Win a copy of Chicken and Rice by Shu Han Lee
***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***
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Osso bucco in Florence
In the 80’s there was a Michelin starred restaurant on Lipari, off the north coast of Sicily. Plastic tables and chairs but the food was sublime. My favourite – fresh lobster.
Trying halloumi for the first time in Cyprus in the 1980’sand my mind being literally blown … cooked cheese! Oh my! I spent months trying to get hold of it back in the UK, now you can get it in every supermarket, but it always reminds me of the sunshine and that first bite of glorious squeaky saltiness
Roti and fish head curry at midnight on my first day/night in Malaysia, on the outskirts of KL. We were jet-lagged and hungry; food has never tasted so good.
Chicken and rice comp. my family took me to Hong Kong for the 1st time when I was 8 years. We went to a restaurant and I saw a scary whole roasted pigeon in front of me. The only ones I see in the UK are the ones that look like rats! But when I tasted the roasted pigeon, I was blown away. It was so tasty, I couldn’t get enough of it! It has def made me more open minded with trying new and different food.
ordering what I thought would be a baby squid salad in Spain near Malaga. A massive full on octopus arrived, quite tasty – must learn more languages!
Lourmarin food market, South of France.
Eating little chicken and potato empanadas with my mum in San Agustin, Colombia. I have a Colombian background and it was such a special thing to experience our culture courtesy of the little old ladies of the village!
My favourite food memory has to be a blue swimmer crab curry I had in Sri Lanka a few years back. I was staying in Kalpitya in a small B&B by the beach. After a few days I got to know the owner and he quickly understand my passion for food. One day he proposed to drive me to a neighbour fisherman village in the morning to see the day’s catch. There were Crabs, prawns and big yellowfin tunas. We then went on to see the village’s cook who had prepared a crab curry from blue swimmer crabs freshly caught. I already loved crab and was used to have it often, but the taste of this crab blew my mind, it was sweet and the spicyness of the curry was just a match in heaven. I’ve been trying to replicate it at home ever since but wasn’t much success!
Eating a brioche bun with coffee granita for breakfast on a trip to Sicily, a regular for locals but a unique experience for me.
Indulging in the most divine french beef burger at the Deux Moulins in Montmatre – I still visit every year.
My favorite travel food memory is when I went to Jamaica for the first time and had plantains for the first time. I absolutely fell in love with them. I had them cooked as a vegetable and also had them in “chip” form.
A traditional Middle Eastern meal in Lebanon.
honeymoon in Lankawi, Malaysia- Grill restaurant on beach, ammmazzzing food recall minute steaks and vegetables and the Peanut Satay sauce, wow As well as having the pleasure of seeing baby oran utang very close( but no touching). Unforgettable
Definitely eating Bun Cha outdoors on tiny plastic chairs just after a rain shower in Hanoi.
Vietnam has flavours like nowhere else!
My favourite travel food memory is stumbling upon a home food style restaurant in Tokyo. The food there was great and comforting. We now go back there every time we’re in Tokyo.
eating my first piece of clootie dumpling in scotland
Soupe de pistou at Moulin de Mougins in my salad days.
Hello, I will share a delicacies here in my country. 3 years agao me and my boyfriend had a tour to the northern part of the Philippines which is in Ilocos. Ilocos is very famous for their deep-fried pork called ” bagnet” but for some reason I found the savory delicacy ” empanadang Ilocos” more tasty, Empanada is the Filipino version of soft shell taco. Empanada has a pasty that is filled with shredded cabbage, ground pork, and one large egg, deep fried until golden brown.
A delicious pizza with a glass of white wine in Sienna, whilst watching the sun go down
A dessert of chocolate covered balls of icecream served on a bed of dry ice in the Hyatt in Sydney in 1981
Eating Tartiflette in the sunshine with a magnificent view and a glass of white wine in the French sunshine
Coming out of a mesmerising concert at the V&A on a sultry July midnight, and gorging myself on nocciola gelato at Oddono’s around the corner.
I loved travelling to Venice in Italy, the food was delicious, I particularly loved the pizzas x
Pad Thai when travelling around Thailand! Delicious and always reminds me of my travels whenever I order 🙂
Stumbling into a traditional tofu specialist restaurant in Kyoto. The front of the restaurant looked very old, and after venturing in, I was rewarded with a beautiful Japanese zen garden. The food came in several courses, each with fresh tofu or soya being the key ingredient. There was tofu steak with miso glaze or tofu in a seaweed broth – pure simplicity to enhance the sweet, clean taste. All this enjoyed within a tranquil setting.
I also have to mention my worst, but very memorable food moment was eating stewed lamprey in a Portuguese seafood restaurant in Porto. The seafood restaurant ran out of monk fish, and so I pointed to what the locals was eating and asked for it. The kindly waiter advised that “It’s lamprey, are you sure?”, at which I responded “sure I am happy to try anything.”
The waiter dutifully served the lamprey and then helpfully explained that the lamprey was stewed in it’s own blood and red wine. Not surprisingly, the lamprey tasted very fishy – and even more surprising for me, there was a second serving – I think I had enough lamprey for my lifetime 🙂
My favourite travel food memory was the most incredible Greek Mezze in Santourini, Greece. Simple, & fresh seafood with the most amazing views of the habour. I still try to replicate that meal, & can’t quite match it.
On a family day trip to the seaside (5 of us in the Austin A40,only one breakdown on the way!), I queued with mum at a beachfront food stall for a paper cup full of fresh shrimps. Over 50 years later, I still remember the sweet and salty surprise of those just gathered shrimps. No seafood has ever tasted so much of the seaside to me! At a time when fish came in a boil in the bag ,with packet of nasty white sauce flavoured with far too much dried parsley, or over cooked white fish, dry and tough, that little cup of juicy, clean tasting shrimp was a real revelation!
Travelling to Thailand and having authentic Thai food, fantastic
We had just got off the train in Tokyo and it was so cold. Thankfully we found this little group of restaurants just outside the station. I ordered a bowl of ramen by pointing to the picture. It had this kind of pillow floating on top of the noodles. I will never forget biting into that fluffy omelette pillow that had soaked in all the delicious broth. Thinking about it makes me smile and drool a little. I have mo idea what the dish was called but every time someone mentions Japan I instantly think of that ramen bowl.
Masaman Curry in Thailand
My favorite memory is the street food in Mexico traveling by car from Texas all the way to Puerto Vallarta and hitting up all the little mom-and-pop spots.
The most amazing travel food memory must be travelling the markets of Japan. If you can imagine a cold winter’s morning, slight drizzle in one of the fish markets in Hokkaido, walking through the rows of shops, with the shopkeepers shouting to grab your attention.
And in the middle of a row of shops, there is this small stand, with a man grilling scallops over a charcoal grill. The smell when the juice of scallops hits the coal warms your body- that salty, briny and sweet smell of grilled seafood.
You wait for about 5 minutes while he grills this scallop, removing the guts and seasoning with nothing but seawater. And when he’s done, he hands this to you on a styrofoam plate, toothpicks to pick the flesh of the scallops up.
The taste is unforgettable. That distinct sweetness of fresh scallops, with the brine of the sea providing that perfect seasoning. The scallop was perfectly cooked, with the right amount of chewiness.
This was years ago, but all I can remember was how simple the dish was, and how it made the whole trip worthwhile.
I found a fantastic meat and wine bar in Porto in Portugal, and me and my girlfriend ended up spending 5 hours sat eating and drinking the best meat and wine over ever had. We ended up getting very ‘jolly’ and just about made it back to the hotel.
Tapas in spain
Steak and Malbec in Argentina, it was amazing!
1 st time I had lobster
Having pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast in Canada when I was 8 years old. It blew my mind how big the pancakes were, and that I was allowed to eat this for breakfast!
My favourite travel food memory is from a cruise taken many years ago. So much food and no stomach for it!
Patty pan squash sautéed in toasted sesame oil in Australia
Learning to cook Goan dishes and chapatti in a cookery class just a stone throw away from Paoleom beach in Goa, whilst on a family holiday in December. I’m not an experienced cook but it was a fantastic experience meeting other travellers and sharing the dishes we’d made together!
Stayed at The White Palace Grecotel in Rethymnon, Crete and the food they provide mostly comes from their award winning organic farm, the fruit/vegetables/cheeses etc were delicious but the star of the show had to be their Greek yoghurt with greek honey and extras, so simple but absolutely delicious.
I was 12, sat with my mum right on the coast on the terrace of a stone building with the clear sea lapping against it in what was then Yugoslavia, now Serbia! This is where I first ate, and can still conjure up the taste and smell, chevapchichi. Delicious little bbq’d spicy meat balls of loveliness served in s basket and with bread. My 12 year old self could not get enough of them, my mouths watering now, yummy!
I remember one of the first family holidays overseas we stayed in Singapore for a few days and my parents took me to a market with so many hawker stalls. They were selling so many delishious dishes it took me ages to decide and eventually my mum and dad just bought a whole lot of different dishes to try and introduced my taste buds to some amazing things, duck, rice dishes, noodle dishes and more!
My favourite food memory was when I was in Malaysia and I had the best noodles I’ve ever had! It was a fish head tom yam that had the perfect balance of flavour and spice. I can assure you every last strand of noodle and drop of soup was cleaned up. Every time I think back to it I feel myself salivating.
Squid tentacles in Salento served in a beautiful shell alongside a delicious antipasti
Travelling with my parents in brazil, I was ten years old and we were eating some sort of fried chicken donuts. Long time I remember this taste and the smell, but none could tell me what it is. Finally, thirty years later, I find out: it was coxinha !
Coffee and Biscotti at the harbour in Puerto del Carmen
My favourite food memory is from when I was in India, eating pau bhaji on the beach laden with butter… mmmm
great giveaway
Sitting in a cabana on the beach in Turkey on my honeymoon, we were brought a type of mezze with the freshest ingredients. Sipped alongside our champers went down a treat!
Mine would be trying giant pretzels on the streets of New York City
Running out of money on the last night of our trip to marbella, thinking we were having a mcdonalds for tea and stumbling across an italian that was probably the best pasta/linguine ive ever had and it was 2 courses for 20 euros – wining!
Thinking we ordered our favourite vegetable dish and instead we had ordered octopus!
Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy, served before the meal, in Leeds on a visit to my aunts when I was eleven
Mine is eating in Caesers palace in Las Vegas. It felt so up market!
Since it said favourite memory, not favourite food, ill have to go for the small shack on the coast in Iceland that sold a number of items of which the most appetising was the mink whale kebab! I would like to say it was tasty but somehow a overly blubbery piece of purple meat is not something that appeals to my hunger on a regular basis. I did however appeal more than the rotten shark that was also available…
Discovering Iskender in Istanbul!
A Vietnamese restaurant in Bayeaux when I was 18 that was 47 years ago-I loved the food ever since.
Sharing a kaiserschmarrn when getting to a mountain hut in Austria.
finally finding vegetables in America!
This tiny restaurant called the Bunch of Grapes in Cyprus. Hidden up in the hills, they did the most amazing food – we asked for whatever they recommended – and piles of deliciousness just came tumbling out. Kleftico, mousaka, Cypriat salad… Just food heaven.
Definitely when my boyfriend and I went to Madrid. We went to an off the beaten tourist track Tapas bar that was packed full of locals. We asked for a menu and were looked at blankly- ‘we don’t have a menu, you sit down and we bring the food, whatever the specials are.’ It was honestly the most delicious food we’ve ever had, crisp battered salt cod and delicious meatballs amongst others!
Eating ‘street food’ in Singapore at the night markets
Working in Hong Kong, eating out, dining on fresh sea food so great
Trying the food stalls at the night market in koh phangan, Thailand we tried so many unusual foods which we would never be able to get here in England and they was delicious and so full of flavour
My best food memory was sitting outside in the Djemaa El Fna night food market Marrakech having a fabulous street food meal, at the time we started to eat, there was a tropical thunderstorm, we continued to eat as we were under a canopy and dry but it was magical
We went to Thailand for our honeymoon and the food was fantastic. I loved the relaxed atmosphere of the evening buffet on the beach, choosing some fresh fish or lobster and pigging out on delicious fresh fruit and vegetables with amazing flavours.