One-Ninety Restaurants
Eating Out All Over The World

Eating Out When Travelling Abroad

A large part of a holiday's enjoyment is defined by the food that is eaten when there. Travellers spend quite a proportion of their time looking for places to eat, before they even get to their destination. Most tourist books such as Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide include sections on good places to eat for a number of price ranges. People plan to visit this or that place because it has an eating place that sounds nice. Tourists also find nice places when they're travelling, then go back to them again if they can (or sometimes they can't, because there are too many good places...).

When reminiscing about holidays it always ends up being "oh, and that place on the seafront at ..." or "the lovely old place in ..." or "that Taverna right by the sea at ..." or "that place that served lovely pasta...". One couldn't bear to go somewhere and not go out for dinner. Being stuck in the hotel "buffet dinner" every night is hardly anyone's idea of a good holiday.

This is why we put together thist site about eating out when travelling abroad. The site talks about amazing places to eat at in locations across the world, be they just off the Equator (1 degree North) or near the North Pole (90 degrees North), which is why we called it the One-Ninety Restaurant Site.

Healthy Dining

Eating out is one of the best things about being on holiday. A Traveller's Guide to London will give you all the information on where to stay in London, discount hotel reservations, special offers, attractions, events, theatre breaks, event tickets, restaurants, night life, guided tours, walks, tips and recommendations. However, so-called ‘traveller’s tummy’ can ruin your trip and leave you feeling miserable. Luckily, there are several things you can do to prevent you becoming ill from what you eat and drink. These include:

• Unless you know that the drinking water is safe, boil it or use purification tablets. Bottled water is usually safe so use it for drinking, washing food and cleaning teeth.
• Don’t take ice in your drink – it may be made from water that contains germs.
• Eat freshly prepared food, preferably cooked. Uncooked food should be avoided.
• Wash your hands after using the toilet and before preparing or eating food.
• Check with your doctor that you have all the vaccinations you need before travelling.
• Take extra care if you are pregnant, elderly or ill.

The Hungry Planet

Peter Menzel and his wife, the documentary filmmaker and writer Faith D'Aluisio, launched themselves on a project to explore world eating habits. "The Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" (Ten Speed Press, November, 2005) portrays in pictures and words what foods average families in 24 countries procure and consume -- everything from milk and meat to cornmeal and frozen corndogs.

A few trends emerged: Wealth, not surprisingly, increased access to fat and sweets; meat consumption is up and fast food is spreading everywhere. The summary below explains a lot.

So why do you need to know this?

If you want to make the most of your travel experience, you should aim to eat what the natives eat, and avoid McDonald's and their ilk like the plague!

America

United States / The Caven Family

The Caven family in the kitchen of their home in American Canyon (Napa County), with a week's worth of food. Craig Caven (holding Ryan, 3), 38, and Regan Ronayne, 42, stand behind the kitchen island; in the foreground is Andrea, 5. Cooking methods: electric stove, microwave, outdoor BBQ. Food preservation: refrigerator-freezer, freezer. Favorite foods - Craig: beef stew. Regan: berry yogurt sundae (from Costco). Andrea: clam chowder. Ryan: ice cream.

One Week's Food in April

Grains & Other Starchy Foods: $30.11 San Luis sourdough bread, sliced, 2 loaves; Oroweat cinnamon raisin bagels, 2.5 lb; Oroweat onion bagels, 2.5 lb; potatoes, 2 lb; Kellogg's raisin bran cereal, 1 lb; Quaker oatmeal, instant, 1 lb; Bohemian Hearth seven-grain bread, sliced, half loaf; No Yolk egg noodles, 12 oz; Mission Gorditas flour tortillas, 10 oz; Buitoni five-cheese tortellini, 8 oz; Pillsbury Best all-purpose flour, 8 oz; Progresso bread crumbs, 4 oz.

Dairy: $6.22 Sunny Select (store brand) milk,‡ 1 gal; cheese,‡ shredded, 8 oz; Kraft parmesan cheese, grated, 3 oz.

Meat, Fish & Eggs: $22.87 Foster Farms chicken breast tenders, 4 lb; Sunnyside eggs, 12; beef, ground, 1.5 lb; tuna fish,‡ canned, 1 lb.

Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $21.30 Del Monte yellow bananas, 5 lb; Braeburn variety apples, 2.5 lb; Golden Delicious variety apples, 2.5 lb; tangerines, 2 lb; red grapes, 1.5 lb; baby carrots, 2 lb; broccoli, 1 lb; carrots, 1 lb; Sunny Select mixed vegetables, frozen, 8 oz; Sunny Select peas, frozen, 8 oz.

Condiments: $9.43 Skippy Roasted Honey Nut peanut butter, 1.1 lb; C&H white cane sugar, 8 oz; Mary Ellen apricot jam, 4 oz; Best Foods mayonnaise,‡ 2 oz; French's yellow mustard,‡ 2 oz; Heinz ketchup,‡ 2 oz; salt, 1.6 oz.

Snacks & Desserts: $11.54 Snyders sourdough nibbler pretzels, 1 lb; Sunny Select raisins, 12 oz; Sunny Select vanilla wafers, 12 oz; Sunny Select Blueberry Fruit & Grain cereal bars, 10.4 oz; Sunny Select Raspberry Fruit & Grain cereal bars, 10.4 oz.

Prepared Food: $19.33 Red Baron pepperoni pizza, 4 lb; ham submarine sandwiches, 2 12-oz, Craig buys a sandwich at school two times a week; Foster Farms corn dogs, 1.3 lb; Five Brothers marinara sauce, 12 oz; Rice-A-Roni, chicken flavor, 6.9 oz.

Fast Food: $7.50 McDonald's: 2 Happy Meals, (each containing 1 6-piece chicken McNuggets, 1 small French fries, 1 low-fat milk); chocolate chip cookies, 1 pkg. Restaurants: $4.50 Fresh Choice Restaurant, the family eats here once a month, using a coupon to defray the cost. Price shown reflects one-fourth of the cost of one visit per month.

Beverages: $22.89 Alhambra water, 5 gal; Coca-Cola,‡ 2.6 qt; diet Coca-Cola, 2.2 qt, one fountain drink purchased before daily drive to work; Capri Sun juice drink, 10 6.8-fl oz pkgs; apple juice, 2 qt; Tropicana homestyle orange juice, 2 qt; Sunny Select instant coffee, 12 oz; tap water for cooking.

Miscellaneous: $3.49 Whiskas Savory Nuggets cat food, 3.3 lb.

Food Expenditure for One Week: $159.18

Asia

Bhutan / The Namgays

In Shingkhey, a remote hillside village of a dozen homes, Nalim and Namgay’s family assembles in the prayer room of their three-story rammed-earth house with one week’s worth of food for their extended family of 13. Cooking method: clay stove fueled by wood fire. Food preservation: natural drying.

One Week’s Food in February**

Grains & Other Starchy Foods: $0.25** Red rice,* 66.2 lb, this also feeds the many guests who drop by at mealtimes; flour,* 3.1 lb; red potatoes,* 2.2 lb; barley,‡ 2 lb, for toasting.

Dairy: ** Milk,* 2.8 gal, from family cows. Butter is churned from a portion of this milk; the byproduct, whey, is also used. About 1.8 lb of cheese is produced from the milk as well.

Meat, Fish & Eggs: $0.08** Eggs,*‡ 11; fish, dried, 4.4 oz, the family eats fish or meat — normally in dried form — once or twice a month. The fish in the photograph represents about three months’ worth of either fish or meat. The dollar amount represents what the portion they eat costs. Dried beef is eaten more often than fish.

Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $1.46** Mandarin oranges, 3.5 lb; yellow bananas, 1.4 lb, fruits are purchased infrequently; radishes, 6.6 lb; spinach,* 5 large bunches; mustard greens,* 4 large bunches; eggplant,* 2.2 lb; red onions, 2.2 lb; tomatoes, 1.1 lb; carrots,‡* 1.1 lb; green chilies, fresh, 4.4 oz, amount in photo represents about three months’ worth; red chilies, dried, 4.4 oz, amount in photo represents about four months’ worth. Normally, all vegetables are homegrown or borrowed from a neighbor. Vegetables are purchased infrequently.

Condiments: $1.27** Mustard oil,* 2.1 qt; salt, 3.3 lb, for cooking and feeding to cows for increased milk production; ginger, 1.1 lb; bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), 1 small pkg., used to neutralize acid in tea; chili powder, 1 handful.

Beverages: $0.76 Tea rounds, 2 cakes, for butter tea; Red Label tea, 0.7 oz, for guests only; water comes in through a plastic hose from a spring above the house, used for cooking and boiled for drinking.

Miscellaneous: $1.21 Betel nuts, 80; leaves for betel nuts, 2 bundles; lime paste, 1 pkg.

Food Expenditure for One Week: 224.93 ngultrum/$5.03 **

** Total value of homegrown foods, if purchased locally: $29.06

Europe

Spain / The Aymes Family, Orginially From Ecuador

The Ayme family in their kitchen house in Spain, with one week’s worth of food. Ermelinda Ayme Sichigalo, 37, and Orlando Ayme, 35, sit flanked by their children (left to right): Livia, 15, Natalie, 8, Moises, 11, Alvarito, 4, Jessica, 10, Orlando hijo (Junior, held by Ermelinda), 9 months, and Mauricio, 30 months. Not in photograph: Lucia, 5, who lives with her grandparents to help them out. Cooking method: wood fire. Food preservation: natural drying.

One Week’s Food in September

Grains & Other Starchy Foods: $17.40** White potatoes, 100 lb; white rice, broken, 50 lb, cheaper than whole rice; ground wheat,* 15 lb; corn flour, 10 lb; white flour, fi ne, 10 lb; green pea flour, 8 lb; white flour, coarse, 6 lb.

Note: The Aymes normally grow their own potatoes and corn, but have none to harvest at this time of year. They have eaten the last of their homegrown barley.

Dairy: ** Milk, 1.8 gal, from family cows; only part of the week’s supply is shown in the photograph.

Meat, Fish & Eggs: none.

Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $11.25

Plantains, 13.4 lb; yellow bananas, 6.2 lb, purchased overripe as they are cheaper that way; oranges, 3.6 lb; lemons, 2.5 lb; Andean blackberries, 1 lb; lentils, 10 lb; carrots, 3.6 lb; red onions, 3 lb; leeks, 2 lb; lettuce, 1 head.

Condiments: $2.90 Brown sugar, 11 lb, purchased as a cake, used for sweetening coffee and eaten as candy; salt, 1.5 lb; vegetable oil, 16.9 fl oz; cilantro, 1 bunch.

Beverages: ** Stinging nettle, 1 small bunch, gathered wild for tea; corn silk, 1 handful, boiled in water for both tea and medicine; water from a nearby spring, carried by hand, for drinking and cooking.

Food Expenditure for One Week: $31.55 **

** Total value of homegrown foods, if purchased locally: $3.20

Africa

Chad / The Mustaphas of Dar es Salaam Village

The Mustapha family in their courtyard in Dar es Salaam, Chad, with a week's worth of food. Gathered around Mustapha Abdallah Ishakh, 46 (in turban), and Khadidja Baradine, 42 (with orange scarf), are Abdel Kerim, 14, Amna, 12 (standing), Nafissa, 6, and Halima, 18 months. Lying on a rug are (left to right) Fatna, 3, granddaughter Amna Ishakh (standing in for Abdallah, 9, who is herding), and Rawda, 5. Cooking method: wood fire. Food preservation: natural drying.

One Week's Food in November

Grains & Other Starchy Foods: ** Millet,* 4 coro - a "coro" is a Chadian unit of volume approximately equal to 2.1 qt; millet flour,* 3 coro; sorghum,* 3 coro.

Dairy: ** Milk,* 7 coro, from family cows.

Meat, Fish & Eggs: $2.16** Chickens,* 8.8 lb meat, after cleaning; goat meat, dried on the bone, 6.6 lb.

Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $7.19** Watermelons, 22 lb; harar (squash), 17.6 lb; dates, 1 coro; okra,* dried, 1 coro; red onions,* 1 coro; garlic,* 0.5 coro; tomatoes,* dried and milled, 0.5 coro; red peppers,* dried and milled, 0.3 coro; peanuts,* 3 coro.

Condiments: $8.54 Peanut oil, 1.1 gal; sugar, 0.5 coro; salt, 0.5 coro.

Beverages: $0.44 Tea, 3.5 oz; water, hand- or animal-carried half a mile from the wadi, for both drinking and cooking.

* Homegrown Food Expenditure for One Week: 10,200 CFA francs (Communauté Financiére Africaine)/$18.33 **

** Total value of homegrown foods, if purchased locally: $32.32

Australia

Sydney / The Matsudas Originally From Japan

The Matsuda family in the kitchen of their home in Sydney, with a week’s worth of food. Takeo Matsuda, 88, and his wife, Keiko, 75, stand behind Takeo’s mother, Kama, 100. The couple’s three grown children live a few miles away. Cooking methods: gas stove, microwave. Food preservation: small refrigerator-freezer.

One Week’s Food in October

Grains & Other Starchy Foods: $22.72 White rice, 6.6 lb; bread, 12.4 oz; wheat gluten, 3.9 oz; macaroni salad, 3.5 oz; udon noodles, 2.8 oz.

Dairy: $8.09 Milk, 1.1 qt; Meiji Bulgarian Style yogurt, 1.1 lb; Yukijirushi cheese, sliced, 5.4 oz; Yukijirushi cheese wheel, 5.3 oz; butter, 2.5 oz.

Meat, Fish & Eggs: $32.32 Eggs, 20; Spam, 1.5 lb; fish paste, boiled, 1.2 lb; tuna, canned, 14.1 oz; red sea bream, sliced, 13.3 oz; bacon, sliced, 9.2 oz; mackerel, fresh, 8.8 oz; salmon, fresh, boneless, 8.4 oz; pork, sliced, 8 oz; round herring, dried, 6 oz.

Fruits, Vegetables & Nuts: $67.99** Apples, 2.2 lb; oranges, 2.2 lb; persimmons, seedless, 14 oz; hackberries, 7.1 oz; pumpkin, 5.3 lb; goya (bitter gourd), 4 lb, often homegrown; yellow onion, 2.6 lb; cabbage, 1 head; tomato, 1.8 lb; avocados, 3; okra, 1.3 lb; bok choy, 1 lb; carrots, 1 lb; corn, canned, 15.2 oz; salad greens, 9.6 oz; taro, cooked, 8.1 oz; red kidney beans, 7.1 oz; oshiro natto (fermented bean curd), 7.1 oz; soybeans, 7.1 oz; yam leaf, 7 oz; Super Sweet corn, canned, 5.5 oz; bean sprouts, 5.3 oz; enoki mushrooms, fresh, shrink-wrapped, 3.5 oz; konbu (kelp) stock, 3.5 oz; chili peppers, 2.8 oz; konbu (kelp), 2.1 oz; Asa wakame (seaweed), .5 oz. Purchased or picked wild: nigana (bitter greens),* 13.1 oz; yomogi (malabar spinach),* 9.6 oz; mugwort,* 2 oz.

Condiments: $44.28 Red miso, 1.3 lb; Okinawan honey, 1.1 lb; salt 1.1 lb; S&B golden curry, 1.1 lb; Mitsukan apple vinegar, 16.9 fl oz; soy sauce, 12.2 fl oz; bonito shavings (dried fish), 10.6 oz; bitter orange juice, 10.2 fl oz; ketchup, 10.2 fl oz; Topvalu BBQ sauce, 10.2 fl oz; Econa salad oil, 8.8 oz; purple potato powder, 7.1 oz; jam, 4.9 oz; sesame dressing, 4.1 fl oz; pepper, 0.7 oz.

Snacks & Desserts: $7.88 Werther’s candy, 11 oz; Meiji pudding, 10.6 oz; ginger candy, 6.4 oz.

Prepared Food: $3.15 May Fair beef stew, canned, 12 oz; gyoza (meat dumplings), 7.4 oz.

Beverages: $27.83 Asahi beer, 6 12-fl -oz cans; Minute Maid fruity vegetable juice, 6 12-fl -oz cans; Seakuwasar citron juice, 1.6 qt; awamori (Okiwanan rice liquor), 24 fl oz; Orion beer, 12 fl oz; UCC Mocha Blend coffee, 3.5 oz; tea bags, 50; tap water, for drinking and cooking. Aah, the green fairy! Absinthe is a strong alcoholic liqueur made from herbal extracts. It gains is name, distinctive bitter taste and reputation.

Food Expenditure for One Week: 22,958 yen/$214.26 **

** Total value of homegrown foods, if purchased locally: $7.25