Tagine supreme
gobbling citron tarts, pain au chocolat and far breton in the gutter. The lip-puckering citron tarts are the stand out and in France that’s saying something.
Gizza gozleme
Even in the sweltering heat of Turkish seaside paradise Oludeniz, the queue for the one gozleme stand on the beach wrapped around two beach bars.
These cheap and cheerful flat bread pastries come filled with spinach, feta-like cheese and sometimes egg and prove how simple pleasures are often the best. One is never enough. The lone woman baker must have made a killing that summer spent over her portable gas griddle.
Say cheese in Rio
Last week I came down pretty hard on Brazil’s slightly underwhelming steak offering. Luckily, for the Olympic host city its pao de queijo (cheese balls) are gold medal worthy. These tapioca flour treats are sold nearly everywhere in Brazil and its cheesy, flaky but crunchy goodness is a street food favourite, particularly before lunch. I was still snacking on these carby treats right up until sundown on Copacabana Beach. Marrakech, in Morocco, is a market trawler’s dream, but as I’m more a menu trawler I had hyped the country’s national dish to no end.
Thankfully again and again the sun-baked city delivered to my table the most intensely flavoured, succulent lamb and prune tagines (or chicken and lemon – seemingly the only flavours largely on offer).
For the best, head to Le Jardine or Nomad by the spice market. When paired with an avocado and date smoothie these terracottahoused dishes will leave you in such a satisfied stupor you’ll forget it’s technically a ‘‘dry’’ country, heck you’ll forget where you put your phone and valuables (at least that’s what I told myself after being pick-pocketed). The freshest of dough, the simplest and yet intensely flavoured tomato sauce and mozzarella combo make a taste eruption to rival nearby Mt Vesuvius.
Dim sum delight
Siu mai, har gow and all the other yum cha highlights are a must in Hong Kong, washed down with jasmine tea. These are no microwaved or deep-fried wonders like your crispy wonton entree at a BYO, this is the real deal and the number of restaurants offering high-quality steamed goodness across the city is astounding. The best in this stop-over favourite are found at Luk Yu Tea House, which has been running since 1933, or if you’re feeling flush head to Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons.
Josh Martin is a London-based Kiwi journalist, who writes about travel, tourism, business, and consumer issues in between trips to places you’d rather be. Email josh.martin@fairfaxmedia.co.nz if you have a travel issue you’d like him to write about.