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| Connecting with the familiar Shanghai, China May 2012 For more far-from-home photo-madness, head here. |
I'm not the world's most adventurous eater. My can't-eat list is pretty restrictive, so travel always makes mealtime a fun experience as I pick my way through the menu and look for things that won't send me off the culinary deep end.
So you can imagine how excited I was when I cruised past the snack-and-go counters at the conference and came across a pile of Snickers bars. Please don't ask how many of them made it into my backpack. Of course, the moment had to be remembered with a picture. And, of course, the get-on-the-floor technique seemed to make the most sense.
The bottom line on finding something familiar far from home is this: They do taste better. I'm sure it's the psychology rather than the chemistry, but there's something about having something dear as opposed to something that's easily attainable. And far from home, you hold onto what's dear just a little more tightly, and savor it just a little bit more.
Your turn: Does the five-second rule still apply here?
Great shot! But is it really that it tastes better away from home or does it actually taste differently.
ReplyDeleteBrand name items are sometimes created differently in a foreign market.
For instance, when it comes to chocolate bars, a Canadian O-Henry and an American O-Henry are different.
So is it not possible that the Snickers you had in Asia had a slightly different composition than what you're used to back home?
PAH
Boy, there is definitely a lot of food for thought in this post Carmi.
ReplyDeleteI am most definitely not a picky eater, and I don't have all the food restrictions you do (I'm assuming you try to stay kosher), but I found China a bit of a challenge foodwise. I was served camel hoof soup (I'm sure that's not kosher! but you're not missing anything), fermented goose eggs, and duck tongues. And lots of stuff I couldn't identify.
ReplyDeleteI took to eating vegetarian -- because noodles and unidentifiable greens were a lot easier for me to deal with.
Then there was the day they took us to McDonald's. Ah, after three weeks in China, a Big Mac looked like God's gift to us! And it tasted exactly like Big Macs do elsewhere in the world.
food is a strange thing...when i go home to Germany i pick all the things i miss here in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSnickers are pretty good, but Baby Ruth was my candy bar nirvana, back before my tastes switched to beer and such as.
ReplyDelete~
I work with a doctor who hails from Japan. He routinely brings in the oddest-seemingly-familiar-but-not foods. Like Kit-Kats, with wasabi. Yeah. Sounds awful, but isn't. Although, do NOT try the bacon (jelly) beans. There is no erasing that particular horror from your palate.
ReplyDelete