Your country, must try and avoid foods and drinks.

[Togs]

Britain

Try-
Real Ale, very few countries in the world make it quite like we do.
Cornish pasty, not a ginsters or the like but a proper one, 'tis heavenly.
Pimms, not sure if this England only but Id recommend it to anyone on a summers day.

Avoid-
Takeaways in every description, a French friend of mine recently tried Fish & Chips for the 1st time and described it as "starchy slop".
Black Pudding, made from congealed pigs blood and wheat dough its a very acquired taste, I personally love it though.
Marmite, British vegemite 'nuff said.

 

[Togs]

Try some proper Scrumpy......

Bovril on toast.... although that might just be me.....

Avoid classic seafront homemade toffee, unless you hate your teeth.

West country FTW?

(If yes Im currently sitting on a lovely 2 gallon drum of Black Rat)

 

[Tallim]

Try some proper Scrumpy......

Bovril on toast.... although that might just be me.....

Avoid classic seafront homemade toffee, unless you hate your teeth.

West country FTW?

(If yes Im currently sitting on a lovely 2 gallon drum of Black Rat)

OOOOOoohhh sounds good. Yeah I'm in Somerset, and not far from Devon as well.

 

[Shadow Druid]

Scotland

try:-
Haggis nips and tatties
Irn-Bru
Black Pudding (Is different from the English one)

Avoid:-
Fried Chocolate bars (Seriously ¬_¬ who's bright idea was that)

 

[Colonel-Commissar]

Awesome stuff guys, can't wait to try Swedish cuisine.

From Malaysia (next to Singapore)

Eat:
Dim Sum - Series of Chinese snacks of various dumplings and other dishes steamed in bamboo baskets. Meant for late brunch and tea with friends/family.

"Kam Heong" style Crabs - Crabs stir-fried in dried shrimps, curry leaves, chili peppers and curry powder (not that spicy as it sounds, but you'll get the curry flavour).

Nasi Lemak - Steamed rice in coconut milk, with fried chicken, eggs, anchovies, peanuts and "sambal" chili.

Roti Canai - Indian flatbread served with assorted curries.

Desserts
Pulut hitam - black glutinous rice porridge cooked with sago and served hot with coconut milk.

Sago Gula Melaka -cooked translucent sago with coconut cream topped with palm sugar syrup.


Avoid
The dirtiest places and the most expensive places. (Either too dirty or overpriced)

I personally hate Asian vegetables

 

[Wheeleybird]

why do you not recomend to avoid foster's beer. i heard it is the sewage water of australian beers...

No my good sir that would be VB, trust me its worse than anything iv had

 

[thenumberthirteen]

If you're in the UK try:

Haggis: Sure it's made from oats, veg, and parts of sheep you don't usually eat, but a good haggis is delicious. Don't let the ingredients put you off (same goes for black pudding)

Turbo Tango: A new drink that's pretty damn hard to find. Basically fizzy orange drink, but in a foam spray. You drink it and it's amazing. A marvel of modern science.

Cheese: We have a great selection of delicious cheeses (just as good as France) if you're in the country stop into a good shop and try local cheeses. Wensleydale is my favourite, and has been popularised by the Wallace & Grommit cartoons so it's easy to find. Only get the proper stuff though. No supermarket own brands.

Parmo (or Parmesan if you're fancy): You'll be hard pressed to find one out of the north east of England. Basically it's chichen fried and coated with cheese, béchamel sauce, and breadcrumbs. Traditionally served with chips and garlic sauce. You can also use pork, but chicken is more common (and nicer IMO). As I said I don't know how widespread it is, but any self respecting chip shop in Teeside should do them.

Fentimans soft drinks: Tasty old fashioned soft drinks sold in nice glass bottles. Over the past couple of years they've really spread so it shouldnt be too hard to find them. They're even growing in the USA so keep an eye out. They're traditionally brewed and taste great. Particularly the lemonade.

Curries: England in particular has a thing for curries, and they're quite unique as they were only "inspired" by actual indian food. Almost every town will have an indian resteraunt or takeaway. Curry is, even more than fish & chips, the great British dish.

If you're in the UK avoid:

Traditional British Cooking: While France, Italy, and even Germany have a rich tradition of classic dishes England basically didn't try. The meals are hearty with a nice mix of meat and vegetables, but are really nothing to write home about. Unless you find an exceptionally fine example you'd be better off giving it a miss if your time in our great land is limited.

Fish & Chips that isn't Cod: Cod isn't as common as it used to be. Therefore our great British dish of cod and chips got a lot more scarce. Many fish shops replaced cod with other fish that are cheaper and are not under threat of extinction. They're nice and all, but if it's not cod then it's just not the same. It's like when McDonalds replaced Dodo burgers with Chicken it's tasty, but just not right.

Imitation Irn Bru: Irn Bru is a super tasty scottish soft drink. There are many imitations though to trip up the careless shopper. Things like "Iron Brew" are but pale shadows to the original. Sure you save a few pence, but if you're here on a trip why have a sub-standard drink?

 

[Hagi]

Holland:

Is weed food? No?
Are hookers food? No?

Well then Cheese I guess..

We do have weed brownies....

And our many, many flavors of potato stew. Though those might belong on the avoid list....

 

[bakan]

Holland:

Is weed food? No?
Are hookers food? No?

Well then Cheese I guess..

We do have weed brownies....

And our many, many flavors of potato stew. Though those might belong on the avoid list....

You do have the infamous frikandel, bitterballen, stroopwafel and speculaas!

 

[darth gditch]

America is such a tough country to recommend food for. Especially because most of my favorite foods are from other countries.

But we do have some gems.

Try:

Philly Cheesesteaks (if your in Philly. Anywhere else, don't bother)

Yuengling Lager - great with steak.

Any kind of fresh lobster dish (if in New England...hell, any shell fish in New England)

Fresh Gumbo (if on the Gulf Coast)

Fried Oreos. You'll only ever want them once, but it's not something to miss.

Avoid:

ANYTHING from fast food places.

or from most roach coaches

Fried Twinkies.

You know, one of the problems with this is that America is quite a large place and our traditional "American" foods tend to be regional. Meaning what to try is very much dependent on where you are.

Now I know we're not unique is this regionalism, but it can take days to get to a new region rather than hours.

 

[Hagi]

You do have the infamous frikandel !

How could I forget! That's like blasphemy, I need to repent...

Please oh ye mighty vein clogging Frikandel, forgive me for my sins!
Long have you been the place of refuge for meat no other dish would have!
Accepting any and all parts of the animal no matter their origin!
So I pray you accept my ignorance as you have for those who eat you!
Bringing us all together through our cardiovascular diseases and obesity!
Until we all perish to become humus, to become grass, to become cow!
And then finally uniting us as Frikandels ourselves, to continue the cycle!

 

[bakan]

You do have the infamous frikandel !

How could I forget! That's like blasphemy, I need to repent...

Please oh ye mighty vein clogging Frikandel, forgive me for my sins!
Long have you been the place of refuge for meat no other dish would have!
Accepting any and all parts of the animal no matter their origin!
So I pray you accept my ignorance as you have for those who eat you!
Bringing us all together through our cardiovascular diseases and obesity!
Until we all perish to become humus, to become grass, to become cow!
And then finally uniting us as Frikandels ourselves, to continue the cycle!

This made my day and I literally fell out of my chair while I was swinging back and forth

 

[Stalydan]

Avoid... (IMO) Black Pudding (also known as Blood Pudding).

If it tastes anything like blood sausages or blood pancakes, then it's delicious. Especially with lingonberries.

Oh no, not lingonberries >__< I really, really don't like them oAo

 

[Jack Rascal]

Finland here and three main things would be reindeer, mämmi, and salt liquorice (or salmiakki).

Reindeer is something I'm pretty sure isn't available in many countries, and proper Finnish salt liquorice is a must try for anyone coming here.
Then there's mämmi, which is an easter dessert served with milk or cream. It looks like this:

Spoiler

You might also want to try the different casseroles. We make them from everything.

As for something to avoid, I don't really know. Maybe some old traditional foods that few people eat anyway. Like this thing called piimävelli, which is a kind of thick soup made from sour milk, clumps of flour, raisins and bread cheese.

Oh no, not mämmi!!! For the love of god, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! People, do not under any circumstance try it!

Llil, before you get upset, I'm a Finn too. But, I do not eat mämmi. Not after I hurled it on my aunts carpet

 

[Llil]

Oh no, not mämmi!!! For the love of god, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! People, do not under any circumstance try it!

Llil, before you get upset, I'm a Finn too. But, I do not eat mämmi. Not after I hurled it on my aunts carpet

What?! How can you say that? It's the best thing about easter! And hurling on your aunt's carpet is no reason to stop eating it.

 

[Jack Rascal]

What?! How can you say that? It's the best thing about easter! And hurling on your aunt's carpet is no reason to stop eating it.

It is a very good reason to stop eating it. It tasted the same coming out as it did going in

And it looks freaky too... *shudder*

 

[PAGEToap44]

Scotland...

Must try
Haggis
Oatcakes
Porridge, (The proper Scottish stuff)
Cranachan (A sugary, creamy, raspberry concoction)
Scotch Beef (Mmmmmm, steaks!)
Scottish Salmon (Unless like me, you hate fish)
Scotch Broth
And a Chippy (Trademark of Britain)
Oh and a Full Scottish Breakfast (Like an English Breakfast but with Haggis)

Avoid
Oysters
Deep Fried Mars Bar
Depp Fried Pizza
Deep Fried Haggis
Deep Fried Anything

 

[otakon17]

Anyone coming to Maryland, Anne's Dari-Creme for the Double Foot Long Chili Dogs, Fries and a Shake. Avoid the raw Clams, but that's just me I think.

 

[MrTub]

Sweden.

AVOID:
"surströmming"

From Wikipedia:
A Japanese study has shown that the smell of a newly opened can of surströmming is the most putrid smell of food in the world

Am I correct in thinking this is the canned rotted herring which cannot be carried on a plane or the smell removed for some 10 years if opened near soft furnishings?

My family ate it once, it was in our backyard and it smelt for around 2 days. And it was fucking disgusting.

 

[Dominic Burchnall]

Sweden.

AVOID:
"surströmming"

From Wikipedia:
A Japanese study has shown that the smell of a newly opened can of surströmming is the most putrid smell of food in the world

Am I correct in thinking this is the canned rotted herring which cannot be carried on a plane or the smell removed for some 10 years if opened near soft furnishings?

My family ate it once, it was in our backyard and it smelt for around 2 days. And it was fucking disgusting.

Yeah, apparently the only way to open it "safely" is fully immersed in water. Don't think there's anything you can do about the taste though...