Taste of place

El sabor de cada lugar

Detrás de cada plato hay la historia y las costumbres de una ciudad: por qué el sushi era la comida rápida de Edo, en qué casa antigua empezó el pato laqueado de Pekín, si la historia de la pizza Margarita es verdad o leyenda. 47 platos emblemáticos con su origen, cómo comerlos y las normas locales, y además «qué comer cerca» de 249 lugares y fiestas: imprescindibles, dónde comer, normas en la mesa y precio orientativo.

Japan

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GastronomíaHiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima okonomiyaki

Layers of batter, cabbage, pork and noodles — after the atomic bomb, it was what kept Hiroshima fed.

GastronomíaFukuoka, Japan

Hakata tonkotsu ramen

Milky pork-bone broth, very thin noodles, and kaedama — a refill of noodles.

GastronomíaOsaka, Japan

Osaka takoyaki

Invented by an Osaka street vendor in 1935, it became synonymous with the 'city of flour foods'.

GastronomíaKyoto, Japan

Kyoto kaiseki

From the simple meal of the tea ceremony to the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine, devoted to the seasons and to tableware.

GastronomíaTokyo, Japan

Edomae sushi

Today's nigiri sushi began as Edo's street 'fast food'.

GastronomíaHakata, Fukuoka

Nakasu yatai, Fukuoka

The last stronghold of Japan's yatai culture: ramen, oden and toasts with strangers by the river at dusk.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés88 lugares

China

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GastronomíaGuangdong (Guangzhou), China

Cantonese dim sum

'One pot, two pieces': a pot of tea with two dim sum — Guangzhou mornings begin in the teahouse.

GastronomíaLhasa, Tibet, China

Butter tea

A highland drink churned from tea, butter and salt — the first cup a Tibetan home offers a guest.

GastronomíaNanjing, China

Nanjing salted duck

'Jinling's duck dishes are the best in the land': dry-cured, brined and simmered, with pale skin and tender meat.

GastronomíaHangzhou, China

Dongpo pork

Red-braised pork belly named after Su Dongpo, the signature dish of Hangzhou cuisine.

GastronomíaXi'an, China

Yangrou paomo

Tear the bread into fingernail-sized pieces yourself, then hand it to the cook to simmer in lamb soup.

GastronomíaBeijing, China

Peking duck

From a Yuan court recipe to the old shops of Qianmen: six hundred years of duck rolled in pancakes.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés31 lugares

Southeast Asia

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GastronomíaHanoi, Vietnam (north)

Phở

A noodle soup that appeared in northern Vietnam only in the early 20th century, shaped by French and Chinese influences.

GastronomíaKuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nasi lemak

Malaysia's national dish: rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, with sambal.

GastronomíaHội An, Vietnam

Hội An cao lầu

Noodles said to be made only with water from Hội An's ancient well.

GastronomíaSingapore

Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese immigrants brought Wenchang chicken to the Nanyang, where it became Singapore's national dish.

GastronomíaChiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai khao soi

Muslim noodles that came down the trade routes from Yunnan became northern Thailand's signature dish.

GastronomíaBangkok, Thailand

Pad thai

A 'national dish' that only appeared in the 1930s, promoted to build national identity.

GastronomíaSingapore, island-wide (Maxwell Food Centre)

Singapore hawker centres

Singapore's 'community dining rooms': food of many ethnic groups under one roof, inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2020.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés18 lugares

Central Asia

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GastronomíaSamarkand, Uzbekistan

Uzbek plov

Lamb, carrots and rice cooked in a giant pot that can feed a thousand people on a wedding morning.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés10 lugares

South Asia

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GastronomíaKandy, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan rice and curry

A plate of rice with several curries made from fish, meat, vegetables, lentils and fruit.

GastronomíaAgra, India

Agra petha

A translucent sweet at the foot of the Taj Mahal, with a widely told but doubtful legend.

GastronomíaIndia (nationwide)

Indian thali

One round platter holding all six tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy.

GastronomíaKathmandu, Nepal

Nepali momo

Steamed dumplings from Nepal and Tibet, whose name may come from northwest China's 'momo'.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés15 lugares

Middle East & North Africa

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GastronomíaAbu Dhabi, UAE

Arabic coffee

Pale coffee with cardamom, served with dates — the Gulf's gesture of hospitality.

GastronomíaJordan (nationwide)

Jordanian mansaf

Lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yoghurt — Jordan's national dish and way of welcoming guests.

GastronomíaMarrakesh, Morocco

Moroccan tagine

A North African stew slow-cooked in a pointed clay pot — the dish is named after the pot.

GastronomíaCairo, Egypt

Koshari

Rice, macaroni, lentils and chickpeas topped with tomato sauce and fried onions — Egypt's national dish.

GastronomíaIstanbul, Türkiye

Turkish coffee

Unfiltered coffee — and when you finish, the grounds in the cup can 'tell your fortune'.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés20 lugares

Europe

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GastronomíaVienna, Austria

Sachertorte

Vienna's most famous chocolate cake, over which two old houses fought legal battles for decades.

GastronomíaLisbon (Belém), Portugal

Pastel de nata (pastel de Belém)

Invented by the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery; the recipe is still locked in a secret room.

GastronomíaLondon, UK

Fish and chips

Jewish immigrants in London's East End opened the first shops in the 1860s, once wrapping it in old newspaper.

GastronomíaValencia, Spain

Paella valenciana

Named after its pan; Valencians say only the version with rabbit and chicken is the real thing.

GastronomíaNaples, Italy

Neapolitan pizza

The original soft, thin pizza with a puffy rim — though the Margherita story may have been made up later.

GastronomíaParis, France

Baguette

A long loaf whose recipe is set by law, added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2022.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés20 lugares

The Americas

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GastronomíaHonolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA

Hawaiian poke

'Poke' simply means 'to cut' in Hawaiian: fishermen's offcuts mixed with salt and candlenut as a snack.

GastronomíaRio de Janeiro, Brazil

Feijoada (Brazilian black-bean stew)

Black beans slow-cooked with pork, blending Portuguese, African and Indigenous food; Brazilians eat it on Saturdays.

GastronomíaQuebec, Canada

Poutine

A 1950s invention from rural Quebec that went from object of ridicule to cultural symbol.

GastronomíaNew York, USA

New York bagel

A bread ring that's boiled and then baked, brought to New York by Polish Jewish immigrants.

GastronomíaNew Orleans, USA

New Orleans beignets

Square fried dough brought by French colonists, with café au lait made with chicory.

GastronomíaLima, Peru

Peruvian ceviche

Peru's national dish, recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

GastronomíaMexico City, Mexico

Tacos al pastor

The kebab spit brought by Lebanese immigrants became a pork taco with pineapple in Mexico.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés20 lugares

Australia & New Zealand

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GastronomíaNorth Island, New Zealand (Rotorua and elsewhere)

Māori hāngī earth-oven feast

Burying food in an earth pit with hot stones to steam-roast it is how Māori feed large numbers of guests.

A meat pie from a bakery in South Australia

GastronomíaAustralia (nationwide)

Australian meat pie

The hand-held meat pie that's a must at Aussie rules football, once called 'Australia's national dish' by a state premier.

GastronomíaAustralia / New Zealand

Pavlova

A meringue cake named after a Russian ballerina, fought over for a hundred years by Australia and New Zealand.

GastronomíaSydney, New South Wales (Bondi, Bronte)

Public barbecues in beach parks

Australians' most everyday weekend: bring sausages and bread and gather by the free electric barbecues in a seaside park.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés15 lugares

Islands & Polar Regions

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GastronomíaReykjavík, Iceland

Icelandic fermented shark

Poisonous Greenland shark, fermented and air-dried, has become Iceland's most hard-core national dish.

Qué comer cerca de los lugares de interés12 lugares