Exotic means foreign. So, basically, all food which is not traditional in your own country can be considered exotic food, including the traditional food of the neighbouring country. However, especially for travellers, exotic is usually applied to food so strange we question ourselves if we would be able to eat it.

Nowadays, the Internet is full of websites, videos, lists, advice and tips about food around the world. The strangest it is, the greatest emphasis it has. In a time when “experience” is more important than “feeling” or “knowledge”, having what may be considered “weird experiences” beats them all. So, people go and film themselves eating insects, insides of animals, and all things considered disgusting.

Exotic food can be marvelous and delicious. Think, for example, of tropical fruit like banana, coconut, mango, pineapple, papaya, and passion fruit. Or some traditional dishes, that are probably now available everywhere, like curry (originally from India), paella (originally from Spain), fish ‘n’ chips (originally from England), sushi (originally from Japan), pizza (originally from Italy), donuts (originally from USA), Peking duck (originally from China), moambe chicken (originally from Angola), tagine (originally from North Africa).

All these foods are daily food in their original countries and they give you a cultural insight of the country you may be visiting. For example, in Europe, when going on field trips, people (and especially children) usually take sandwiches with them to eat during the day. In Japan, they serve sushi. In some countries, the traditional Christmas dinner is based on fish, while in others it is based on meat. In the USA the Thanksgiving dinner is traditionally a roasted turkey whereas in China people usually eat dumplings to celebrate New Year.

Each country also has their typical desserts, for example: tiramisu (in Italy), cinnamon rolls (in Sweden), Apfelstrudel (in Austria), baklava (in Turkey), brownies (in United States), sesame balls (in China), tres leches cake (in Mexico). Besides trying the desserts, you might as well try typical drinks such as: mango lassi (in India), apple cider (in England), bubble tea (in Taiwan), sangria (in Spain), coconut water (in Brazil), sake (in Japan).

Exotic ideas for your exotic trip.