Eating our way around the globe

The way to a traveler's heart is through their stomach. This variant on the old idiom rings true for us. Since food runs between 20-30% of our budget, it is a big part of this trip.  So much of a country's culture is communicated through its food. As many of you know, we Sharps love food, from the simple art of a dinner out at the pub with close friends, yummy food packed for a ski lunch at Lake Louise, or more elaborate dinner parties and clubs we’ve been part of over the years or weekends with friends that require spreadsheets to plan our meals. Food and how we consume it is always top of mind. We love every step of the culinary journey from planning to shopping to preparing to the ever important consumption of the meal. We felt a blog honouring said journey is well warranted (stay tuned for our next blog on our exploits through Thailand). Throughout nine months on the road we’ve had an epic culinary journey - a trip within the trip. 

Being on the road for so long has given us a new appreciation for how we think about meals. We really miss our pantry back home: The ability to grab an ingredient easily is such a luxury we took for granted! While AirBnBs are great and have given us a better sense of home, their kitchens come in all shapes, sizes and we never really know what we’re going to get; regardless of set up - cooking means picking up literally every ingredient you need each time.  Some days we get busy moving and run into ‘hangry’, sometimes settling for less than ideal airport/train station fare for way more money than they tend to be worth. Other times we find ourselves walking through street markets with an endless display of choices at our fingertips for next to nothing (bliss!). 

We started in the UK where they are not well known for their food: Their reputation for too many pints at the local pub may have led them to think that peas with fish and chips was the pinnacle of the gastro experience. The Scots can be forgiven having spent so much time perfecting the art of whiskey making (something we are all thankful for). It comes as no surprise then that the English borrow heavily from other cuisines imported from their previous empire. This might explain how we ended up having the best Indian curries of our trip at the small hole in the wall Spice House in the walled city of Gyffin (Wales). Special shout out to those who buck the trend - Duncan (one of our favourite innkeepers) had chef skills that impressed and made our stay just outside of Inverness so yummy. From a budget perspective, we found breakfast and lunch from the grocer to be most affordable. Finlay basically lived off poke bowls from Marks and Spencer.

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  Whiskey museum Edinburgh (we did not buy this bottle!!)

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  Tiramisu in Vaison La Romaine

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  Finn has been disappointed to learn shrimp is mostly served with shells on

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  A growing love for cappuccino

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  Homemade 'za ala Kim & Jasper

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  Kim & Ben helping with gelato research

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  Extensive croissant investigation has been undertaken

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  Homemade bread ala Caitlin

The Moroccans lived up to their reputation for fragrant tagines and grilled merguez sausage that were beyond mouth watering. The endless chocolate spread and fresh bread satisfied the sweet tooth among us (Jasper). Enjoying communal meals at the surf camp with other travelling adventurers made for wonderfully exotic Arabian nights. The mix of couscous, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, lemon and honey with fall off the bone chicken juxtaposed wonderfully against our daily salt water nasal rinses. 

The French are well known for their amazing culinary skills. We found this was where we were able to source the best local ingredients from some amazing markets and grocers with walls of amazing wine and cheese to fill anyone’s food dreams. The French really teach us that simplicity is king.  We often saw people grabbing a 1€ baguette from the seemingly countless boulangeries with a bite or two out of it before it made it home. Really you don’t need anything more than a baguette, cheese and some wine; although it helps to have the Eiffel Tower nearby to really fit the epic picnic vibe.  Erin’s favourite meal thus far was the classic French duck confit at a bustling Parisian bistro with wine and cheese all within spitting distance of the tower.

The cliché of the Italians and their pizza and pasta is true. It seems these foods are exported everywhere! We find that almost every menu we cross around the world has a pasta section and most with a pizza oven tucked away somewhere. Probably why we found our best pizza actually outside of Italy, weirdly it was just recently in a Thailand beach restaurant. Something about pizza, ice cold beer and a beach on a hot tropical day just hits all the right tastebuds. The Italians sure know their pasta though, we’re bringing home some new found skills in the homemade pasta game. Similar to the French the Italians keep it pretty simple, good pasta doesn’t need much more than flour, water & egg to make it amazing. Oh ya and the Italian pinch of salt (read handful). 

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  Chocolate spread was Jasper's main diet during Moroccan surf camp

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  Making couscous with chef at surf camp

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  Pizza in Roma

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  Trestavere neighbourhood, Rome

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  Homemade ravioli ala Jasper

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  Macarons in Paris

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  Pasta making class in Milan

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  Street meat after Inter Milan game

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  Aperol spritz overlooking Mt Vesuvius

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  Turkish coffee at the Grand Bazaar

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  Baguette sous la tour Eiffel

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  Eiffel picnic

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  Helping make fresh juice at Moroccan souk

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  Fancy 4 course meal with Grandpa Hugh & Daka

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  Rendez vous ala Copes

As part of Jasper's culinary teaching in Italy he was exposed to making his own gelato and the finer parts of what makes it such a good frozen treat. Like pizza and pasta, gelato can be found almost anywhere worldwide. This has given Jasper ample time to do field research into the lessons of what makes a good gelato, what flavours are the best; fresh fruit, chocolatey or nutty and how this all differs from ice cream. We have all made the sacrifice to help Jasper so that he doesn’t get overwhelmed by all this market research. 

The diversity of the rest of European food is amazing - so many foods on offer in such a small area. In Slovenia we found a hearty & comforting blend of tastes from Central and Mediterranean Europe. Further north in the Netherlands the Dutch enchanted us with their cheese, beer and pancakes. In Germany we found sausages, schnitzel and sauerkrauts all with oversized giant beers. We were in Europe in time to explore its Christmas markets. We loved walking the streets all bundled up enjoying a cup of warm mulled wine (in a ceramic mug - no styrofoam or paper cups here!) all while enjoying spiral potatoes on a stick sprinkled with paprika, parsley and parmesan: (a newfound favourite snack of all the Sharps that we hear is a Stampede midway treat this year). This was all a holiday experience centered on food and gathering we would happily see imported to Canada. 

We had highs - like successfully making our own ravioli - and we also had some lows. In Zanzibar food procurement met some difficulties. Here people do not have as much refrigerator space: many ingredients are bought daily from astonishingly small stores and roadside stands. We had planned to make pasta and meat sauce so we bought dried pasta from the store down the street and ground beef from the local butcher.  Unfortunately this particular package was past(a) its best before date. We were fastidious in making sure to boil the water for long enough - so it was much of a surprise to see lots of small black specs in our pasta water. We discovered that there were dead bugs in the package that got rehydrated as we cooked the pasta. Instead, the sauce was enjoyed on fresh sourdough. After this lowlight, the rest of our many culinary experiences in Africa were wonderful. This included Jasper's favourite meal when we joined his new friend Issa at his house in Zanzibar for a BBQ of fresh octopus and squid followed by the Canadian classic marshmallows on an African beach bonfire. 

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  Christmas morning room service

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  Beer with Zebra, Crescent Island

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  Safari breakfast

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  Zanzibar sundowner

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  Happy birthday Miguel on the Nile

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  Homemade dessert ala Caitlin

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  Zanzibar marshmallow roast

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  Practicing plating in Zanzibar kitchen

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  Poke bowl in Koh Samui, Thailand

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  Mango coconut ice cream, Koh Samui

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  Cheese market, Paris

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  Home cooking Naples

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  Fête des Vandages, Montmartre

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  Campground grilling ala Ian

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  Turkish coffee at the Grand Bazaar

Living and cooking all in the same mobile home was an experience we were really looking forward to. Ok maybe just Ian was looking forward to it. The ability to roam and cook was met with enthusiasm all around. The BBQ scene associated with camper vanning is lively. Pretty much every park had a communal kitchen with a grill. This made grilling with a beer and meeting friendly associates pretty easy. Many casual conversations start with “whatch’ya cookin’ over there?”  We opted many nights for a variation of lamb kabobs, grilled veg and a salad. We love lamb back home and most of the lamb we source comes from NZ or Australia anyway so it was nice to have some without quite as many frequent flyer miles. One of our more memorable meals came on the east coast of Australia in Cairns with our lovely friend Seann who met up with us while travelling. We enjoyed a night out without the kids at the Salt House Restaurant. We met a nice Canadian waiter who was happy to talk with some of his fellow countrymen all while enjoying some of Australia’s great wine and seafood. 

In Indonesia we found some of the best deals around. While Indonesia may not be well known for its culinary arts, the deals are simply amazing. The national meal of mie goreng (a quick and easy fried noodle dish served with chillies, veggies and chicken) is found everywhere! Jasper continued his culinary learning by having a pool side cooking class on the finer parts of noodle management. The cheapest we found the national delicacy was for 3$ accompanied by a 1$ beer - makes for quite the meal for less than a fiver. Finlay found his favourite meal here in Lombok with newfound friends laughing and joking while challenging each other to eat spicy wasabi before retiring to play pool after dinner at the beach resort, reminding us all that who you share your meals with is just as impactful as what you're eating. 

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  Lahmacun aka Turkish pizza

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  Birthday dessert Singapore

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  Dragonfruit banana smoothie on Gili Trawangan

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  Phó & hot pot in Ho Chi Minh city

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  Market in Mekong Delta

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  Homestay in Mekong Delta

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  Salad rolls Vietnam

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  Bánh Mì Phượng in Hoi An

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  Ian's favourite meal

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  Fancy dinner for cheap in Hue

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  Ian tried egg beer (once!)

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  Ban Xeo in Hanoi

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  Jasper ate a cricket!!

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  Papaya salad made fresh

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  Grilled corn on the beach Lombok

Throughout the travels we’ve been lucky to cross paths with old friends, some who we get to see often and for others it’s been decades. We enjoyed tacos in East London while camping out at Kim and Ben’s. Jasper still remembers this as his favourite all time taco experience! Fabienne and family and the French government hosted us at the official residence in Slovenia over lasagna and wine. We reconnected with long lost friends on the African continent: First with Caitlin who made fast friends with Finlay and Jasper first by taking us to a restaurant with a batting cage before hosting us at her place with hearty stew and homemade sourdough bread.  The Slaters opened their home to let the kids grill fresh fish on an open charcoal grill on the front lawn while exploring new and exciting flavour concoctions of lime, soy, tobasco and sesame from their kitchen. It’s always amazing to break bread with friends old and new all over the world. 

In Vietnam we found the least western style food, which was fine by us. We loved Vietnamese food before coming to this country and our love affair deepened during our stay. While hot and spicy noodle soup for breakfast may not sound all that appealing to some, we learned most locals start their day with this delicacy. While caving we were served some of the most surprisingly amazing soup. Something about camping in the jungle while the dawn breaks that makes everything taste so good. We searched out good phớ throughout our time, including at Pho10 a Michelin recognized restaurant in the heart of Hanoi that has a reputation for their amazing spicy beef rice noodle soup with basil. We were so happy we braved the round the block line to enjoy this!

Probably our favourite fusion of cultures (Vietnamese & French) and food is the Banh Mí. A small crusty French roll baked fresh and served with pickled vegetables, pâté and grilled pork really brings the two cultures together like a match made in heaven. Before leaving Calgary we already loved this Vietnamese import, there are many such shops in Calgary largely thanks to a immigration boom from Vietnam in the 80s and 90s following the war. It’s so nice to have this culture and food be part of our prairie landscape. Ian found his favourite meal in Hoi An in a historic wooden building dating back to the 18th century in Da Nang province called Spice Route by Vy. We had sweet & spicy pork belly with shrimp salad rolls on a roof top patio in old town overlooking the Thu Bon River. This experience was enhanced by a live piano bar on the main floor of the restaurant.  

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  Harvest festival Montmartre

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  Seafood pasta

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  Ljubljana brunch

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  Cocktails in Cairns with Seann

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  Resort life for Jasper

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  Post surf coffee cart Bali

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  Bali

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  Passion fruit monster

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  Dinner & a movie on Gili T

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  New friends on a train, Vietnam

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  Camping breakfast Phong Nha

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  Night market fare

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  Homemade springrolls & wantons

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  Moroccan buffet

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  Found Canadian poutine at a Christmas market in France!

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  Korean BBQ in Berlin

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  Safari lunch ala Boniface

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  Lunch in a cave!

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  BBQ Ribs in Bali

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  Salt, pepper & lime chicken wings, Mekong Delta

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  Spiral potato discovered in Innsbruck

We are currently in the middle of our Thai experience and have already become accustomed to the amazing tastes here. We’ve become spoiled with almost daily fresh fruit smoothies. The mango, strawberry and lime here are so amazing and fresh. Kaffir lime leaves are sprinkled throughout almost every dish, giving the food a light citrus flavour that, in combination with the copious amounts of coconut milk, give a flavour boost. Green, Yellow, Red and Panang curries along with smoothie ordering make every table alive with flavour and colour. Erin has loved papaya salad. Most evening food markets have a few stalls where you can see the preparation happen, mixing fresh unripe papaya slices with julienne carrots, long beans, tomatoes and peanuts in a spicy and citrusy fish sauce to get a usually well balanced salad. Watch out though - it is easy to get mesmerized by the process and forget to add “not too spicy please” because by default this particular dish seems to come with flamethrower levels of spice. The night markets in Thailand have provided us with so much fun to explore and try so much for cheap - great ribs, satay, squid on a stick, fresh coconut ice cream and even crickets (way to go Jasper our enthusiastic culinary adventure leader!). 

As we look forward to the last portion of our journey we look forward to Japan where art and food are fused together for a unique culinary experience. 

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Jasper

One of my favourite parts of this trip has been the food, because we have had so many different kinds. The best grocery store we found was the Super U in France - we went there everyday to find fresh orange juice, cheese and charcuterie. We even bought cookie ingredients. Visiting the Costco in Australia made me feel like home - I love the free samples. My favourite food experience was learning how to cook fresh pasta in Milan and then making it for my family in Naples. I am going to learn how to make sushi when we go to Japan. The craziest thing I ate was a cricket in a night market on Koh Samui, or the crocodile and kangaroo in Australia.