Some destination have you drooling in the immigration queue. Others have you dreaming of home treats. The variety of ways we humans eat is a varied as we are. The tropical fruits, spicy stir fries, hearty nomad lamb soups, bread in itself countless forms. Bugs, fish, game meats, vegetables grilled, boiled, fried or raw, rice, deserts….stop me now!
Camel spaghetti, Berbera, Somaliland. It tastes better than it sounds. We had camel several times there, and even cook it at home now. Camel meat that is.
Outside Zanzibar's Sultan's Palace, a nightly market takes place in the evening cool. Zanzibar has been a melting pot of cultures for centuries, and the variety on offer is a world away from the dire meals of the interior.
Africa is not a culinary destination. The day to day food makes you appreciate the times when it is good. These vada snacks were one of many time in Tanzania we ate Indian. Indians have been in East Africa for centuries.
Staff selling sweet desert, ferinhi, in Esfahan, Iran. A type of rice pudding with rose water, a treat in a country which doesn't pass the grade for food.
On a highway market, in Zambia, dry fish for sale.
A quick bite in Iran. Falafel and a cola. Not my favourite country for food.
Food gradually improved as we move west through Iran. Breakfast of honey, cream and bread, Tabriz.
A whole sheep, stuffed with rice and nuts, known as quozi. Syria.
Desert, Damascus, Syria.
Dolma (stuffed vine leaves, Damascus, Syria.
Baba ganoush (eggplant dip) is served with pomegranite juice in Syria.
A generous grilled plate in Tartus, coastal Syria.
A typical but tasty Syrian staple, roast chicken, salad and hummus.
Melbourne's best falalfel plate, Half Moon Cafe, Coburg.
A fellow taxi passenger invited us to his family home in Jordan's north. Hospitality is a way of life in the Middle East, and a central tennant of Islam.
Our local $1 breakfast in Luxor: ful (beans), falafel, chips, salad, more ful, cheese. We had some very strong, wild goat cheese in Egypt.
Not all camels are for riding. Butcher's shop, Jordan. I don't mind a good camel stew at all.
Tequila shots, Irish Pub in Japan.
A menu board outside a suburban shop, Tokyo.
A chicken curry served with egg and vegetables, in Singapore.
Kibbeh - deep fried lamb mince- in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Mezze in the covered bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey.
The ubiquitous and delicious doner kebab, Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul serves up a grill with pide and more.
Turkey, again. The bazaar in Istanbul.....again.
Kids on a school trip enjoy lunch.
Somewhere on a street in Lahore, Pakistan, incredibly good biryani.
A baker in Quetta, Pakistan provides their daily bread. Very tasty, too.
Turkestan, Kazakhstan. A woman grills meats on a hot summer evening.
A staggering array of vokda for sale in a supermarket, Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Kazak and Uzbek food features lots of carrot, in salads, kimchi and plov.
The Green Bazaar in Al Mata, Kazakhstan is a great example of the region's markets.
Cured meats in Al Mata Kazakhstan. Was good!
It felt like every car was stopping at this highway bread bazaar en route to Fergana in Uzbekistan. The bakers etch their phone numbers on the bread!
The heat of Uzbekistan needs regular quenching. Multiple flavours of syrup for soda drinks in Andijon bazaar.
Cooking up a storm in the night market in Phrae, a rural city in Thailand. Looks like noodle soup.