CurioussoulRecommends: Eating like a local!

Sometimes I wonder if I eat in order to live or, most probably, I live in order to eat, haha :) I mean eating is such a pleasure! One of the biggest that we were given. I am very grateful that I don’t know what a true hunger is. And that I am able to experience different cuisines and sometimes even travel and discover new flavours.

So you see my point, food is super important in my life. I should add that, thanks to my awesome genes ;) (therefore thanks to my awesome parents!) and the fact that I love sport, I am eating a lot! I mean a lot! My plate is regularly looking like a plate for two or I am the one always asking for a second helping. All this is constantly a subject of jokes among my friends (not family, simply because my brothers are just like me, haha!)

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(This photo was taken in Arequipa, Peru. I was served a guinea pig. Guinea pigs are a local must-eat dish, traditional to this region!)

Today I would like to share with you my thoughts concerning travelling and food. I will not say to do what I do. There are so many different styles of travelling, we all differ one from the other, which is great by the way. This diversity makes the world such a beautiful place! I may only tell you what I personally find interesting and the rest, it’s up to you to decide!

As you can guess I am an absolute fan of eating food with locals, in local bars or on the streets. There are several reasons for that, I’ll just concentrate on two most important. It’s authentic and one of the best ways to understand regions that you are visiting. Additionally, it’s financially accessible.

And when I talk about street food I don’t mean going to European capital and eating Kebabs, I just wanted to be clear on that! ;)

I will concentrate on travelling to poorer countries. And how to enjoy your culinary journey in those regions.

Travelling and eating locally isn’t always a piece of cake. What are the possible problems/downsides of it?
There are many prejudices. I have heard from some people that they avoid eating on the streets or in local bars because they are afraid of food poisoning. They have heard stories and they prefer to remain cautious in order to avoid diarrhea, vomiting or whatever can occur. What happens as a consequence? They eat in places for tourists, they taste dishes that are more ‘tourist-friendly” (for example a cook can be using milder spices), and after coming back from their holiday they repeat the stories how one should avoid eating “locally”, because it may cause…. A vicious circle! Sure, there are people who really got food intoxication and it was heavy, but hey, all I’m saying is to give it a try. :)

The same thing with hygiene. There is some pretty delicious food over there, both on the street stands or small local bars. But they lack in our western standards in terms of hygiene. Let’s be honest, sometimes the spot where we want to eat isn’t perfectly clean etc. Yet it would be a shame to skip it “just” for that reason. If the spot is not disgusting and I see a lot of locals enjoying it, this is where I want to eat.

Let me remind you - I am talking about poorer, underdeveloped countries. If you see a street vendor that lack hygiene in so-called “Western part of the world”, just skip it and find another one as this is simply laziness or negligence!

I am not saying that eating in exquisite restaurants serving delicious five-star meals is bad for your travel experiences. All depends on your budget. I am sure it can lead to broaden your taste and open you to novelty, no doubts in that. Especially if you are travelling to countries where cuisine is offering meals from the best cooks in the world, like, for example, Peru does. In Lima, you will find one of the highest rating restaurants which will require you to book your table half a year in advance!

What I cannot understand, though, is people who spend their time visiting the city and its monuments, learn about the history and then…. Go and eat something they know from home, usually something from Italian cuisine like pizza or pasta. Or, often, and this is truly frightening, they look for multinational chains like McDonalds/Pizza Hut, you name it.

To sum up, this is what I did while I was travelling in Latin America.

I didn’t spend much money on food, I kept it simple and tasty. I ate like locals, in cheap bars, in my absolute favourite, must go and huge recommendation - local markets, and on the street stands. In all of those places often I was the only person with “occidental” appearance.

To be completely honest with you, throughout my whole 4- month travel I only ate in “real restaurants” ten, maybe fifteen times (I’ll have to count that cause I really do not remember). I call them “real” because, contrary to bars/markets, they had tablecloth ;), waitress (es) and all that ;) They were still financially accessible (I hope I will be able to eat in a Michelin restaurant one day though 😅) Nevertheless each of those times was always with a local person, in a restaurant serving dishes from local cuisine.

You must forgive me that I don’t have a lot of photos. Back then (and let’s face it, it would be the same today) I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures of food in those often intimate spaces. It was something too touristy for me to do. After all, I wanted to blend in...

Thank you for being here with me. I hope until next time!
Pura Vida and enjoy the travel!:)

• More about me here: You can travel without being wealthy aka a girl from a "struggling" family chasing her dreams!

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