A hunger for travel: top 20 foodie experiences

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A hunger for travel: top 20 foodie experiences

Food on the move: tapas time at one of San Sebastian's many pinxtos bars.

Food on the move: tapas time at one of San Sebastian's many pinxtos bars.Credit: Alamy

Holidaying and eating nowadays go (knife, fork and passport) in hand, as Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack show in this ultimate global bucket list for peripatetic foodies.

Why go to Paris and order a burger? Why fill up on the hotel breakfast in Shanghai instead of launching yourself at the nearest dumpling shop? To travel is to escape the ritualised comfort of the everyday, not to take it with you. Food is the last frontier of otherwise sanitised, safety-harness, all-meals-and-gratuities-included tourism. We can't all scale mountain peaks or chart new galaxies, but we can all turn our next trip away into a big, tasty adventure three times a day.

Personally, we're a bit blase about those exotic extremes that appear on foodie bucket lists. Crocodile does indeed taste like chicken; chilli-spiked crickets taste more of chilli than of cricket, and snake bile isn't the nicest thing to drink. Even Japan's potentially lethal raw fugu isn't as delicious as a tuna belly nigiri.

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For us, the greatest food experiences of the world are a combination of eating like the locals (Hainan chicken in a Singaporean hawker stall); paying homage to great culinary traditions (tea at the Ritz); and experiencing the great gastronomic heights of our times (dinner at Copenhagen's Noma, three times awarded best restaurant in the world).

Because it isn't just what you put in your mouth, it's the whole experience. The planning, the getting there, the inevitable surprises and joys and stories that unfold.

And, in the case of snake bile, the wonderfully warm feeling that comes from the fact you won't ever have to do it again.

A taste of Nordic nature at Noma, Copenhagen.

A taste of Nordic nature at Noma, Copenhagen.

1 MEAT FRUIT AT DINNER BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL, LONDON

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The meat fruit looks remarkably like a perfect, fresh mandarin complete with leaves but is in fact a ball of rich, light chicken liver parfait encased in tangy, fragrant mandarin gel, accompanied by toasted brioche. It's the signature entree dish at Heston Blumenthal's buzzy London brasserie-style restaurant overlooking Hyde Park and it is quite, quite amazing.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London; see dinnerbyheston.com.

The meat fruit entree at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck is quite, quite amazing.

The meat fruit entree at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck is quite, quite amazing.

2 A PINXTOS CRAWL IN SAN SEBASTIAN

San Sebastian has more tapas bars per square metre than anywhere else in the world, although being Basquaise, they do pinxtos (pinchos) rather than tapas.

Basically, you can pop in anywhere and eat and drink well for very little but bucket-list must-eats include the marinated octopus at Ganbara, garlicky prawns at Goiz Argi, salt cod at Martinez, and quail egg and jamon pinchos at Bar Sport, finishing with the amazing baked cheesecake at La Vina.

Bites of bliss: three-star seafood, Jules Verne-style.

Bites of bliss: three-star seafood, Jules Verne-style.

Ganbara, San Jeronimo 21; Bar Goiz Argi, Calle Fermin Calbeton; Bar Sport, Fermin Calbeton 10, ; Martinez, Calle 31 de Agosto, 13; La Vina, 31 de Agosto, 3.

3 SHANGHAI SOUP DUMPLINGS IN SHANGHAI

To have eaten xiao long bau Shanghainese soup dumplings is to love them. And in the middle of the Yu Gardens in Shanghai is a xiao long bau experience that is as hot and steamy a blow-out as you would wish. Skip the endless queue for take-away and head up to the second floor dining room and order a pile of steamers - for just a few dollars. 16 delicate, soupy crab and pork dumplings - for just a few dollars. Who knew the human body was capable of eating so many dumplings?

Busy early-morning Sushi Zanmai at Tokyo's Tsujiki fish market.

Busy early-morning Sushi Zanmai at Tokyo's Tsujiki fish market.Credit: AFP

Nanxing Dumpling Restaurant, 85 Yuan Road, Shanghai.

4 BABY SUCKLING PIG AT BOTIN, MADRID

According to local lore (and the Guinness Book of Records), low-ceilinged, brick-lined Botin is the oldest restaurant in the world. It's wonderful in its own right but you're here for the roast suckling pig, crackling-hot from the feudal wood-fired oven on the ground floor.

Botin in Madrid, where the suckling pig is a standout.

Botin in Madrid, where the suckling pig is a standout.Credit: Corbis

17 Calle de los Cuchilleros, Madrid; see botin.es.

5 A BURGER FROM SHAKE SHACK, NEW YORK CITY

Ask a New Yorker where to get the best burger and he or she will simply say "Shake Shack", like you're meant to know already. When entrepreneurial restaurateur Danny Meyer opened the first Shake Shack in Madison Square Park in 2004, he redefined the fast food burger by simply doing it properly, using quality meat from butcher Pat La Frieda, great tomatoes, and a zingy dressing.

Afternoon tea at the Ritz's Palm Court.

Afternoon tea at the Ritz's Palm Court.

Shake Shack, Madison Square Park, Madison Avenue, New York; see shakeshack.com.

6 DINNER IN THE EIFFEL TOWER, PARIS

This must be the ultimate "Nought-y" birthday venue. Le Jules Verne is the renowned Alain Ducasse's extremely elegant Michelin-starred fine diner perched on the second floor of the world's most recognisable landmark. Chef Pascal Feraud matches the breathtaking views with luminous, lovely food; highlight being a dessert fashioned from dark chocolate, praline and hazelnut ice-cream known as L'Ecrou, in the form of one of the giant industrial iron nuts screwed onto the bolts of the Tower itself.

The famous guava snow-egg at Quay, Sydney.

The famous guava snow-egg at Quay, Sydney.Credit: Jennifer Soo

Avenue Gustave Eiffel, Paris; see lejulesverne-paris.com.

7 PASTRAMI ON RYE AT KATZ'S DELI, NEW YORK

The New York deli where Harry memorably met Sally goes through nearly 5000 kilograms of pastrami, 2500 kilograms of corned beef and 12,000 hot dogs a week. The web abounds with people who find Katz's over-rated and over-priced but the juicy pastrami, sharp pickles, even sharper waiters and nostalgia of its "send a salami to your boy in the army" heritage mean an awful lot of people still want to have what she's having.

205 E Houston Street, New York; see katzsdelicatessen.com.

8 SUSHI AT SUKIYABASHI JIRO, TOKYO

It's a modest 10-seat sushi bar in a Tokyo subway station run by an 85-year-old, yet Sukiyabashi Jiro is considered by many - including the Michelin Guide, who awarded it a three-star rating - to have the best sushi in Japan. The award-winning film Jiro Dreams of Sushi illustrates the detail and rigour owner Jiro Ono achieves in order to master his art, so if you can't get there, at least watch the film. Or head for Sushi Dai or Sushi Daiwa for a 5am seat at the Tsukiji fish market instead.

Sukiyabashi Jiro, Tsukamoto Sogyo 2-15, Ginza, 4-choe, Chuo-ku; see sushi-jiro.jp.

9 PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS AT CASA PASTEIS DE BELEM, LISBON

No bica (coffee) in Lisbon is complete without a flaky, creamy pasteis de Belem, the original Portuguese custard tart. To taste the ultimate example, take the number 15 tram to Belem, six kilometres west of the city centre to the Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, founded in 1837.

This modest-looking pastry shop sells around 10,000 lightly scorched, golden, crisp-and-creamy little works of art every day. The pastries - small, warm, sweet-smelling - will come with two little shakers. Dust first with the icing sugar, then with the cinnamon. Bite through the crisp, smoky, almost brittle toffee pastry base with its tiny kick of salt, letting your teeth sink into a custard so sweet and light you wonder it doesn't float away.

Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, Rua de Belem, 84-92, Lisbon; see pasteisdebelem.pt.

10 VIETNAMESE PHO NOODLE SOUP IN HANOI AND SAIGON, VIETNAM

It's often a revelation to taste something you grew up eating in Australia in its own natural environment. And so it is with Vietnam's famously fragrant noodle soup.

In the north, it's an almost austere bowl of deeply flavoured beef broth and fresh riceflour noodles - try it at the no-frills, communal-tabled Pho Gia Truyen in Hanoi.

In the south, it comes with handfuls of fresh herbs and citrus enlivening the sweetness of slow-cooked brisket and sliced raw beef. Line up at Pho Hung in Ho Chi Min City for the best, where it comes with huge bowls of fresh mint, Asian basil, pennywort, ricepaddy herb and sawtooth coriander, and platters of chillies and limes.

Pho Gia Truyen 49 Bat Dan St. Hanoi Pho Hung, 41-243 Nguyen Trai, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

11 AFTERNOON TEA AT THE RITZ, LONDON

Nobody puts on the ritz like The Ritz.

Deep in the belly of this iconic London grande dame lies the Palm Court, a gloriously vulgar Edwardian vision of a Roman garden, complete with gilded trellis and vaulted glass roof, golden nymph water fountain, birdcage chandeliers, massed flowers, and pale, pretty lemon-clothed tables.

Tea comes in Limoges china with a three-tiered cake stand of finger sandwiches, pastries and fruit cake that acts as starter, main course and dessert in one vertical tower. And all to the strains of the late Queen Mum's favourite piano player.

150 Piccadilly, London W1; see theritzlondon.com.

12 SNOW EGG AT QUAY, SYDNEY

Let's see, you've already been to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But have you tackled the harbour city's third icon, the famed snow egg created by Peter Gilmore of Quay and seen by more than five million viewers on 2010's MasterChef Australia?

This miraculous crystal ball of mousse-like poached meringue with a crisp maltose coating (part of the $175 a head four-course menu) comes perched on a cooling jackfruit granita on a creamy jackfruit or guava fool with a heart of custard apple ice-cream. Enough said.

Quay, Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks, Sydney; phone 02 9251 5600; see quay.com.au.

13 PIZZA AT DA MICHELE IN NAPLES

The best pizza in Naples - and therefore the world - is at Da Michele, where the Condurro family has been making and baking just two types since 1870.

There's the classic margherita topped with tomato, basil and fresh local mozzarella, or the marinara - just tomato, garlic, oil and a pinch of oregano; that's it.

The crust is smoky, tough and soft enough to be folded "a libretto" and eaten in the street, in the hand. Be prepared to take a number and wait. Sadly, they don't deliver.

Da Michele, Via Sersale 1, Naples, Italy; see damichele.net.

14 LUNCH AT SOUK EL TAYEB'S TAWLET, BEIRUT

Love Lebanese food? Then share it with others at a community-based "farmer's kitchen" in the heart of an organic fruit and vegetable market (souk) in Beirut.

An initiative of local writer and social activist Kamal Mouzawak, it's a celebration of sustainable agriculture and the food and traditions that unite communities. Each day a different cook from a different part of Lebanon does the food, with all profits going to support the farmers.

12 Rue Naher, Armenia Street, Beirut, Lebanon; see tawlet.com.

15 TACOS AL PASTOR, MEXICO CITY

Ah, the power of street food; especially Mexican street food; taken at El Huequito (literally "hole-in-the-wall"), the king of tacos al pastor since 1959.

A Mexico City specialty, this is a shawarma-like vertical spit of pork marinated with dried chilli, thinly sliced and rolled into small, soft tortillas with chopped onion and coriander. El Huequito, Ayuntamiento 21, Mexico City.

16 CRACKED CRAB AT SWAN OYSTER DEPOT, SAN FRANCISCO

Since 1945, this century-old San Francisco landmark has been run by the Sancimino family, who shuck Blue Point oysters, crack Dungeness crabs and pour tankards of Anchor Steam beer from one end of the day to the other.

There are only 18 stools at the single marble counter and the wait for one of them can be up to two hours but it's great value for what will be one of the best meals of your life.

1517 Polk Street, San Francisco.

17 NEW NORDIC CUISINE AT NOMA, DENMARK

Housed in a former whale blubber warehouse in Copenhagen and using only ingredients foraged, grown or raised in Scandinavia, Noma makes every meal an event.

You could find yourself plucking plump snails from a vase of flowers, peeling shellfish from a hot rock, raiding a bird's nest of pickled and smoked quail eggs, plucking radishes from edible soil, or sucking toffee-flavoured marrow out of a bone.

Plan it, book it and give yourself up to it, even if it means existing on a hot dog diet for the rest of your stay.

Strandgade 93 1401 København K, Denmark; see noma.dk.

18 HAINAN CHICKEN AT MAXWELL FOOD CENTRE, SINGAPORE

It's hot and steamy and you'd rather be in airconditioned comfort but forget all that and join your fellow man and woman at cheap round tables in a venerable old hawker stall market for a simple but so, so good tray of poached chicken, chicken broth and rice (best is from the Tian Tian food stall at numbers 10 and 11).

Add a cold beer or sugar cane juice and get stuck in.

Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Tanjong Pagar (Chinatown).

19 TEXAN BARBECUE IN TEXAS

Aaron Franklin started selling his all-natural, hormone-free, 18-hour smoked brisket from a trailer off Interstate 35, a mere four years ago.

In 2011, Bon Appetit magazine named Franklin's not just the best barbecue in Texas but the best in the whole darn tootin' country.

The queue goes around the block, ending only when the sold-out sign goes up, often before 1pm.

900 E. 11th Street; see franklinbbq.com.

20 PEKING DUCK IN PEKING (BEIJING)

There are restaurants elsewhere who do more elegant peking duck services than the Quanjude in Beijing (where founder Yang Quanren invented the hanging duck oven), but there's nothing quite like crowding into the vast, seven-storeyed, 249 year-old flagship restaurant along with 2000 other diners to experience the real thing.

Quanjude Qianmen Restaurant, 32 Qianmen Street, Beiijing; see quanjude.com.cn.

ABOUT THE WRITERS

They've scoffed sausages with Prince Charles at Clarence House, cooked cous cous in the Tunisian desert and (accidentally) eaten sea horse in Beijing. Restaurant critics, cook book authors, restaurant guide editors, keen home cooks and enthusiastic drinkers, Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack have written about food for Fairfax Media for many years.

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