45 DAYS / 45 DISHES / 45 COUNTRIES
At the start of November 2012, reviewing posts from October and realizing that I had eaten dishes attributable to 14 different countries without even trying, I challenged myself to eat 30 dishes from 30 countries over the course of 30 consecutive days. Eating at restaurants and cooking myself, I completed the project. I kept it going for another 15 days, another 15 dishes, another 15 countries.
- Cameroon (3.301 Puff-Puff & Beans)
- Uzbekistan
- Philippines
- Vietnam
- Hungary (3.305 Beef Goulash)
- India
- Spain
- Paraguay
- Cambodia
- United Kingdom (England)
- South Africa
- Indonesia
- Pakistan
- Singapore
- Mongolia
- Austria
- Korea
- Greece
- Japan
- Turkey
- Thailand
- Australia
- Peru
- Italy
- Sri Lanka
- Bulgaria
- Norway
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Sweden (3.330 Kåldolmar)
- United States of America
- Malaysia
- Czech Republic
- United Arab Emirates
- Russia
- China
- Lebanon
- France
- Nepal
- Switzerland
- Egypt
- Germany
- Iran
- Brazil
- Ireland
In the end, I regret that I was unable to include 2 countries, Canada and Kazakhstan, that were represented by restaurants in the city – maybe next time.
Sources: 30 in some sort of commercial setting – 8 restaurants were completely empty of other customers during my visit except for me or my party – 15 by me.
My favorite restaurant items were the Lebanese lamb sandwich and the Thai morning glory stir-fry, while my favorite home-cooked item was clearly the Swedish cabbage rolls.
Overall, it was a great experience. I encountered a lot of restaurants and national cuisines that I may never have otherwise. I discovered, much to my pleasant surprise, that such a wide variety could be had with relatively easy access in Korea. But I spent a lot of money in doing so. And maintaining the streak for 45 consecutive days did constitute a major pain in the ass at times. Still, I’m glad that I did it.
(See also FOODS.)
(See also PLACES.)