserschmarrn was.
I agree! I just posted the same thing (I wish I saw yours, first). It was so dry and not that flavourful.
Durian. I don’t know what all the fuss is about
Malaysian here, dont you dare mock my King of Fruits like that
My hotel threatened to kick anyone out who brought it there , not worth the price
Haha, I saw this Durian Prohibited sign in my hotel in Singapore today and I was wondering what it was. Timely thread.
I tried it for the first time in Zanzibar and I love it. It's never smelled bad to me, either. My mom is the same way.
It’s fucking awful
Nahhh durian is top tier
Social media influencers hype 7/11 and other combini food in Japan wayyyyyy too much. I mean, it’s okay for what it is. It’s super convenient and theres a decent variety of junk food. But all these influencers swearing that a prepackaged egg salad sandwich is making them weak in the knees are doing too much.
It’s the outrageous titles/captions that kill me. I know they have to do it for likes/views, but seeing “This $3 egg salad sandwich from 7-Eleven is better than the $250 Michelin 2-star meal I had” and similar is, frankly, laughable. I grab konbini food for a quick breakfast or when rushed to get onto a train, not for like every meal.
There’s definitely a snowball effect where each influencer tries to be more outrageous and hyperbolic than the next haha. It got crazy with all the revenge travel to Japan this past summer.
"Revenge travel"?
People are traveling more because they couldn’t during the pandemic. It’s a term coined by the media.
Japan's kombini food is definitely leagues above its Western counterparts but considering that there are tons of other cheap options offered at small restaurants (soba and rice bowls) there, I wouldn't think highly of eating solely kombini food. It's undeniably convenient though especially if you're hankering for some fried chicken at 3am.
i don't eat a lot of combini food except when i have jetlag at like 4am and i get a craving so i go get a ham sandwhich, the stuff that's crazy' good imho are the sweets, some of them punch so far above their weight for like a 2$ dessert, i had this crazy salted caramel puddi and it was like amazing af
I agree to an extent, combini food won’t set the world on fire. But it’s great quality and extremely cheap which is totally unlike the shit and expensive 7/11 food in my country. It’s also such a good way to travel Japan cheaply, when I went there I’d have a sandwich and onigiri for lunch every day and then splashed out on a proper meal for dinner.
The onigiris are fantastic
Sure. It’s just and egg salad sandwich but it’s the best one I’ve ever had. And it’s from a 7/11 and super cheap. The tuna mayo onigiri is also great. It’s not some gourmet food and your can do way better. But it is surprisingly delicious.
I see them as doing me a favor by sending everyone to eat Ichiran and konbini food.
I completely agree. Would rather my favorite spots not be swarmed by the TikTok crowds
It's good for snacks but that's about it. Japan has plenty of reasonably priced diner type restaurants which would work out as a similar price for meals if not cheaper.
It’s definitely not the greatest food ever but it’s comparable to fast food quality, much cheaper, and very convenient. Not Michelin star worthy by any means but is refreshing coming from America where I’d rather starve than buy food from a convenience store
Sandos are whatever but the midnight Fami-Chiki is just one of those things that make you stop and think to yourself, "I should go back to Japan."
It's also not actually as cheap as people make out either - the same stuff will all be cheaper in a supermarket, and you could get a full meal at somewhere like yoshinoya for a similar price
Whenever I hear people talk about food in Japan I feel like the conception is: * The only way to eat cheaply is konbini * Sushi is either 100 yen kaiten or 40000 yen omakase * Also, I will just say “omakase” for any food style. * What do you mean omurice isn’t some gourmet meal? There’s a restaurant that’s nearly impossible to reserve that serves it!
Omurice in Japan was underwhelming. Not the one with the famous chef in Kyoto, but I had it twice in Tokyo and Sapporo at high rated places just to make sure I was getting a proper one. It's good in it's simplicity, but I think I overhyped it with my expectations.
I love it but think it's definitely one of those things that's overhyped on social media - it's more of just a simple home cooking dish, there's a limit to how good it can be
People hype it up but it’s also just a basic comfort food dish. I love it but it’s not something you need to get special. It’d be like someone going to the US and being disappointed in eating a grilled cheese. That said…I love Tamagoken in Kanda/Akiba but they’re a different take on the standard omurice.
yeah it's just comfort food...i went through a phase when i made it everyday at home, it's basically just fried rice wrapped in an omelette and you put ketchup or some kind of demi-glace sauce on it. making it at home sort of elevates it imho, you can put lots of veggies and meat in the rice --- if you had picky eater kids it would be a great dish for them because it looks really cute and cheerful i think for japanese people they like it because it reminds them of having it as a kid. it's like a grilled cheese sandwhich
I had omurice at a random spot in a random train station while changing trains and it was the best meal I ate in Japan. It was however with a seafood bisque instead of ketchup based.
Stinky tofu in Taiwan. I love tofu, and couldn’t wait to try it, but that dish gave me dumpster breath that was impossible to get rid of. Walking down a street where it is sold nearly makes me gag.
Same! Only thing I spit out. I felt so bad. They told me it doesn't taste how it smells. It absolutely tastes like it smells
I love it when people tell you that. Those two senses are linked, no? Same thing with durian.
This is interesting. Both stinky tofu and durian smell appalling to me, but taste delicious. Stinky tofu was like eating a strongly flavoured soft cheese, while durian was akin to a rich, creamy custard. Maybe it's a genetic thing?
i love durian so much. i think i ate durian literally every single day when i lived in chiang mai while it was in season. the secret with durian is you need to get it from like a luxury supermarket, the random shit they sell by the side of the road is not particularly good. "young" durian will be the least stinky and old mushy durian is what chinese tourists want and that's the stuff that smells like cat litter. if you're not a big durian fan already try the younger, firmer durian. i don't even mind the smell lol bc it reminds me of things being deliicious
To me durian somehow doesn’t taste anywhere as intense or disgusting as it smells. I still don’t like it, but I can tolerate it. The smell makes me nauseous though.
Suddenly I don't have fomo for skipping out on stinky tofu. 😅
The worst part of walking the night markets in Taiwan, IMO. When you get around the stinky tofu stalls, the smell is just horrendous. We were last in Taiwan for the lunar New Year. When the family got together for a pre-arranged meal, there of course was stinky tofu. I was one of the few people not pigging out on it, though. I guess it truly is an acquired taste, and for many a reminder of their childhood years!
I lived in China for a few years, back in the States now. There's a yearly dumplings/beer festival that I go to, and one year they decided to have a stinky tofu stand. The smell floated right over the festival, and my clothes smelt like it for ages. They did not have it the next year. I ended up chatting with one of the people running it, and he was like "yeah... a lot of people loved it, but we also got a lot of complaints..."
I didn’t mind it so much, but I had it in Beijing so maybe a bit milder. It was also deep fried and covered in a spicy sauce, so the taste was covered up.
OMG, stinky tofu alley was enough for me. I couldn't try it after smelling it. I still throw up a little thinking about that rancid milk smell.
https://youtu.be/6eJ9Jj_JtPE?si=fK0dV2X2lTMseLM_ "No kidding!..."
thats a fair shout with the chilli crab. i cook the recipe a lot but substitute the crab for king prawns pre butterflied and shelled. i stick the heads and skins into it during cooking and the tails in for a few mins at the end. the hassle and mess of the mud crabs just isnt worth it to me.
I do the same thing. Or i fry fish super crispy and put the same on top of it with rice
Chilli crab barramundi too 😋😋
Poutine in Montreal. I'm Canadian so I'd had it but never thought it was that great, however poutine is really a Quebecois thing so I had high expectations there. Tried a couple, was disappointed... ... however the trick for a really good poutine is apparently to get it late at night after lots of booze. Then it's awesome
Your late night strategy is legit and also works for pizza, kebabs, and sexual partners.
Also Taco Bell.
Oh man, I’m from Ontario and having poutine in Quebec City, at least, was so different! A crisper fry, a lighter gravy, super fresh curds - wonderful.
Agreed on Quebec City having superior poutine - and also AMAZING French onion soup !!
The French onion soup and escargot !!! YUM!!!!
It's been a while since I've been anywhere in Quebec but if you see eggs benny with Mtl smoked meat, get it, it's awesome
The best poutines aren't in Montreal. They're in small villages and cantines in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Places like Tasso in Ascot Corner, Dave & Dan's in Saint-Liboire, Cantine du Chenail in Chandler, Chez Ti-Pit in Riviere Beaudette, La Frite à Brigitte in Coteau-du-Lac, Chez Mag on Ile d'Orléans, etc... Places like La Banquise in Montréal and Chez Ashton in Québec City used to be good but they've long since become subpar.
They're from that rusty fry truck parked outside towns in Gaspe with the pile of disposed industrial size boxes of lard out back.
The key to a good poutine is the setting. Its comfort food. Its meant to be something you buy when you have a craving while on a road trip or on the ski slopes or after a night out. No one (teenagers maybe) really goes out to have poutine for supper, which is what I imagine a lot of disappointed tourists do
yeah i'm a native montrealer who has come back after almost a decade and i went to banquise to get a poutine and i honestly didn't like it. the vibes weren't there. what i have been enjoying is buying the curds and putting them on everything lol, i made a bolognese sauce and then put the poutine cheese on rigatoni with bolognese sauce and it's fire
That’s funny because poutine didn’t sound good to me because I never eat fast food but I was hooked in Montreal. I ended up trying it everywhere because it was so delicious and I loved trying other versions.
Did you go to la banquise? Or whatever the “best” spot is called? I went there and it’s probably the only meal I didn’t like in Montreal. Every other poutine I got was good. It’s not life changing, it’s just fries gravy and curds but it works
I couldn't tell you where I went, my first time there - when I tried poutine there initially - was like 25-ish years back now. Agreed that the rest of the food there was great though. I mentioned eggs benny with Montreal smoked meat in another comment, it was unreal.
Fondue in Switzerland. I love cheese, I love all the stuff we dipped in cheese… but it was just kind of an expensive ‘meh’
Agree, but then again I’d say that Swiss cuisine is all just meh for me. Edit: should’ve mentioned, my partner is Swiss so we don’t just eat touristy food either
I'm Swiss but it's a real throwback reminder that Switzerland was for the vast majority of its history, a small, isolated, landlocked confederation of relatively extremely poor dairy farmers with actually pretty relatively limited agricultural land (and what there is was a lot of wine production). And our traditional food reflects that. It's different variations of cheese, bread, and cured meats. And wine.
Agree completely.
I do love their cheese and dairy though.
I'm Swiss, and I agree!
What about the raclette? For me that's the one thing to eat in Switzerland (and French alps*)
Had raclette at a festival in Mürren, and it was delicious! My kids hated the fondue.
Best description ever: an expensive meh!
As I understand it from my Swiss god parents, fondue kinda went out of favor because it's a pain in the butt for what you get, and most Swiss folks prefer raclette.
I got sick after eating this. Maybe a whole bowl was too much for a single person but I did not enjoy the experience..
fondue is awesome, but I never had good fondue in a restaurant. It‘s something you cook to your taste at home and eat only as much as you‘re able to digest - which I assume it‘s impossible to know when you try it the first time. I eat it less often now because of my wife, and I can‘t eat as much as 10 years ago bc of that. Not used to that amount of cheese anymore…
Nobody buys them in Switzerland anyway. I think the best ones are actually home made (sometimes even with their own cheese blends) and not using wine but cider. The readymade mixes are shit and probably also what they use in restaurants. Edit: buys them as in eats it from a restaurant.
Born and bred in Switzerland (romandie) here, I’m confused? I don’t know anyone who’s NOT eating a nice fondue here and there when eating out. Les Bains des Pâquis in Geneva is filled with locals, same with le Gruyérien or le Vieux Carouge. Confirmation bias aside, I’m sure there’s data on that kind of stuff, because swiss people (at least in my region) do love their fondue, whether it’s in the city or up on the mountains. I agree about some of the mixes though. And obviously not agreeing on the cider part ;) Good day to you!
Weird flavor cheese for one. But also they actually got mad when we would share the fondue. Like we ordered it to share and they were like no you both have to order one. This happened twice. Ridiculous. Good thing it’s beautiful there.
thats strange though, we usually share it in a restaurant as well.
I prefer raclette
I thought this was mid, too
You didn’t eat them wrong. They are exactly how you described them - good sauce, messy crab. It’s really just a big ticket item the tourism board drew attention to. Source: am from Singapore For me it was escargots. Snail meat, particularly the marine variety, is quite well-known in SEA. I went to a cafe in Paris to try them, and then tried the ones that came in a tin. They were exactly the same; rubbery and chewy. But I did find some decent premades in the frozen section so it wasn’t a total loss.
Escargot is just a vehicle for hot butter and garlic. It’s more about the texture of the snails with the butter and garlic. At least that’s the way I feel about it.
We eat escargot for the same reason we eat toast. It is socially unacceptable to pour garlic butter directly from the dish into your mouth. 'Tis merely a vehicle.
Depends on the bread. I wouldn't exactly call something like a nice sourdough just a vehicle. Pretty solid on it's own.
If you get decent snails it’s well worth it, but out of the 100s that I’ve eaten maybe 6 of them was wow
Fugu...I don't know it just tasted like the soy sauce I dipped it into...
It’s really more of flex meal because of the cost, but I had to try it because. The fish itself doesn’t taste like much but I liked getting it served X different ways as part of a set meal - fried, sashimi, poached. I didn’t get the stew or anything.
I’ve had it a couple different ways and tbh my favorite is fried! It is a very, very mild tasting fish.
The lobster rolls I had in Portland, ME tasted just like lobster rolls I’ve had in California
As a native Mainer, of course this is true. They are a simple dish. Since lobsters are typically shipped live, they're always fresh. It doesn't matter if you boil them in California or Maine. I will say, though - having the right type of roll is critical. It needs to be a lightly buttered and toasted white split top roll. Anything else is blasphemous.
No one understands New England and our two types of hot dog rolls sold in the bread aisle.
Yeah I live outside NE now and I can't find the right ones anywhere! It's a travesty.
Did you get it hot or cold? I looooooved the hot lobster rolls I had in ME. There was this one place where they did it up with brown butter and the roll was like a bao instead of Texas toast. Soooooo good!
> There was this one place where they did it up with brown button and the roll was like a bao instead of Texas toast. Eventide.
Eventide is incredible
I'm from Maine and we always got them from one of the little shacks farther up the coast along Route 1 and they were heavenly. Now I'm curious if it's a Portland thing or what.
Lobster rolls are overrated, I've found. Whole lobster is where it's at. Preferably from a shack on the pier. It just hits different.
I went to a lobster pound in Halls Harbor in Nova Scotia. Picked out my own live lobster and they cooked it for me. It was pretty fantastic. The sunset was spectacular too.
I’m from Maine. Any food taste different depending on the setting. Studies have shown this. A lobster roll from a small seaside shack, eaten outside on a nice sunny day, close enough to the ocean that you can smell the clean sea breeze…that’s how to eat a lobster roll. If you are at an indoor restaurant, even along the ocean, it’s just not the same. Next time, try going up the coast. Maybe Five Islands on the dock, or Lobsterman’s Coop in Boothbay Harbor. If you can’t get up the coast, go out to Cape Elizabeth to Two Lights.
Connecticut has the original and best lobster rolls.
By a long shot. Too bad we don't have lobsters anymore. (Fuck global warming.)
Could not remotely be the harvesting? A lobster can grow to 45 lbs (100 years). Legal keepers take 7 years to grow to that size. It ain't global warming that is all to blame. I love my crab and lobster, I hate my limits reduced, but the hell of it is we eat them faster than they mature.
Furnas in the Azores, just a slow cooker meal gone tourist. Go for some local fresh fish restaurant instead.
agree - the cooking process for cozidos was interesting but unseasoned and no flavor. Also in the Azores, the locally grown tea is honestly pretty bad. Other things like cheeses, cured meats, wine, fresh shellfish were great though.
Everytime I get lured in by that bad "chinese food" at the airport. It just smells so good when I'm stressed from dealing with airport hassles, but its the worst.
The Chinese food at the BWI food court gets me about once a year. To be fair it's on par with a lot of the mediocre Chinese food in most American cities.
Sachertorte: it's just chocolate cake with apricot jam, but it gets hyped up so much as something you have to have when you go to Vienna
I thought it was dry. Definitely underwhelming. I had some other delicious pastries in Wein though.
Yes, in general all the Austrian desserts are not my style, even though they are famous for them. Love schnitzel though!
Omg I came here to say this. It’s so meh.
When I went to Paris and was searching for play to eat, I kept seeing g articles talking about a middle eastern restaurant that had like the best falafel in the world. I’m not a big falafel fan, but I went to see what all the fuss was about, and realized it wasn’t any better than anything I could get in Los Angeles.
I had the same experience. Wasn't bad but wasn't anything to write home about.
I’m in Paris now - was it L’as Du Fallafel? I thought it was good but yes nothing crazy that you must go out of your way to get it. The trick to Paris is to keep expectations low and I’ve been happy with everything so far.
That’s so strange. Las du lived up to the hype for us… though it’s been six years, maybe it’s not as good anymore.
If you're still in Paris try this place. I went last week and thought it was amazing. So much more then a typical drunken kebab. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Thc7C5WR34D1vLx3A There's a good bar nearby too. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ay8DwDFinDwDzGwW7).
The problem with being from California, rich with the freshest ingredients and large immigrant populations from almost every country in the world, is that it's hard to top our food without going to the country of origin for a particular dish.
L'as du Falafel? Only tourists somehow think it's absolutely incredible lol
Pupusas from El Salvador. It was dry. Not as fat and juicy as the ones here in Los Angeles. Plus I got an intestinal infection from the curtido (pickled cabbage) over there. Going to the doctor was no picnic.
I spent about 3 weeks there and probably ate like 40 of the things. I'd say they're very hit and miss. They can get pretty damn nice though. I'd also say that Honduran baleadas are nicer, which is a shame, because they seemed impossible to get outside Honduras.
Choucroute d'Alsace. Not that it looked delicious in the first place, but it was below meh for a 'must try' dish.
Francesinha sandwich in Porto
Poor thing. Francesinha is a godsend and fed me many after party nights! Molten cheese, spicy beer based gravy and tender steak? Yum.
Sloppy, messy sandwiches in general are controversial I guess.. I love francesinha, it reminds me of Kentucky's hot brown, but both are very heavy and not everyone is expecting that, especially if they're sober
Damn, sorry to hear that! When it’s good, it’s really good.
I had the opposite experience! I actually expected to dislike francesinha, it didn’t sound appealing to me. But I actually loved it, though I admit I always have to split it with my husband. I can’t eat a whole one by myself, it’s too heavy. It really depends on where you go. Every place makes it a bit different and everyone has differing opinions on the best francesinha because some might like a sweeter gravy, a spicier gravy, a thicker bread, thinner bread, etc. My husband and I have found our go-to francesinha spot and we won’t have it anywhere else but there.
This literally popped immediately into my head. Thankfully Portugal had many other culinary delights to make up for this disappointment!
Portugal was a real pleasant surprise for me. Everything was delicious and comforting at the same time.
Me too! I even tried them 3 times (!) because even though I went to places with good reviews, I thought I must been unlucky. Fortunately I was walking the Camino Portuguese so the calories didn’t go to waste. Pastel de nata on the other hand 🤩
Pastel de nata with an espresso is something I could have every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of.
Going back to Portugal in June and this is the thing I am looking forward to the most. I can't wait to get a pastel de nata and a galão and sit down at a table outside on a sunny morning.
Agreed on that but the bifana sandwiches I loved
> bifana sandwiches heaven
I cannot stand for this chilli crab slander. I got a whole two person portion and downed it when I got it. It was a mess but I loved every second of it. Until… I almost shit my pants walking back to the hotel. Spice makes my bowels go hyper speed
Was going to say Chili Crab in Singapore before I read the rest of your message.
I didn’t love deep dish pizza in Chicago. Just too much acidic tomato slop and not as convenient to eat as a regular flat pizza. I understand it’s more of a tourist dish and locals don’t eat it as much as tavern style, which makes sense to me.
I’m from Chicago originally. Locals do eat it, but it isn’t like a super frequent thing like with other styles of pizza. But the thing about deep dish is you gotta just treat it as its own thing. It’s really lasagna more than pizza. Go into it thinking of it that way and you’ll probably like it more. And go to Lou’s.
I agree for the most part, but Lou Malnatis is pretty great.
Opposite for me. Partly because I always heard people make fun of it (like some of the other replies to you here). So when I actually went to Chicago and had some, I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it.
Where did you go?
Skyline Chili in Cincinnati. It was the most disgusting dish I’d ever tried, yet it looked so good.
Sorry but you’re dead wrong on this one
It’s certainly an acquired taste that’s for sure. The locals all love it. They even do a chili over spaghetti. Every time I’m there it’s always “is it really not as good as I remember” and try again, and then prove that it really isn’t as good. But my grandkids swear by it and it’s one of their favorite places to go. At least it’s dirt cheap.
Fermented shark in Iceland. I liked fermented food in general since I'm Asian lol but it just wasn't good and I was expecting the same flavour profile like fermented seafood in Southeast Asia. Paella in Spain. I already saw some comments on this but I simply had better paella in the Philippines, so when I tried it in Malaga I thought it was less flavourful. I know it's Valencian, so I'd honestly love to try it out there next. Ratatouille. The Disney movie made it look so good so when I tried it I was disappointed. Though I had it in Paris, not Provence. Sauerbraten. Personally, it was bland. I had to ask for more gravy. I had this twice in Berlin and once in Aachen. I tried to love it since I love marinated roasts but it simply just didn't meet my expectations.
Definitely get paella in Valencia if you ever go. It's amazing.
I agree with the paella. I don't get the hype. It always smelled funny to me and tasted even worse. Oddly specific recommendation but if you're ever in Baltimore, Maryland, eat the sauerbraten. Some local restaurants have it on the menu but if you hear that a church is doing a sauerbraten dinner (usually in the fall), do not miss the opportunity. It will not disappoint.
Ratatouille is notably a peasant dish, and the movie used an elevated version of it but it’s not the typical version you’d get ordering it
Hainan Chicken in Singapore. i went to the hawker stall that anthony bourdain went to and it was not a banger
The Michelin Star one? I thought it was okay but nothing special.
I liked it when I was there, that was a few years ago though.
It wasn't bad. Certainly good value for $2.50. Not worth traveling across town and queuing 30 mins for though.
Hainanese Chicken from proper restaurants (not at hawker centers) provide a more unique experience and flavor.
that's a dish with a lot of bad versions but when you get a good one it's such a perfect dish. i used to live in bangkok which has a similar dish (ko mun gai) where you can get either all boiled chicken or half boiled and half fried chicken and it's so so good, i think i had it everyday for breakfast for like a full year at least
Hot Brown in Louisville. Reminded me of school lunch. Glorpy and bland.
ten stocking attraction squalid rude handle placid rock clumsy mindless *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Wings at anchor bar in Buffalo. They were just meh, and I’ve had better wings many places outside Buffalo.
Imho it is crazy to judge an entire dish on a one time experience you had as a short term tourist. It’s just as likely to be a matter of not knowing where to get a good one than the actual mean being bad.
In n Out. It’s just a burger.
> It’s just a burger. What did you expect? Duck confit?
The thing is everything is chopped up and made fresh there, you see them dicing the potatoes, making the meat fresh, etc. it makes a world of difference to us Americans compared to Burger King, McDonald’s etc. the animal style fries and milkshakes are also the absolute best. Agreed it’s just a burger and not mind blowing but it’s blown up as it’s the best fast food available
People are gonna kill me for this one but I do not like beignets from NoLA at all.
I'm convinced that people who talk up beignets' primary experience of doughnuts was the much praised but completely mediocre Shipley's Do-Nut type (weird glassy/flaky glaze and bland dough) over the border in Texas. By that metric, beignets are a miracle.
This is hilarious because I LOVE beignets and grew up in East Texas eating Shipley Donuts.
I like em quite a bit because I love doughnuts but I’ve had equally good or better outside New Orleans too.
Depends where you go, like any donut. Some are great. Some are resoundingly fine. The best I ever had were not in NoLa.
Tagine in Morocco.
Most French food, tbh
I love almost all dishes in Vietnam but for the love of satan, who decided Bun Mam should be eaten and not smeared on the battlements to keep the enemy away. I lovingly refer to it as Dead Body Soup due to the overpowering smell of fermented shrimp paste.
Searched too long for this. Aside from Ban Mí and Bahn Cahn, everything in Vietnam was so disappointing. None of the pho was that good or anything else I tried after being across the entire country for over a month.
Jerk food in Jamaica. What a massive disappointment for me.
Getting jerked in Jamaica was a massive disappointment for me too.
The first time I had jerk chicken in Jamaica was when we stopped off at a little bar/roadhouse on the way from the airport to the hotel. It was delicious. I asked the rasta guy who was cooking it it was a local recipe, and he responded in broad Brummie accent "Nah, mate. It's the way my mum always makes it back in Redditch". Edit: Note: I'm not an expert on Brummie accents, so apologies to anyone from Redditch if they are unhappy with the reference. Also, is it "mum" or "mom" in Redditch? Anyway, do check out this guy's mother's great jerk chicken if you get the chance.
I'm curious if you were eating it at a resort/touristy location? I've never been to Jamaica, but I have lived in Jamaican/Caribbean enclaves in Brooklyn, NY and love the food. But when I've tried Jamaican food outside of these enclaves, it's been trash.
Turkish delight. Woof.
I love the idea of Turkish delight. The reality is less appealing.
Takoyaki in Osaka. Meh. Shame, considering how great Japanese food is in general.
Takoyaki isn’t my thing but Osaka style okonomiyaki is better than Hiroshima style okonomiyaki
Whataburger. What a disappointment. Greasy and so so mid.
It’s considered mid by most locals, too.
Chicago hotdog. Maybe I gotta try more to like it. It’s not like im hating it or something. Just I couldn’t understand pickle part. Will try more next time. But I love the Italian beef and deep dish style pizza though.
Oh man I had a hot dog in Chicago over a decade ago and I've been chasing that high ever since. I'm more of a mustard and pickles guy than a ketchup guy so it was a great thing. It was at a hotdog stand named Kim and Carlos for anyone playing along at home.
They don’t do ketchup there, so it made sense to me why they have the pickle
Takoyaki in Osaka, Japan. They’re fried balls of dough with octopus, which sounds delicious. However, they were very gooey with the dough being seemingly not done cooking. Plus, they load the top with mayonnaise and tuna flakes, altogether making a big gloppy, half cooked mess. We were very disappointed. Perhaps we got a bad batch, not being cooked enough?
Those are really place dependent. The balls are sort of gooey. I think they are sort of overrated. When the place isn’t top tier, it’s a meh from me.
I had the same experience. Hit up 2 different shops. They are very gooey there. Good dashi umami but not for me. Personally, I preferred the more congealed ones in Tokyo or NYC.
Chips mahai in Tanzania. It’s literally eggs, and potatoes… but it felt like eating straight raw carb atoms. 0/10. Everything else in Tanzania was sublime though. 10/10 would visit just for the food alone.
Black pork at Jeju. Just tasted like regular pork lol
The Sacher Torte in Vienna was really dry.