{"id":4040,"date":"2012-04-20T08:03:44","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T07:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/?p=4040"},"modified":"2012-04-20T09:41:48","modified_gmt":"2012-04-20T08:41:48","slug":"lets-go-for-a-proverbial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/desire\/lets-go-for-a-proverbial\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s go for a proverbial\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Paolo Shaoul<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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It has to be one of the most delicious phrases in the English language.<\/p>\n

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Even as a spotty 11 year old growing up in East London, being informed that a trip to the new McDonalds that had recently opened in deepest Ilford was on the cards, left you with an excitement so tangible you could make a sandwich with it.<\/p>\n

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Now, while a trip to the golden arches is still an exciting prospect for some, admitted younger folks, I didn\u2019t come here to sell you burgers. I came here to pitch the greatest foodie experiences known to man. Well this man anyway.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not interested in the best restaurants or the greatest chefs. No this has to be about the human experience. Pure, unadulterated pleasure so intense that Dionysus himself would struggle to cope with its existence. From takeaway heaven to marvellous market stalls, eating out to gourmet travels, sandwiches to posh grub – here are my personal foodie moments to (sweet and) savour\u2026<\/p>\n

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1.\u00a0<\/strong>The Street Market: <\/strong>Mexico City<\/strong>, <\/strong>Mexico<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Who\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0like a taco? Mercado de San Juanis one of several downtown food markets that serve up freshly made, delicious tacos unlike anything you\u2019ve ever \u00a0tasted. Frequented by local workers, in London it would be considered trendy and cost the earth but over here its simple street food, done the way \u201cmama told us\u201d. And best of all it\u2019s always washed down with a coconut and straw.<\/p>\n

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2.\u00a0<\/strong>The Backstreet Dive: <\/strong>London<\/strong>, <\/strong>England<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Ali Baba is London\u2019s only authentic Egyptian canteen \u2013 and the nearest thing to entering a teleport. Located in the back streets of Marylebone, don\u2019t be fooled by the \u201ckebab shop\u201d appearance – a curtain hides one of the big smoke\u2019s best kept food secrets. Step through it and sample gorgeous lime green falafel discs the size of soap bars and sweet Arabic bread priced at 20p a portion.<\/p>\n

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3.\u00a0<\/strong>The Pizza Shop on the Corner: <\/strong>Lake Garda<\/strong>, <\/strong>Italy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Forget pizza as you know it. Yes, Manhattan knows how to make a pizza, that\u2019s for sure. But not one that tasted as good as the panorama its doorway led out into. Imagine the softest, sweetest, oiliest dough, the ripest blood tomatoes, mozzarella so enticing your ears tingle\u2026and the toppings, oh the toppings. Supplement your manna from heaven with Italian salami, garlic, sugary red onions, gorgonzola and you have heaven in a bite. Then go hire a Riva speedboat and pretend you\u2019re in a Fellini movie.<\/p>\n

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4.\u00a0<\/strong>The Dragon Fruit Tree: <\/strong>Vietnam<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"OK, so Dragon Fruit is the orange of South East Asia. But unless you\u2019ve been to Vietnam in particular, hand-picked this amazing star-shaped gem from its tree, you will never know what it is like to taste fruit as God intended it to taste.<\/p>\n

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5. \u00a0<\/strong>The Cheesesteak Shack: <\/strong>Scranton<\/strong>, <\/strong>US<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Cheesesteaks are to Americans are as kebabs are to us Brits \u2013 part of our life support system. And forget the Subway nonsense. If you\u2019ve never had a cheesesteak made for you the \u201cproper way\u201d (provolone cheese, rear cuts of shredded prime beef etc) by a native Pennsylvanian then you haven\u2019t had a cheesesteak. So get on a plane now and experience the fast food version of an orgasm.<\/p>\n

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6.\u00a0<\/strong>Churros & Chocolate: <\/strong>Torremolinos<\/strong>, <\/strong>Spain<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"The food equivalent of Messi & Xavi. A match made in heaven that will leave you craving more.\u00a0 Churros is the Spanish version of our fritter \u2013 but without the stringy apple bits. And their hot chocolate is not some insipid, watery foulness \u2013 but thick and velvety, dark, sweet and nutty.\u00a0 The real explosion comes when you dip your churros into your chocolate \u2013 and if this sounds a little explicit then you\u2019re right. It\u2019s better than sex.<\/p>\n

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7.\u00a0<\/strong>Wild African Safari on a Plate: <\/strong>Cape Town<\/strong>, <\/strong>South Africa<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Cape Town is famed for its great restaurants and while Mama Africa is more of a safari than a meal, the overall experience makes the Fat Duck look boring. I mean why bother with bacon and eggs ice cream when you can try ostrich eggs marinaded in an impala steak sauce. Quite possibly the greatest \u201ctheme\u201d restaurant in the world.<\/p>\n

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8.\u00a0<\/strong>The Chip Shop: <\/strong>Mons<\/strong>, <\/strong>Belgium<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Us Brits think we know our chips. Let\u2019s get one thing straight, we don\u2019t. But the Belgians bless em, do.\u00a0 And the pride they take from their chips, their potatoes, their salt, their frying, their mayo, washed down with the best beer in the world, is something else.\u00a0\u00a0 You may be wondering what on earth chips are doing on this list.\u00a0 But then I guess you\u2019ve never been to Belgium.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>9.\u00a0<\/strong>The Smorgasbord: <\/strong>Moss<\/strong>, <\/strong>Norway<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"OK, so the women are bloody gorgeous but their food\u2019s not up to much right? Well their breakfasts certainly are and if you are lucky enough to stay with a Norwegian family you will see how it is possible to spend\u00a0three hours around a breakfast table \u2013 and still get very excited about repeating the process the next day.\u00a0 The word \u201csmorgasbord\u201d has been stolen by anglophiles to become a generic representation of a feast for the senses and to be fair that is what breakfast in Norway is like. Every conceivable type of meat, cheese, vegetable, bread, juice, fruit, paste, spread, pickle\u2026.I could go on but I\u2019ll just get hungry.<\/p>\n

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10. <\/strong>South Pacific Treehouse Restaurant: Vava\u2019u, <\/strong>Tonga<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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I\u2019ve left the best till last. Well it\u2019s definitely the best location. There are thousands of desert islands across the south pacific archipelago so trying to find this one is needle in haystack time.\u00a0 Still, if you do (and don\u2019t expect me to provide a map) you will know you\u2019ve arrived. After anchoring your boat\/dingy\/RIB and walking barefoot across the golden sand, you come to a huddle of trees that form the centre of the island (which in itself is only about 30 metres squared). In front of one of the trees is a small wooden staircase. Climb that and you are in a tree house that seats about 50 people, has a gorgeous rum cocktail bar, serves up the freshest seafood and has 360 degree views of the world\u2019s most beautiful stretch of jade coloured water.\u00a0 Stunning.<\/p>\n

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Agree with Paolo\u2019s take on world food, or think he\u2019s missing out of something delicious? Tell us your thoughts on Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Elysium loves food from around the world – the diversity is immense. Here, Elysium’s Paolo Shaoul takes you through his journey of favourite foods from around the world – with the focus on good native cuisine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[269,278,272],"tags":[664,456,628,657,507,493,406,659,665,658,663,662,666,362,661,660,656],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/6948831526_7ed2bfd69b_b_d.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elysium-uk.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}