Food - Best Places of Interest

August 31, 2018Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 6

Bakdash ice cream, street food Syria

Street food LEBANON

Food in Lebanon is the essence of each gathering. Most of the Lebanese food is done with olive oil, garlic,onions, mint. Lebanese dishes are known to be very healthy and don’t contain many fatty ingredients. Nowadays, it is very popular in Lebanon to do the Food markets. This is how important food is in the country.

I’ve heard many times as well many Lebanese friends nagging about how they hardly they find food places opened when they are in a foreign country. In Lebanon, there are 24/7 opened restos, and mainly they are close to the pubs and nightclubs. And most of these places are Lebanese food and not the junk and fast food type.

The most popular street food is as follows, the majority is done with Lebanese bread:

Shawarma sandwich chicken and meat.

shawarma sandwich, street food Lebanon — shawarma sandwich-Taste of Beirut

Mankoushe or Sajj(a thinner type of mankoushe) with Thyme, Cheese, Labneh, Meat, etc… with vegetables are the most wanted breakfast street food.

Labneh with vegetables.

Cheese

Lahm Baajine can be eaten with pepper and lemon and with laban aside.

Zaatar, with vegetables

Saj mankoushe

Falafel can be eaten with or without bread. It is made from crushed chickpeas that are deep fried and served in Lebanese bread with vegetables and tahini sauce.

falafel middle eastern food chickpeas health food, street food Lebanon — falafel middle eastern food chickpeas health food

Knefeh mostly eaten in the morning but before it used to be only in the early mornings or after midnight, but nowadays can be found in a few places all day long. We can serve it as a dessert as well.

Knafah, Knafeh | by watashiwani, street food Lebanon — Knafah, Knafeh | by watashiwani

Shish taouk & Kafta.

chicken shish taouk, beef kabobs and Kafta, street food Lebanon — chicken shish taouk, beef kebabs and Kafta
Image credit- Pinterest

Ice cream, the standard flavours or the Ashta ice-cream.

The Lebanese Bakery: Daily baked — The Lebanese Bakery: Daily baked “kaak”
Image credit- TripAdvisor

Kaak, filled with Picon, Cheese, Thyme.

And many other delicious creations. Lebanese are known for mixing food together to get something extremely delicious at the end.

You may also like to read What is your favourite street food? Part 5

Street food Syria

There is not much to say about falafel, it has its own fame. Chickpeas dough, fried in hot oil, it can be eaten alone or in a sandwich with tomatoes, pickles and tartar sauce. It is cheap and tasty, can be found everywhere in Syrian cities.

Shawarma is a very, very popular meal in the middle east. It’s usually chicken meat, but you can find also beef or lamb meat. It is Very delicious, an average price for an amazing meal.

Aljetaily Meat Fatayer | by Samiha.Aljetaily, street food Syria — Meat Fatayer | by Samiha.Aljetaily

Manakish/Fatayer. A dough cooked on round pan and topped with thyme(Zaatar), halloumi cheese or red pepper sauce. Originally from Damascus, it spread all around Syria and Lebanon. Perfect for a park promenade!

Pinterest Mshabak with honey, street food Syria — Pinterest
Mshabak with honey.

Last but not least for the dessert, we have Mshabak/Loqmat al-Qadi. They are pretty much the same but the shape is different. A fried wheat dough, dipped fast while hot in sugar syrup, with a pinch of cinnamon and it’s ready to be served! This sweet is perfect for the cold days of winter.

Arabic Ice cream/Bekdash Ice cream.

Bakdash ice cream, street food Syria — The famous ice cream of Bakdash, one of Damascus’ eternal attractions
Image credit-LookLex

This is a very special kind of sweet, it’s originally from Al Hamidiah Souk, Damascus. It’s made from cold sweet cream, rolled in a plenty of pistachios. Many tourists visit Al Hamidiah to eat this delicious ice cream

Saha w Hanaa, Bon appétit!

So, what is your favourite #streetfood”?

August 29, 2018Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 5

cooked panzerottis, street food Italy

Street food Italy

InItaly, the type of street food depends mostly on which region you are in.
I’ll post just a few examples of savoury food (the most popular example of sweet street food is ice cream obviously) but there are literally hundreds of different things.

Pizza

Pizza al taglio, street food Italy — Pizza al taglio at Trastevere in Rome
Image credit- Shoebill2

I don’t think you need an explanation for what is that!
But there is one type of pizza made to take away, called “pizza al taglio” (sliced pizza), which is prepared differently than normal round pizzas in restaurants. The dough is thicker and there are more toppings

Focaccia

Garlic and Cheese Focaccia - Michaelangelo, Aspendale Gardens, street food Italy — Garlic and Cheese Focaccia – Michaelangelo, Aspendale Gardens | by spits

This soft and oily bread is delicious even plain, but it’s often filled with various stuff (ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, salad, etc)

Porchetta sandwich

Porchetta sandwich, street food Italy — Porchetta sandwich | by T.Tseng

A sandwich filled with pork which has been stuffed with herbs and spices and then spits roasted

Lampredotto sandwich

Lampredotto sandwich, street food Italy. — Lampredotto sandwich Image credit- Lucarelli

Found mostly in Florence, Siena and nearby areas of Tuscany.
It’s a sandwich made with tripes/stomach from the cow, cooked in broth and herbs and topped with green or spicy sauces.

Farinata/cecina

Cecina, street food Italy — Cecina | by fugzu

Popular in Liguria and Tuscany regions. It’s a pancake made of chickpea flour. It can be eaten like this or be the filling for focaccia as well

Deep fried stuff
Many different options could be fried: seafood, polenta (corn porridge), mozzarella sticks, potato sticks, etc.

Piadina

Piadina Riminese (Italian filled flatbread) street food Italy — Piadina Riminese (Italian filled flatbread) photo taken by Kobako

Originally from Emilia-Romagna region. Can be filled with everything. “Stracchino” cream cheese is a popular filling

Arancini & Supplì

arancini, street food Italy — arancini | by stu_spivack

Deep fried rice balls with various fillings (tomato sauce, meat sauce, veggies, cheese, etc). different shapes and sizes, depending on the area. Arancini are from Sicily and Supplì are from Rome.

Panzerotti

cooked panzerottis, street food Italy — gekochte Panzerotti or cooked panzerottis
Image credit-GeoTrinity

Deep fried dough with fillings. Most common is just tomato sauce and mozzarella (similar to “calzone”). Originally from Puglia region

Obviously around the world pizza is the most famous Italian food but if you visit Italy, you will be surprised about how many different things you can easily find at every corner, most of them you probably never heard of.

So, what is your favourite “#streetfood”?

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August 27, 2018Food

What is your favourite street food? -Part 4

Continuing my series on What is your favourite street food? – Part 3

Street food in the USA

Sonic Premium Beef Hot Dogs Chicago Dog and New York Dog, street food USA — Sonic Premium Beef Hot Dogs Chicago Dog and New York Dog

Hot dogs. There are differences in Chicago dogs and New York Dogs. But hot dogs can be found in most places. Read more about the difference here. Review: Sonic Premium Beef Hot Dog (Chicago Dog & New York Dog)

Tacos– Most Americans love tacos and there are tons of taco trucks in every major city in America. Some taco trucks do cool fusions with Asian cuisines too. I had some awesome katsu tacos one time.

Photo of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue - San Diego, CA, United States. Mini chicken, street food USA — Photo of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue – San Diego, CA, United States. Mini chicken Image credit- Yelp

NY style pizza – I prefer Chicago style, but there are tons of NY style pizza joints that stay open late into the night. They’re perfect when you’re trashed and need something to soak up the alcohol. Fold it in half and just go to town. Never at the risk of your life eat this with a knife and fork.

Slices of New York-style pizza to-go, street food USA — Slices of New York-style pizza to-go
Image credit- Lizard10979 -Flickr

Gyros and shwarma. There are a fair amount of these joints that stay open late at night.

Gyros, street food USA — Gyros
Image credit-Rita E, Pixabay

Walking Tacos. These are when you take a bag of Fritos, mash them up, and fill the bag with all the ingredients of a taco. Then you eat it and walk around the fair or whatever.

Street food Puerto Rico

Bacalao en salsa de Tomate, street food Puerto Rico — Bacalao en Salsa de Tomate
Image credit Tamorlan

Bacalaito– It’s pronounced, “bacalao” and is thinly sliced codfish. It’s mixed with salt, pepper, and garlic; then it’s fried to a crisp.

A tray of en:alcapurrias, street food Puerto Rico — A tray of alcapurrias
Image credit-Dave Cook / Flickr user: Eating In Translation

Alcapurria– It’s a street food made with a doughy mixture and then stuffed with meat and fried. The dough is called “masa” and is either made with yucca or green plantains. It’s not spicy but definitely has a unique flavour. Puerto Rican food generally isn’t hot (from chiles.)

Las empanadillas | by juantiagues, street food Puerto Rico — Las empanadillas | by juantiagues

Empanadillas– They’re called empanadas in other countries, but in Puerto Rico they’re empanadillas. Don’t ask why. It’s been like that long before I was born. If you know what an empanada is, then there’s no further need to explain what it is.

Sorullitos (hushpuppies) from Ponce, Puerto Rico street food — Sorullitos (hushpuppies) from Ponce, Puerto Rico

Sorullos- They look like mozzarella sticks, but they’re not. They’re fried cornmeal sticks. Most are served with a side of mayo-ketchup. All that is ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together sometimes with garlic added in.

Helados Chinos– This is ice cream shop was started in Puerto Rico by Chinese immigrants. It became a chain and is found in a lot of major cities in Puerto Rico. Its official name is “Kings Cream,” but everybody in Puerto Rico knows it as Helados Chinos. I hardly ever eat ice cream in America but will go to this place every day when I visit PR. Don’t pass up these ice cream shops that look like holes in the wall. It’s the best ice cream hands down. These ice cream joints are always open too, even at Christmas. I bet they make a killing. They’ve been around for more than a half a century. They have flavours such as passion fruit, pineapple, guanabana, tamarind, and acerola.

So, what is your favourite “#streetfood”?

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August 24, 2018Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 3

Nanaimo Bars - flash, street food Canada

Continuing the series – What is your favourite street food? -Part 2

Canada

Street food in Canada

There are many street foods available in Canada, here are some of the most popular:

Poutine

Food Poutine Closeup

This is probably the most popular Canadian street food. It is available in most large cities across the entire country. There are countless varieties, but the most popular version simply consists of french fries, cheese, and gravy.

Beaver Tails

Beaver trails, street food in Canada — Three BeaverTails pastry flavours
Image credit- BeaverTails

This street food can be found in some areas, but it’s not quite as prevalent as some of the others.

Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

La Belle Patate - Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich, street food Canada — La belle patate-Montreal Smoked meat sandwich
Image credit- Calgary Reviews

This dish is especially popular in Montreal, Quebec, where it originated.

Nanaimo bars

Nanaimo Bars - flash, street food Canada — Nanaimo Bars – flash Image credit- Sherri Terris

Foreign/Fusion cuisine

Canada is a country built on immigration. Because of this, there are countless individuals from foreign countries, and many have brought their cultural heritage with them. In some cases, a particular restaurant or street food place will merge into different cuisines together, producing an entirely new and unique dish. In the largest Canadian cities, you can find food from virtually every corner of the world, and several items which have been produced by merging two or more cuisines and preparation styles together.

Tim Horton’s

Tim Horton's Ice Cap, street food in Canada — So good. Especially in 30+ weather. Tim Horton’s Ice Cap | by SteFou!

Tim Horton’s is a coffee shop which also sells baked goods like doughnuts, sandwiches, and tidbits one of their most popular foods. Tim Horton’s can be found in almost every Canadian city or town, and there are thousands of locations in the country. It is by far the most popular Canadian fast food place and is arguably an integral part of Canada itself.

What is your favourite street food?

Stay tuned in for more.