Travelling Dietitian✈

FOOD TO EXPLORE ✈

In this section I will discuss purely about food as enjoyment from an hedonistic point of view. 

With specific dishes for each country/city visited personally. 

If you want to learn more on how to save money when travelling and being efficient to achieve more from your itinerary here a few courses I made that can help  you that:

Click here: Video tutorials on how to save money and secret tips when organising a trip

This page will be updated regularly so stay tuned :)      

   More details and list of all the cities at the very bottom of this page 

🇫🇷   Paris - France 

☆ Overall Vote:

8.5/10 ★

Les Antiquaires

13 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris, France

☆ Food: 10/10 ★

The food is excellent, the duck meat is their specialty, in my opinion the best duck dish I had so far, starting from the quality of the ingredients including the sides, especially the potato, the overall, also the special sauce used in this restaurant makes the food unique compared to any other place.

Another good recommendation from this restaurant are the escargot. 

☆ Vibe: 7/10 ★

The location is in central Paris, easy to reach, the atmosphere is nice and relaxed and not luxurious, it's not too big so it gets crowded quite easily and is recommended to book a table ahead especially for dinners and weekends.

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  Make sure to try the wine variety and don't be afraid to ask suggestion for the best one fitting the dish you are planning to order, the waiters do speak English. 

⍟   Since it's near the Louvre, it's the perfect spot to go after visiting the museum for an efficient itinerary 

🇧🇬  Sofia - Bulgaria 

☆ Overall Vote:

7.5/10 ★

Location: Happy Bar & Grill 

ulitsa „Georgi S. Rakovski“ 145А, 1000 Sofia Center, Sofia, Bulgaria

☆ Food: 7/10 ★

Obviously there are many more places in the city with more traditional dishes but the impression from the menu which gives a lot of choices it's one of the reason to visit this place, overall the quality is good especially for the meat and potatoes based dishes as you can see in the pictures.

Not to mention a huge variety with the desserts as well so it's a recommended place for some comfort food as well.

☆ Vibe: 8/10 ★

The service is good and quick and they speak English as well which is a plus in an east European country, the atmosphere is cosy and at the same time is spacious with many seats available which means that usually you don't have to wait much to be seated.

They also have bells on the table since it's a big restaurant and may not be that easy to be able to call the waiter.

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  The restaurant is located in the city centre not far from the Square of tolerance where different religious buildings are all near each other’s harmoniously and definitely deserves a visit just for the architecture

🇦🇪  Dubai - UAE 

☆ Overall Vote:

6 /10 ★

Location: The Majlis Café

X553+X46 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates (located in the Dubai expo) 

☆ Food: 5/10 ★

This cafe is unique because it serves camel meat and milk based products.

I have decided to try the hot dog and the chocolate milkshake, the first one to be honest was nothing special, the meat had a more delicate and saltier taste than a regular hot dog, but the milkshake instead was worth it, thanks to the camel milk used as a ingredient, it made the drink more smooth and tasty and because this type of milk is saltier than the cow's one it enhanced the taste of the chocolate as well.

The menu has also a camel meat burger other hot drinks with camel milk, a big plus is the sweets/souvenir you can find inside the shop, for example dates covered in camel milk chocolate!

☆ Vibe: 7/10 ★

This cafe is located in the middle of the expo which makes the atmosphere really nice and because is mostly newly built, furthermore the interior had  a nice decoration and comfy seats, the only downside is that not many seats are available because it's a small cafe. 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟ This cafe is located in the Dubai Expo, although the exposition has officially concluded in March, some pavilions and attractions are permanent so it's worth the visit not only for the food.

⍟  The new metro red line makes it super easy to reach this location since is not in the city centre or coast side.

🇰🇿 Almaty - Kazakhstan 

☆ Overall Vote:

7.5 /10 ★

Location: Tyubeteyka Тюбетейка

                                    Abylai Khan Ave 125, Almaty 050000, Kazakhstan

☆ Food: 8/10 ★

This location makes traditional Kazakh food, therefore the best option is the:

Beshbarmak, which is boiled dough and horse meat, usually with onion.

You can really taste how the ingredients are fresh and if you have never tried horse meat but willing to give a chance this could be one of the best location to do so, the taste is delicate since is made with few ingredients but that's a good way to taste better the horse meat and the dough.

☆ Vibe: 7/10 ★

Located near the city centre is easy to reach, the vibe is very traditional with the decorations and is quite a large space so easy to find a quite spot and at the same time if you prefer the opposite there is live music as well and you can get a table closer to the stage

The staff is friendly and the service was good.

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟ In case you become a fan of horse meat you might give a chance to: Kumys which is a dairy product, to be more precise is fermented horse milk with a low amount of alcohol caused by the fermentation (around 2%) in Kazakhstan is very easy to find this product even at the groceries 

 🇺🇿 Tashkent - Uzbekistan 

☆ Overall Vote: 8 /10 ★

Location: PLOV Lounge & Banquet Hall

25 Abdulla Kadiry Street, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

☆ Food: 9.5 /10 ★

The food was excellent, the Plov which is the traditional dish made with rice, quail eggs and a slice of horse meat (you can see that in the bottom left corner), has a unique flavour, thanks to the mix of Uzbek spices as well and the fresh ingredients, personally my favourite dish in this country.

Furthermore the menu in this location offers a variety of traditional dishes, I would recommend the bone marrow which is served with bread and the waiter comes to your table to assemble the dish in front of you  

☆ Vibe: 6.5 /10 ★

Located in the city centre between the Monument of Courage and the metro station: Abdulla Kodiry is very easy to reach, the interior are elegant and the waiters are very attentive and helpful.

The only thing to note as a non-smoker is the smell of cigarettes coming from the other sections of the restaurant where is allowed to smoke  

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  The metro is quick, efficient and cheap so recommend to reach this location easily and most of the stations near the city centre are very pretty so is worth to visit them as well

⍟  This place is located to some of the best attraction of the city, one I would recommend is the Amir Temur Square which is lovely especially when snowing and in the same location you can find the museum dedicated to him, to understand better the achievements and the history behind  

 🇭🇺 Budapest - Hungary 

     

☆ Overall Vote:

8.5/10 ★

Location:  Il terzo cerchio

Budapest, Dohány u. 40, 1074 Hungary

☆ Food: 9/10 ★

The food is excellent and the variety is vast, I am not talking just about the pizza but also the different fish and meat products or pasta as shown in the picture, I would recommend the tagliatelle with Angus beef strips in parmesan sauce 

☆ Vibe: 8/10 ★

The staff is very friendly, professional and speak some Italian as well if you need since English is not very common among the locals.

The location is near the city centre close to the main attractions, 7 min by walk to the Dohany street  Synagogue in the city which is another attraction in Budapest 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟   Just in front of this restaurant there is another main spot to mention this time for breakfast called: "London coffee society" and it is one of the best place in town to start the day in the right way thanks to the quality of the coffee and fresh bakery products you can find in there 

⍟  The parks in the city are well maintained and usually have a thermal bath spa were you can enjoy at a low cost compared to any other city spa/bath, I would recommend the Gellert Thermal Bath because they offer different temperatures from 28 to 40 C and the decorations inside are some of the pretties in the city 

🇶🇦 Doha - Qatar

☆ Overall Vote:

8/10 ★

Location: Al Aker Sweets حلويات العكر 7  GPM+P5C, Doha, Qatar 

☆ Food: 6.5/10 ★

Recommended to try the Kunafa here as one of the best in town by locals 

The quality of the food overall is good with a great range of variety in the menu and if you are not into sweets there are plenty of good restaurants nearby, the main focus is the vibe you can in this location as I will explain now

☆ Vibe: 9.5/10 ★

The number is high because you can get the best traditional view admiring the classic buildings and causally seeing citizens riding horses in front of you and at the same time you can enjoy your meal without being in a super crowded place like near the coast 

I was not expecting anything when I first took my food and decided to seat outside but the peace of the view was slowly growing in me and making the experience more enjoyable and when I have seen these two men riding horses that was the cherry on top since was unexpected 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  Streets are almost empty during the day as the hot weather and sun could be extreme for some people but it was interesting to experience both atmosphere of visitng the city at night when is vibran and full of people and during day time when it feels like a "ghost town" especially when you want to take many pictures withouth any obstacle or someone ending in your pic

⍟ Near this place you can find the "Camel Pen"  with hundreds of camel in this area 24h 

 🇺🇦Kyiv- Ukraine  

☆ Overall Vote: 8/10 ★     

Location: Larks&owls, 18/1, вулиця Прорізна, Київ, 01001 

18/1, Prorizna St, Kyiv, Ukraine, 01001 

☆ Food: 9/10 ★

Coffee and pastry with democratic prices as mentioned in the shop, there is a really good variety of choices and the ingredients are fresh, perfect place if you are lookinf for something healthy and nutricious, regardinge the drinks I would recommed the blue matcha latte  (in the picture) which was full in flavours 

☆ Vibe: 7/10 ★

Located near the city centre, is a small and cozy place, but there is an upper floor if you are not in a rush and have time to relax, the staff was very nice and attentive, ready to suggest good combinations based on what you order 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  The coffee culture in Kyiv is strong, there is a cafe in literally every corner and all this competition clearly helped to raise the standards, the variety of coffees and teas you can find in this place is amazing

⍟  This coffee shop is near the Golden gate where you can take your coffee, seat and relax, also if you are lucky you can find talented musicians playing in this park 

⍟ I recommend to take the metro to reach this location, not only because is super cheap and you can avoid the traffic and delays of ordering an uber, but also becuase is literally the deepest metro in the world (Arsenalna station is the deepest) sounds scary but is not, and is defitenily an experience to try 

🇰🇬 Bishkek- Kyrgyzstan 

 

☆ Overall Vote: 9.5/10 ★     

   Location: Находимся Эркиндик бульвар 36 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

☆ Food: 10/10 ★

I can say I am agree with all the positive reviews you can read about this place, probably one of the best fried chicken place in the city and one of the best I had, the reason is that even if it's a fried product is not greasy and doesn't feel oily and this result without compromising with the unique taste of it, on top of that there are many other Korean dishes to try, I would recommed the Kimpab 

☆ Vibe: 9/10 ★

Modern atmosphere in the city centre and you can catch some live music as well if you are lucky.

They have the menu in English as well which is a bonus!

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟   In the menu you can also find Plov which is a traditional rice dish in these region 

⍟  Due to the inflation, 1 British Pound equals to 115 Kyrgystani Som and prices are quite cheap for most of the things in this country, including this restaurant, but the quality is definitely excellent 

⍟ The restaurant is located near Ala Too Square, which is the main one near to other attractions mostly from the soviet era 

🇹🇷 Istanbul- Turkey:

☆ Overall Vote:

9/10 ★                   

   Location:  Çeşme Bazlama Kahvaltı Nişantaşı 1

☆ Food: 9/10 ★

You might have heard quite often or even too much how breakfast is important and this loecation is one of the best spot to enjoy this meal to start the day

The variety in the menu is rich and at the same time the ingredients are fresh from "garden to table" as they mention in this restaurant 

To mention some of the main things to try:

- 36 kinds of homemade jam

- Menemen: tomatoes and peppers with butter and eggs, simple but a delicacy to try for sure

- Sucuk: Turkish style fermented suasage that goes very well with their fried bread 

☆ Vibe: 9/10 ★

Recommended to sit on the upper floor where you can find a good view, relaxing atmosphere and flower decotations,  you can read in the reviews how often is quoted as the best breakfast and bruch spot in Istanbul and I can only agree with that.

The staff was lovely and wellcoming as well

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟   Istanbul is the only pan-continental city in the world since is situated in 2 continents both Europe and Asia and in this case this restaurant is located in the European side 

⍟  Although is not the capital city of Turkey, Istanbul is the most populated one with over 13 million people, as this location is very popular there might be some waiting time for any walk-in costumer, especially during weekend, but worth the wait! 

🇮🇹 Florence - Italy:

☆ Overall Vote:

8/10 ★

Location:

Via Nazionale

114/R, 50123 Firenze FI, 

Italy

☆ Food: 9/10 ★

Even the most simple dishes are worth a try due to the quality of the ingredients, for example the varieties of ham and cheese just to mention a few and if you choose these, then something unique to combine with are the "coccoline" a fried pizza dough which goes very well with 

Regarding the drinks, there are many craft beers to choose from, one of the most famous called: Martellina 

☆ Vibe: 7/10 ★

Not exactly in the centre of the city but easy to find and near to the main station

This is a classic pub with a cosy atmosphere and you can always hear playing rock music in the background; Outdoor sitting is nice and recommended during summer 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  Funny fact about "coccole" which means literraly: cuddles in Italian, quite a good way to describe a dish and "coccoline" just means small/little cuddles, which is the word you will find in the menu of this pub

🇱🇻 Riga - Latvia:

☆ Overall Vote:

7/10 ★

Location:                               

Riga - Latvia 

Address:

Big Bad Bagels

Baznīcas iela 8, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1010

                                     

☆ Food: 8/10 ★

Rated as one of the best food spot near the city centre, the bagels are very fresh and there are many ingredients to personalise it plus all the choices in the menu obviously, same applies to vegan and vegetarian alternatives

One of the most popular bagel is the: "Salmon in New York" with cream cheese, red onion, capers and spinach 

The one in the picture instead is the: BLT, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mustard, red onion and cheese 

They offer a large variety of smoothies as well in case you fancy something different from a coffee 

☆ Vibe: 6/10 ★

The staff is really polite and able to help in English too

Small but cosy location with few tables very close to all the main attractions in the city 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟ Not too far from the bagels country of origin: Poland, mostly from the Jewish communities in the country

⍟ Funny fact there is a way of saying when someone slept a lot, which is: " I slept a bagel last night" in Yeshivish term, referring to the fact that bagels needs at least 12 hours of "rest" before baking

⍟ Latvia is located in the north-east of Europe and sharing the boarders with Russia, but is part of the UE and using Euro as currency, I have noticed more similarities to Central Europe than Eastern countries, at least in the capital city

🇬🇪 Tblisi - Georgia :

☆ Overall Vote:

9/10 ★

Location:

Restaurant Meama

address:

8 ძმები ზდანევიჩების ქუჩა, 

თბილისი

☆ Food: 8/10 ★

There are a lot choices in the menu, mostly classic Georgian dishes, so a good idea to try the local cuisine! 

Now considering that Georgia is the wine's birthplace (over 8000 years ago) one dish in particular caught my attention:

Pork with white wine sauce (as shown in the picture) 

The list of wine available in this location it's impressive, so finding the perfect wine to match with this dish was not difficult, the sauce enhance the taste of the meat and is not pungent at all, again to underline the right wine that has been chosen to appreciate more the overall taste

 

If you prefer something different, the fish based dishes are also recommended in this restaurant 

☆ Vibe: 10/10 ★

The location is not that easy to reach, is up on the hills, but the bright side is that the view from the restaurant it's really amazing and you can see the whole city while having your meal, the lights of the city create a better atmosphere so evening meals can make you appreciate more the view 

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  As mentioned previously, 

Georgia is proud to be the birthplace of wine, 

and surprisingly at the border control 

after checking your passport, they give you

 a small bottle of wine as a welcome, 

and honestly receiving a gift during the

 passport check is unexpected and 

therefore more than appreciated:

🇲🇦 Marrakech - Morocco :

☆ Overall Vote:

8/10 ★

Location:

Restaurant 

Chez Chegruoni

Medina Marrakech

Morocco 

North Africa 

☆ Food: 7/10 ★

Tajine is definitely one of the most famous dish in the Moroccan cuisine, as the name comes from the pot where this speciality is served, quite spectacular to watch when you get this served on your table and the sound of the ingredient still boiling/cooking it's something unique.

I chose the one with mince which is slow cooked and a great match with the spices

☆ Vibe: 9/10 ★

There are different restaurants in the city centre that are offering a view over the city, since the streets are always busy and crowded, a terrace is the perfect way to enjoy the meal in peace and have a nice view

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  Some restaurants have a really small and narrow entrance which is actually bringing to the terrace upstairs where they keep all the tables and usually the kitchen is in the middle floor so never judge from the "cover"

⍟  As you can imagine the taste of this dish changes around different region or North Africa depending on the regional herbs and spices used 

⍟  Recommend to have some Moroccan tea not only to enjoy the special way they serve that (trying to pour that from the highest point they can) but also because is very light in taste and a good match almost with anything you decide to eat this with 

🇮🇹 Burano (Venice) - Italy:

 

☆ Overall Vote:

9/10 ★

Location:

Restaurant Fritto Misto

Burano 

(one hour from Venice city Centre)

North Italy

☆ Food: 9/10 ★

It's interesting that even the "plate is edible" made by wheat, which is very light in taste but the oil coming from the fritto misto (literally means mixed fried and in this case we are talking about seafood and potatoes) it's giving the specific taste to the plate as well, the result is that the taste is never boring but could be a little bit heavy, I managed to finish all the seafood which was fresh and not too oily, but only had just a quarter of the plate 

☆ Vibe: 9/10 ★

The location is just in front of the station and since we are talking about Venice, is the boat station, so as you can imagine the view is on the lagoon, which is always lovely.

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  Murano and Burano are just an hour by boat (public transport) from Venice but they offer some unique view like the colourful houses or the incredible glass-making shops all around these small islands 

⍟ An interesting memory was this kind old lady making some elaborated glass creation in her shop just at the cashier, you can notice all the small details on these elaborated creations which is the reason why the glass made in here is famous around the world 

🇬🇧  London - UK:

☆Overall Vote:  

7.5/10 ★

Location:

Bao Fitzrovia 

W1T 2JN

London, UK

☆ Food: 9 /10 ★

Inspired by the street food markets in Taiwan 

It offers a lot of choices in the menu included different Baos:

Like the classic one in the picture with Pork and Peanuts or the fried chicken or Lamb shoulder alternatives, plus the interesting crumbled Daikon one 

☆ Vibe: 6/10 ★

The location is nothing special, to not end up in the downstairs floor is preferable to book a table ahead

But keep in mind but the food is what really matters so totally recommend a visit here!

✪ Interesting facts:

⍟  They have different locations around London and opening a new one this year

 

⍟  It's interesting in the official website how they describe places and dishes from their hometown in Taiwan that inspired the menu here in London 

you can have a look here if curious BAO London

149 Cities visited : 

29 in Italy 🇮🇹: 

Rome, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Latina, Viterbo, L'Aquila, Livorno, Palermo, Messina, Ragusa, Modica, Giarratana, Siracusa, Milan, Turin, Trieste, Genoa, Verona, Vicenza, Como, Venice, Treviso, Padova, Ferrara, Parma, Bologna, Modena, Perugia

27 in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿:

London, Leeds, Reading, Coventry, Birmingham, Northampton, York, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Manchester, Dover, Folkestone, Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Canterbury, Brighton, Luton, Ashford, Guildford, Walmer, Sturry, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Dartford 

13 in Germany 🇩🇪: 

München, Berlin, Hamburg, Köln, Bremen, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Mainz, Hanover, Stuttgart, Strasbourg 

6 in Bangladesh 🇧🇩:

Dhaka, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Balapara Cox's Bazar, Rajshahi 

4 in Norway 🇳🇴: 

Oslo, Tønsberg, Sandefjord, Larvik

4 in Kazakhstan 🇰🇿:

Almaty, Astana, Saty/Kolsay, Tamerlik 

4 in Georgia 🇬🇪:

Tblisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Kumistavi

3 in Australia🇦🇺:

Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra

3 in France 🇫🇷: 

Paris, Lille, Nice 

3 in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿: 

Cardiff, Bangor, Llanberis

 

3 in India 🇮🇳:

Delhi, Agra, Kolkata

3 in Spain 🇪🇸: 

Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia 

3 in Bulgaria 🇧🇬: 

Sofia, Plovdiv, Rila

 

3 in United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪: 

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah  

2 in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿: 

Edinburg, Glasgow 

2 in Belgium 🇧🇪: 

Brussels, Liege

2 in Sweden 🇸🇪:

 Stockholm, Göteborg

2 in Morocco 🇲🇦: 

Marrakech, Agadir 

2 in Austria 🇦🇹: 

Vienna, Salzburg 

2 in Taiwan 🇹🇼: 

Taipei, Jioufen 

2 in Turkey 🇹🇷: 

Istanbul, Ankara

2 in the Netherlands 🇳🇱: 

Amsterdam, Eindhoven

2 in Switzerland🇨🇭: 

Zurich, Basel

1 in Vatican city🇻🇦

1 in China 🇨🇳: Shangai

1 in Czechia 🇨🇿: Prague 

1 in Finland 🇫🇮: Helsinki 

1 in Greece 🇬🇷: Athens 

1 in Hong Kong 🇭🇰

1 in Kuwait 🇰🇼: Kuwait city 

1 in Qatar 🇶🇦: Doha 

1 in Ireland 🇮🇪: Dublin 

1 in Luxemburg 🇱🇺: Luxemburg city 

1 in Indonesia 🇮🇩: Jakarta

1 in Thailand 🇹🇭: Bangkok

1 in Slovakia 🇸🇰: Bratislava

1 in Latvia 🇱🇻: Riga

1 in Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: Baku 

1 in Bahrain 🇧🇭: Manama

1 in Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬: Bishkek

1 in Ukraine 🇺🇦: Kyiv 

1 in Croatia 🇭🇷: Zagreb

1 in Hungary 🇭🇺: Budapest

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