Talking about your city's special food

[bacem]

food is a part of culture. so, i want to know about special food in your city. i mean, the kind of food that makes people think of your city the moment they see it or hear its name, for example, when someone says "pizza" people will say italia, that kind of logic. but i'm talking about the one in your city, not country. so, please tell me which city do you live, what's your city's special food, a little explanation about it, and, if possible, picture to make me drool .

let's start with mine. i live in Surabaya, Indonesia. my city's special food is "lontong balap". it is made from lontong, a staple food made from rice wrapped in banana leaf, beansprouts, fried Indonesian tofu, lentho, some kind of fried food made from mung beans with spice, and Indonesian shrimp paste sauce. usually, it is accompanied with "sate kerang", an Indonesian clam kebab.

this is what it looks like:

lontong:

lentho:

so, now, your turn.

[def]

I've been to Indonesia (Jakarta and Jogjakarta) and loved the food. Getting Ayamgoring on the street at a night stall was the highlight of the trip

Now, I'm in Sapporo, and the greatest food here is miso ramen. Ramen are a kind of heavy Chinese noodles, pretty available everywhere these days, if only the cup-noodle version. In Sapporo, the broth is a rich, slightly creamy miso style, often with butter and corn in it. It rocks. It is among the best things I've ever eaten in my life. I considered ramen poverty food growing up in Canada, since Mr. Noodles ramen cost 33 cents each, but now I know what true ramen is like. Eating miso ramen is truly satisfying. Sapporo has lots of other foods, but none hit that sweet spot quite so well.

[bacem]

oh? Jogjakarta? have you eat Gudeg yet? if not, make sure you eat it the next time you go there. oh, and what's that above the egg? is it young bamboo?

Edited May 12, 2013 by bacem

[def]

oh? Jogjakarta? have you eat Gudeg yet? if not, make sure you eat it the next time you go there. oh, and what's that above the egg? is it young bamboo?

I won't be going back anytime soon. I loved it, but I don't have the money these days

I wasn't sure what that ingredient was, but upon a little research, yup, it's bamboo.

But the ingredients depend on the shop. There are a dozen ramen shops in every neighbourhood, all with their own recipes. That photo I posted was from a Google search. Here are two of my own:

The broth is totally fatty, but oh so good!

[B34TBOXX5]

This is a great idea for a topic!

I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia and our famous local dish is the donair. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab#Canada It's a variation of the Turkish doner kebab or Greek gyro, which an immigrant changed to have spiced beef instead of lamb or chicken. It's served on a flatbread with chopped tomatoes and onions and a sweet sauce. It's so popular that shops in Alberta (across the country) started making them because there were so many Nova Scotians/Maritimers working in the oilfields out there.

This is a regular Donair:

But over time restaurants now serve things such as Donair Pizza:

And Donair egg rolls .

It's hilarious that the asian cuisine is vegetables, tofu and noodles and the North American is fried meat, dough and cheese... Healthiness is not our strong suit but it's delicious once in a while!

Now, I'm in Sapporo

This might be the most obvious question ever asked, but there's an import beer here called Sapporo, which I believe is Chinese... Is that the city of it's origin by any chance?

[Hey Joe]

I didn't realize that Lego was edible!

There are many famous, special dishes here in Beijing. eGullet is my personal favorite food forum.

Edit; oh wow, I've been knighted! How cool is that? Do I get an audience with the Queen?

Joe

Edited May 14, 2013 by bjtpro

[tomdobs55]

Edit; oh wow, I've been knighted! How cool is that? Do I get an audience with the Queen?

Joe

Congrats Joe I'm sure your sash is in the mail. I'm from Boston and its all about seafood here. My favorite has to be clam chowder. New England style, so thick and creamy that your spoon sticks straight up when you try to eat it. Gotta be that or a nice fresh lobster roll. For those of you unfamiliar, it's pieces of lobster tossed with just enough mayo to hold it together and served on a toasted hot dog bun. A true New England favorite!

[B34TBOXX5]

I'm from Boston

So I take it you were happy with last night's game 7??? hahaha

I love New England Clam Chowder. Lobster, clams, mussels, pretty much everything from the sea is also very popular up here in Nova Scotia.

Edited May 14, 2013 by B34TBOXX5

[def]

This might be the most obvious question ever asked, but there's an import beer here called Sapporo, which I believe is Chinese... Is that the city of it's origin by any chance?

Uh, no. It's made in Sapporo, Japan. The old factory has an all-you-can-eat restaurant that is utterly decadent.

Is Sapporo beer truly Japanese? It's said that Japan's beer industry was somewhat built on Japan's invasion of China in the 30's. Lot's of European countries had enclaves there, especially Shanghai. Japan took over everything, and shipped the German beer factory technology back to Japan.

I don't know if it was Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo or what manufacturer, but beer is not a native drink.

Anyway, Sapporo beer is on tap everywhere in Sapporo, and is in no way Chinese

(I've had Thai beer, Singaporean beer, Taiwanese beer, and to be honest, I don't think I even know the name of a Chinese beer manufacturer.)

[B34TBOXX5]

Uh, no. It's made in Sapporo, Japan.

Oops... I have to plead ignorance, I've only ever seen it on the shelf in the "import" section of the liquor store. I read the name "Sapporo" and tried, unsuccessfully, to put 2 and 2 together.

Thanks for the correction, def!

Edited May 14, 2013 by B34TBOXX5

[def]

Oops... I have to plead ignorance, I've only ever seen it on the shelf in the "import" section of the liquor store. I read the name "Sapporo" and tried, unsuccessfully, to put 2 and 2 together.

Thanks for the correction, def!

No worries, I grew up in Canada. I roughly know what quality the Canadian education system is in terms of Asian geography and history is

Japan is very fierce about its native foods versus imports. Ramen is sold everywhere, but it is still labeled Chinese, despite being in the country a thousand years. Yakiniku is likewise country-wide, but it is always called Korean. I suppose it's all similar to how pizza in the West is called Italian, but in its current form its really American.

[tomdobs55]

So I take it you were happy with last night's game 7??? hahaha

...off topic...YEP!...but yeah can't go wrong with seafood around here

[Xeen-ia]

Well, I always envy other cultures, and their interesting cuisines. For the same reason, we have country specific weeks when we go shopping for groceries in my house. I love tasting all sorts of food.

But it never misses - when denmark is representet by food its either by a danish (called wienerbrød in denmark) A sweet pastry with either jam, filling or a thin frosting on top...sweet on sweet with sweet.

or else its roasted pork with regular and brown potatos (potatos roasted with sugar on a pan), garnished with brown gravy and red cabbage. ( in danish its called flæskesteg, and is usually the favorite christimas or family dinner course)

[Sid Sidious]

I live near Buffalo, NY, so we have some of the best pizza in the country, and hands down the best wings. In fact, that's what I'm having for dinner tonight. Below is a picture of wings from Duff's, widely regarded as one of (if not the) best wings restaurant in the world. Even the local gas station has wings that are far superior to some chains (cough cough Buffalo Wild Wings cough).

[just2good]

Not really a unique dish, but I live just about five minutes away from the "famous" Rock'n'Roll Ribs, owned by Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden.

Best ribs I've ever tasted. And I'm a rib fanatic.

I've been there a couple times, as they are a tad expensive (worth it, though). I'm so lucky that I live in Coral Springs!

Edited May 14, 2013 by just2good

[prateek]

I don't know what Toronto is known for in terms of cuisine by non-residents, but we sure do have a crap-ton of these:

[tomdobs55]

I live near Buffalo, NY, so we have some of the best pizza in the country, and hands down the best wings. In fact, that's what I'm having for dinner tonight. Below is a picture of wings from Duff's, widely regarded as one of (if not the) best wings restaurant in the world. Even the local gas station has wings that are far superior to some chains (cough cough Buffalo Wild Wings cough).

I never knew buffalo was known for pizza. How is it? Is it super thin like new York style?

[B34TBOXX5]

No worries, I grew up in Canada. I roughly know what quality the Canadian education system is in terms of Asian geography and history is

Hahaha unfortunately, you are very right!

I live near Buffalo, NY, so we have some of the best pizza in the country, and hands down the best wings. In fact, that's what I'm having for dinner tonight. Below is a picture of wings from Duff's, widely regarded as one of (if not the) best wings restaurant in the world. Even the local gas station has wings that are far superior to some chains (cough cough Buffalo Wild Wings cough).

Those...look...amazing. Wings are popular up here too, there's a bar called Bubba Ray's which has 10 dry rubs like sea salt & pepper and cajun, and over 60 different wing sauces. They have a sauce below "suicide" on the menu called "death", and you have to sign a waiver to eat them.

I can only imagine how incredible buffalo wings would be in Buffalo...

[bacem]

wow. not around for a while, and already seen a lot of picture making me drools.

I live near Buffalo, NY, so we have some of the best pizza in the country, and hands down the best wings. In fact, that's what I'm having for dinner tonight. Below is a picture of wings from Duff's, widely regarded as one of (if not the) best wings restaurant in the world. Even the local gas station has wings that are far superior to some chains (cough cough Buffalo Wild Wings cough).

wow, wings. those looks really delicious. what sauce is that? mayonnaise? tartar? or something else?

[BlueberryWaffles]

I'm from MN, and my iconic food is snow.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Tolkien

[tomdobs55]

I'm from MN, and my iconic food is snow.

What about hockey?

[Sid Sidious]

See, I told you guys Buffalo had good wings. People are drooling on their keyboards from a picture.

@tomdobs55

The pizza is thin compared to Chicago deep dish, but it isn't as thin as New York.

@bacem

It's bleu cheese sauce.

[dr_spock]

Congrats Joe I'm sure your sash is in the mail. I'm from Boston and its all about seafood here. My favorite has to be clam chowder. New England style, so thick and creamy that your spoon sticks straight up when you try to eat it. Gotta be that or a nice fresh lobster roll. For those of you unfamiliar, it's pieces of lobster tossed with just enough mayo to hold it together and served on a toasted hot dog bun. A true New England favorite!

That one thing I miss since moving from Boston. Every time I visit the Boston area I go out for good old New England Clam Chowder. Also fresh seafood more or less just off the boat.

I don't know what Toronto is known for in terms of cuisine by non-residents, but we sure do have a crap-ton of these:

Yummy street meat.

You can get almost any kind of food in Toronto. So many different communities and cultures here.

[bacem]

googled the pic of clam chowder. so, it's some kind of clam cream soup? it does trigger my hunger, tough.

[tomdobs55]

googled the pic of clam chowder. so, it's some kind of clam cream soup? it does trigger my hunger, tough.

It has to be new England style chowder (or chaowdah as we say here). It's thick and creamy, Manhattan style is tomato based, and Rhode Island style is just broth. Neither of which compare to the new England style.