to think if you are only going away to Spain for a fortnight...

[squeakytoy]

you really do not need a "taste of home"...

Just reading the reviews for the place we are staying at next month.. (stayed in the resort before, but never this particular apartment complex) and I just love reading reviews...

"lovely place, but shame there was no british pubs close by"

well thank the lord for that!

"wicked holiday, found an amazing bar that did a full english and you could get a brill sunday roast for 5 euro wiv yorkshire pudding"

ffs its over 90 degrees out there.. why the hell do you want a bloody roast dinner???

When I go to Spain, I want to eat spanish food, enjoy spanish culture, and feel like I am on holiday.... is that asking too much?

err you bring it on yourself by staying in a chavvy resort! use holidaylettings and stay somehwre less touristy

The italians eat a lot more than pizza, pasta and gnocci.

Other popular dishes are risotto, escalopes (chicken and veal), stew (spezzotino (scuse incorrect spelling), sausages, fish and an array of veggie dishes including my favourite parmigiana melanzane...

You don't have to have a carb fest every day!

How can anyone have enough of Thai food? [drool]

i love south east asian food especially thai food

the thai's have a knack of perfecting every other cuisine, i have had wonerful cottage pie in thailand. i had just been travelling around vietnam (great coffee and bread french style), laos and cambodia for 2 months and wanted a home comfort it was lovely

there are some good cheap places to eat here if you do your research, great organic cafe in crystal palace around dulwich and brick lane has some good restaurants that are not expensive.

For squeaky:

Bali Bali in Soho (Indonesian)
Yalla Yalla Beirut Street Food in Soho (Lebanese)
Brazzas (Portuguese) and Fujimora (Japanese) in Brixton
The Syrian place halfway up Brick Lane
Tayyabs in Whitechapel
Most of the little places along Stroud Green (Italian, Japanese, Caribbean)
The chorizo grill next to the Market Porter in Borough Market

I think there are loads of cheap good places in London, although come to think of it none that I know serve English food

What I find amazing is that you can go anywhere in the world and find an Irish pub. I was in Tajikistan for a bit and the first place I saw when I went to explore the capital was Irish Pub Dushanbe.

We have a place in Spain where there is a pretty good selection of places to eat - that is if you aren't a vegetarian like me where they look at you like this if you ask for a dish without the meat in it .

We just spent 5 weeks there and really missed having a curry as there are no curry places where we are so we had to visit the local Iceland for a microwave one so I get why some Brits go to these places if they are available.

I heard an advert on Spectrum FM which is an English radio station in Spain (see, look at me listening to an English radio station for a change in Spain!) for a place which did fish & chips on a Friday, meat buffet on a Saturday and a Sunday roast on Sunday!

Seems lots of people want somewhere just like home only with better weather. Given this summer has been grey and overcast here for weeks I'm starting to see their point!

I love seeking out local good food wherever I am (and figuring out local public transport, much to many people's horror), but admit to going to hotels for B+B where they do a good buffet breakfast. I'm enthusiastic about experiencing say Italian or Spanish cultures but not before 9am - an espresso and small roll will not get me going in the morning!

I'm always intrigued by how 'Chinese' food is influenced by local cuisine - Dutch, French, Japanese, Arab, London and rural Scottish versions are almost unrecognisable as having the same origin.

And TripAdvisor is an excellent source of comedy. Recently chose a B+B in the Lake District on the grounds that they'd replied to complaints that the town had hills in, and their attic room had a door to the outside in it, with wonderfully sarcastic responses. I think "Yes, we admit this room has a fire escape. We find most of our guests appreciate an option in the case of a fire other than that of burning to death."!

Thanks dreaming, I will make a note of those. :)

I have to admit, I dont eat paella every night when I am in Lanzarote, but we do go to spanish or mediterranean restaurants, mainly off the beaten track.

I can understand ex-pats wanting a "taste of home", but I just find it really funny that people who are only there for a short holiday need it

I entirely agree with you OP. We have a joke phrase in this family for people who travel without a spirit of adventure: "Egg-And-Chips!". All those people who don't want anything to do with the country once they get there. They might as well be in Blackpool.

notcitrus, I agree about the chinese food. The kids loved sweet and sour frogs legs at a French chinese buffet! I personally love indo-chinese fusion food. Saikonis in Wembley does lovely haka noodles and chilli paneer.

Squeaky, try some of the south indian style restaurants on ealing road. We once went out and fed 11 of us on dosa and idly for only £60!

Chopstheduck I guess you have been going to the wrong restaurants, yes. A traditional Italian restaurant menu is always

Antipasti (starter)
Pasta (here you have the pasta and gnocci)
Main Course - here you have meat and fish with a side of veggies
Dessert

I have been to Italy many times and have never seen a restaurant that skips the main course.

And yes, someone asked - when I go travelling I eat the local food for as long as I'm there, no problems. Chinese in Italy is horrible and pasta carbonara in China tastes like chow mein anyway.

forrin muck innit

where are you eating in Italy that only has pizza and pasta? Maybe just tourist places with pictures on the menu! Every real restaurant has secondi as well as primi piatti, and certainly Italians do not live on pizza and pasta!

I remember travelling through Thailand and often having to eat in touristy places and the like, since real authentic thai food is the hottest in the world, and to a palate unused to it was very hard to handle. We ate plenty of authentic food, but it didn't always do us any favours!

I entirely agree with you OP. We have a joke phrase in this family for people who travel without a spirit of adventure: "Egg-And-Chips!". All those people who don't want anything to do with the country once they get there. They might as well be in Blackpool.

Not quite it is always about 90 degrees when I am in spain or italy or france etc...... usually about 16 in blackpool lol

Interestingly, other cultures view some European foods as exotic.

OH works in South Korea on a regular basis and on one of his visits he was treated to an excellent Italian meal. The city where he works is not a tourist resort and the restaurant was full of Koreans who fancied something different for a change.

When I was a student my best friend was Chinese and we often used to eat traditional Chinese home cooking at her house. When she came to mine I used to offer things like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, which she loved.

whilst I agree with you upto a point op; when we go abroad we need to ensure that our youngest DS has food that he will eat. His SN includes obsessions and will only eat certain foods so we have to go to a resort where there will be a 'english' restaurant somewhere to ensure that there is the fall back if he fails to eat anything other than chips in the hotel

Agree with the Chinese food, I stayed just outside of Beijing for ten days and was never so pleased to find a McDonalds. I am not a fussy eater and in many different countries I have been happy to sample the local food. China was just a step too far for me.

I like food that has been modified for a Western palate (and only includes the bits of animals that I am accustomed to eating). I have a Western palate after all...

Point about the indigestion cat64, but you don't need to be a linguist to eat out in Europe at least - I know no Spanish at all except for owning a phrasebook! Please, thank you and a big smile gets you a long way...

I spent a week on my own in Capri two weeks ago. I rented a villa and bought all my foodstuffs from the local supermarket. Each day I walked to the shop and bought my provisions.

Cooked Spaghetti a few nights and tucked into lovely fresh meats, cheeses, breads, olives etc.

At home the bloody microwave would have been working overtime

I remember being in Italy when I was pregnant and terrible morning sickness and I kept trying to eat but everything has tomato and cheese and kept reappearing. I loved it on the way down.....but when we went past a McDonalds and I could get plain fries I nearly wept with joy (this is to my eternal shame).

Went to Sicily a few years ago, and met a couple from Birmingham, pleasant people, they had a horrible holiday because it wasnt Birmingham! We had a great time - toured the island - made friends with the staff - ate local food and learnt loads. They did comment at the airport on how we seemed to know a lot about the island - I thought, thats cos we didnt spend whole time sat in hotel lounge complaining to each other!

The British can be very parochial.......

rhonda, everything tastes like shit when you're pregnant, so of course you wanted to find something that you could eat that would stay down. Even if you'd been in the Uk you would have struggled with that. Utterly understandable.

And your Birmingham couple bring to mind for some reason.

and .