The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
GLOBAL GOURMET: FOUR NEW FOODIE DESTINATIONS
Iceland
If you want to see a vibrant food culture taking shape get on a flight to Reykjavik. After the financial crisis in 2008, Icelanders started to look at their food heritage. An influx of tourists – who wanted Icelandic cooking – forced chefs to think about what that was (and it’s not puffin and whale meat). Cafes are booming (coffee is taken seriously here), there are new bakeries, distilleries, restaurants and farms to visit. They also have an astonishing array of cheeses and the best lamb you’ve ever tasted – it feeds on seaweed and wild angelica; try it at Michelinstarred Dill (dillrestaurant. is) or the more traditional Matur og Drykkur (maturogdrykkur.is). Reykjavik’s first food hall opens in September.
Myanmar
If you’ve eaten your way round Thailand and Vietnam, Myanmar should be next on your list. Influenced by the cooking of China, Thailand and India (expect curries, rice, noodle dishes and loads of salads) Burmese food is less sweet than other south-east Asian cuisines – it’s hot, citrus-sour, salty and humming with lemon grass, ginger and turmeric. It’s also fantastically varied as there are 138 different ethnic groups within the country. Expect loads of vegetables (fresh and fermented) and fish sauce (it’s used like salt – you do need to like it). Locavorism isn’t a fad but a way of life. Go now, before it changes. My Burmese friend (who runs Burmese supper clubs) says the best street food is in Yangon, on Anawrahta Road (between 9th and 14th street) and in Mandalay there are great snacks at Zay Cho (75th Street). Tea houses are a must as well.
Lima, Peru
It’s been riding high for a while but I still want to eat more of Peru. Chef Virgilio Martinez from Lima’s Central, (voted best restaurant in Latin America at the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards; centralrestaurante.com.pe/ en) will be opening a new place – showcasing ingredients not just from Peru but from all over South America – in early 2018. There’s a jumble of culinary influences here – from Spain, Japan and China – and fruit and vegetables you’ve never heard of. It’s all about big flavours and juxtaposition (clean and crisp against deep and layered). Street carts sell beef heart skewers, the best ceviche – it’s a national obsession – and sweet potato doughnuts smothered in passion fruit.
Germany
No, it isn’t just sausages and pretzels. Germany has 10 restaurants with three Michelin stars, the UK has four and (this will surprise you) KaDeWe department store in Berlin has the best food hall I’ve visited anywhere. German baking is peerless – how many kinds of bread, from tangy rye to sweet kugelhopf – can one country produce? And don’t get me started on apple cake. Head to the Black Forest and the tiny town of Baiersbronn (the gourmet capital – there are seven Michelin stars here) for silky hams and fruit schnapps or to Berlin for edgy stuff from chef Tim Raue (tim-raue.com) and modern bistro food at Lode & Stijn (lode-stijn.de).