The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

Have to say I'm not big on hot pot either. I can eat it. But I'm not going to be going out and getting it especially.
I never got the popularity of oden especially.

[HVC]

I've had it a few times with (with Asian friends so I assume it's authentic ). Not my thing either. If I'm cooking my own food I much prefer Korean . Although it's better in winter, just for the warming aspect.


*edit* as a general rule about authenticity, whenever I'm the only white personal there I assume the food is going to be good. Extra points if I get quizzical looks

[Sheilbh]

Yeah - I basically agree, although I think authenticity in food is a mad concept.

Also the more religious art on the walls (or, say, images of Mecca and Jerusalem) is normally a good sign - as is napkins dispensers on tables.

[HVC]

Yeah, most foods is adjusted for the local palate. It's been the norm forever, even in the places the food is from. "Authentic" food can vary drastically even within the country it's from. Sometime leading to hilarious vitriol within the originating country itself.

*edit* although what I appreciate with the authenticity isn't so much that it's better, sometimes it isn't actually, but that it's different. Why go out of your way for food that tastes the same as your normal fare.

[Josquius]

My favourite Japanese dishes are mostly their takes on foreign food.
Authentic Japanese food, bar sushi, is largely rather bad.

[crazy canuck]

I hate going into a region famous for its food and finding food that has been altered to appeal to the tastes of the tourists coming to sample the region's cuisine.

Although, I now realize what has happened, and seek out non touristed areas where I can get the authentic (there I said it) dishes.

[Norgy]

I think you are right, CC.

Threading out of the main road can bring you some cuisine happiness.

Rome was terrible in that respect, but I got a piece of advice from a local. "Avoid the places with red and white table cloths".
So my then girlfriend and I found an amazing little place where they served cuisine from the Lazio region.
I had some pork and seasonal vegetables. We also got a cheese platter to share on the house.

In Greece, I have learnt through experience, the shabbier the place looks, the better the food.
In Santorini, we literally sat where the waves hit the rocks and were sprayed with seawater while enjoying the traditional tomato balls of Santorini. I did not mind getting a bit wet, as the meal was superb.

[HVC]

In Greece, I have learnt through experience, the shabbier the place looks, the better the food.

That's the street meat rule. The more likely it looks to give you food poisoning the better the food

[crazy canuck]

In Greece, I have learnt through experience, the shabbier the place looks, the better the food.
In Santorini, we literally sat where the waves hit the rocks and were sprayed with seawater while enjoying the traditional tomato balls of Santorini. I did not mind getting a bit wet, as the meal was superb.

Yeah, that is a good rule of thumb, some of the best food I have had is in a place few North Americans would dare to enter

[Josquius]

Its like that in Siem Reap in Cambodia.
There's a pub street for foreigners, which is expensive and meh.... then behind that, considerably less well lit and shiftier looking, is the locals pub street....which is cheaper and has better food.

If only it were so organised elsewhere.

[Zanza]

I completed a 1500 day streak on Duolingo today. 

[crazy canuck]

Do you find it helpful?

[Zanza]

You will not learn a language beyond the basics that way, but it helps to conserve knowledge about a language and teaches vocabulary. And it rewires my brain once a day to think in a different language than German and English.

[Razgovory]

I start work tommorow!

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Good luck!  Don't slice off your hand!