With a heavy heart, we dedicate this food blog to one of the individuals who inspired us to experience the world and all the glorious food it has to offer. Anthony Bourdain is an icon in the food and travel industries, and he will be greatly missed. He was a masterful storyteller who had an amazing way with words. I wish I could capture all the nuances of flavors and textures in food and describe them as beautifully as he did.
Anthony Bourdain was a personal tour guide who was constantly with us during our nomad adventure. When we arrived at a new city, we would make sure to check in with him and plan a visit to the people and places he showcased during his travels. Because of him, we found Cowboy Hat Lady (Chiang Mai, Thailand), our favorite Vietnamese dish bun cha (Hanoi), Yasuda’s iconic sushi (Tokyo), and some of the best ceviche on the planet at La Cevicheria (Cartegena, Colombia).
Not only did he teach us about food, he brought us together using food as the common denominator and taught us to respect and celebrate other cultures and traditions and to not to be afraid to try new things and to explore the unknown. And so we did! Thank you for leading the way. We will carry with us his sense of adventure and camaraderie as we continue our quest to find amazing, unique cuisine and meet new people at the far corners of the globe, but our adventures will never be quite the same. Our words don’t compare to the eloquent prose, imagery, and wit of Anthony Bourdain, but I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the interesting food items we found as we explored the globe these past two years.
When it comes to experiencing international cuisine and culture, Jimmy and I believe in trying it all from high-end Michelin star restaurants to traditional, family-owned joints to basic street food. Most of these options, we discussed quite frequently in our blogs as we went through each country. However, one category of local food and experiences we haven’t discussed much is pre-packaged convenience store snacks and treats. One of my favorite activities when visiting a new country is walking through the local convenience store to see what people like to munch on when they want a treat or something fast to eat.
I have compiled our list of Top 20 foreign snack foods, going from lowest to highest rank, based on uniqueness, use of local ingredients, and tastiness along with a splash of silly, personal stories that boosted some foods to list-worthy status.
20) Marmite Crisps (New Zealand)
British Marmite and Australian Vegemite are sticky, dark brown food spreads made from yeast extract. Although an acquired taste, we were pleasantly surprised with the mild, salty flavor of these bagel crisps. Not quite the same shock as eating a thick layer of yeast spread on a piece of toast for the first time, these crisps were a perfect snack after lounging around the beaches in New Zealand. We were eventually warned that a THIN layer of spread on your morning toast is the key for true enjoyment, so perhaps these snack crisps are more in-line with what this local favorite should taste like when applied in an appropriate quantity.
19) Ume Twists (Japan)
Ume is a fruit, often called the Japanese plum although it is more similar to an apricot, that is popular in Japanese food and drinks. Umeshu liquor would be at the top of my list of favorite international liquors. The Ume twists, on the other hand, were a bit too mild in flavor but still unique enough to make the list. They are reminiscent of Cheetos but covered in pink ume powder instead of orange cheese powder.
18) Lion bars (Morocco/England)
Chocolate and candy bars are prevalent around the world, so picking out just one that is more unique from the offerings in the US is a challenge. For some reason, we developed a particular fondness with Lion bars. Although we eventually realized this product was from the UK, Lion bars were widely advertised in Marrakech. Every time we walked to the gym, we passed a McDonald’s that advertised the Lion McFlurry. For almost a month, we resisted the temptation. However, after a long tour one day, we stopped in for a quick bite to eat when we weren’t in the mood to hunt down a more authentic dinner. After a month of anticipation, the Lion McFlurry was a huge letdown. Shame on McDonald’s for only giving the tiniest teaspoon of Lion bar topping. It wasn’t even enough to figure out what a Lion bar was. Luckily, we were able to find a full Lion bar in a convenience store to satisfy our curiosity, and we discovered a delicious caramel chocolate bar with crispy pieces in it, sort of like a 100 Grand bar.
17) Skildpadde bar (Denmark)
I figured two candy bars needed to make the list given the wide variety around the world. The Skildpadde bar caught my eye (and tastebuds) because it is a rum and caramel cream filled chocolate bar, which is a bit of an unusual combination. In addition, skildpadde means “turtle” in Danish, and the bar is divided into three turtle shells that are filled with the sweet, gooey cream. Alternatively, many convenience store counters are graced with bins of just a single turtle shell for a quick sugar high.
16) Inka Corn (Peru)
Inka Corn is a crunchy, salty treat that comes in regular and barbeque-flavor. In the 15th and 16th century, the Incas experimented with crossbreeding corn to develop larger and more flavorful kernels, and toasted corn was a common snack. The kernels can be five times larger than North American corn varieties and have a unique nutty flavor when toasted.
15) Choco-Pie (Vietnam)
Choco-Pies are popular snack cakes in Vietnam. They are just a typical chocolate-coated yellow cake filled with cream. What makes them special is how highly revered they are by the Vietnamese people. Choco-Pies were the #1 offering that we saw in temples. No joke, we saw these everywhere and just had to try one. Obviously, Buddha is a huge fan of Choco-Pies, so for this reason and hopefully some good karma, Choco-Pies had to make our list.
14) Seaweed-wrapped rice crackers (Japan)
Dried seaweed snacks are popular in Southeast Asia, and these soy sauce-flavored rice crackers wrapped in seaweed were particularly addicting. Simple but quintessentially Asian.
13) Green Bean Ice Cream (Vietnam)
I really thought that there was something lost in translation whenever we were told that we were eating green bean-flavored ice cream. Why would anyone want to eat ice cream flavored with a vegetable? But, we finally found an ice cream bar with the English translation and picture of some sort of green bean. So, yes, I actually enjoyed an ice cream made out of a vegetable.
12) Tom Yum Crisps (Thailand)
We like Tom Yum soup and couldn’t believe how well this snack mix captured the flavor of spicy shrimp and lemongrass. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find this brand on our second visit to Thailand and were forced to buy an alternative that wasn’t quite as good. I still thought it was edible, but when I brought some home to share with my Nebraska friends, nobody could even swallow a bite without gagging. So, if you are ever in Thailand, maybe try this one at your own risk.
11) Achiras Santos (Colombia)
These little, round crackers may look unassuming, but they become addicting after just a handful. They are made from Achira, a native plant of the Andes region related to ginger and banana. Somehow, these manage to have a bit of a cheesy flavor that makes them hard to put down.
10) Quinoa and Coconut Cookies (Peru)
Quinoa originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. This superfood is the only food of vegetable origin that provides all essential amino acids, trace minerals and vitamins giving it a protein quality similar to milk, so quinoa surpasses other cereals in nutritional value. How could you not love such a healthy cookie? Slightly sweet and crunchy, this convenient store find was the perfect snack for a weary world traveler.
9) Ichi Chips (Vietnam)
We honestly have no idea what these chips were made of…from the cartoon on the bag perhaps honey and soybeans. Whatever they are, after a long hike through the jungles and rivers of Vietnam, these were a welcome treat while we waited for our chefs to cook our dinner when we camped overnight in the third largest cave in the world.
8) Flying Jacob (Sweden)
Not exactly a snack food, we still couldn’t resist adding the frozen Flying Jacob meal to the convenience store snack list. Flying Jacob is a somewhat bizarre casserole invented in Sweden that consists of chicken, cream, chili sauce, bacon, roasted peanuts and bananas with rice. We couldn’t find this dish served anywhere in restaurants because it is a typical home-cooked meal that kids coming home from college beg for their moms to make for them. But, we did manage to find a frozen version of it in the convenience store for those homesick college students.
7) ProPud (Norway/Sweden)
Leave it to the Vikings to create one of the healthiest and delicious convenience foods. We fell in love with ProPud. This really is just a high-protein pudding, so although it isn’t the most unique and creative, we needed something healthy AND delicious on this list. These powered us through many hikes around the fjords of Norway.
6) Pandan Custard and Coconut Sandwich (Thailand)
Pandan is the “vanilla” of Southeast Asia and adds a unique, sweet flavor and light green color to desserts and other foods. I found this gem in a local 7-Eleven, and I didn’t even know that at the counter they would heat it up for me. Perfection! The gooey, warm pandan custard paired perfectly with coconut inside the warm, buttery toasted bread.
5) Tamarind Jam in Banana Chips (Thailand/Laos)
I’ve always thought banana chips were kind of dull, but add in some tamarind jam and you have a winning snack. The seed pod from the tamarind tree is frequently used in Southeast Asian and Indian cuisine. The tangy, gooey jam is a perfect compliment to the crunchy, mildly sweet banana.
4) Green Tea-flavored Everything (Japan)
When it comes to green tea-flavored snacks, picking just one is impossible. From salty to sweet, we couldn’t believe how much we enjoyed them. As we were in Japan for cherry blossom season, we participated in numerous hanami. Hanami is a special word that means enjoying a picnic of food and drink with friends and family under the sakura (cherry blossom) trees. This gave us plenty of opportunities to try a wide array of picnic-friendly green tea treats, such as chips drizzled with green tea icing, sweet wafers filled with green tea cream, green tea mochi, and waffles filled with green tea mousse. And the list goes on and on….Green tea-flavored ice cream….donuts with green tea frosting…. the Japanese continued to surprise us with delicious salty and mildly sweet snacks with a hint of green tea.
3) Lefse (Norway)
My great-great-great-grandpa came from Stavenger, Norway, and one traditional homemade food my family makes is called lefse, which is a thin potato flatbread often topped with butter and sugar or cinnamon. When we first arrived in Norway, I was disappointed to not find lefse in any of the bakeries or restaurants. I was skeptical when I finally found a bunch of different pre-packaged varieties in the convenience stores. To my pleasant surprise, these were absolutely delicious. Some were rolled up with sugar and butter. Others were more cake-like and layered with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. All were delicious and came in handy as an easy snack food to take on long hikes around the fjords.
2) Kohuke (Estonia)
If this snack hadn’t required refrigeration, we would have loaded up our luggage with these delicious morsels. Kohuke are made from a sweet curd cheese (quark), similar to cheesecake, that is dipped in a layer of crisp chocolate, caramel, or fruit coating. You really can’t eat just one.
1) Pancakes (Japan)
We already bragged about the pre-packaged pancakes in Japan in one of our blogs, but we couldn’t pass up mentioning them again and giving them the top spot on our foreign snack countdown. The Japanese have perfected the to-go pancake. The American-inspired variety has two fluffy pancakes filled with the perfect portion of butter and maple syrup. The seasonal sakura package has two pink pancakes filled with a sweet sakura (cherry blossom) syrup. Of course, the traditional Japanese pancake is filled with red bean paste.
In the spirit of Anthony Bourdain, we hope you too will be inspired to do your own culinary exploring in a simple convenience store the next time you travel abroad.
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