The Traveling Tiger: Food & Family

One of the most important rules I have while traveling deals with my taste in food. When I am at home I usually go to places I know and like. A creature of habit if you were. So when I traveled as a kid with my family I would often be a brat and a picky eater when it came to lunch and dinner (Since breakfast is often just bread and toast there wasn't much to complain about. After all who doesn't love bread?) So all thoughout Italy I learned to ask

"Paramason per favore?"

This quickly became a home staple and a common story in the family. Thankfully I had grown well past this phase during my last trip to Europe and began holding myself to a new food rule.

Colin's Top Food Rule

Under no circumstances are you allowed to avoid or refuse any type of food while traveling. This is especially true when eating with a family in their home. Embrace the culture and I promise you will be rewarded with great tastes and smiles all around.

Another rule is to always finish what is brought

At the time when the above photo was taken I had already experienced many types of Korean cuisine and had fallen in love with it. While a small country Korea has made a name for itself in the world of tasty delights. With food giants like China and Japan the respect for Korean food was slow and gradual, but has now quickly picked up and in many parts of the world surpassed those previously mentioned, and in this authors opinion it is about dang time.

Having grown up in Seattle I was lucky enough to have access to several Korean communities. However, it wasn't until I was in Korea that I first tasted Kim Chi. For those who don't know what this is I would like to refer you to an expert who gave me this definition.

Hero: Kim Chi is very important to Koreans because it is our history. And it is delicious!

The quote above has been shortened due to Hero jumping into a very long and at times violent (The man has some intense hand motions) lecture on the amazing pickled cabbage side dish common in almost every meal in Korea. Notice I mentioned side dish. This hadn't been told to me at the start so for the first half of the trip I believed I had to eat it raw. I did this often enough that I started to really enjoy the taste of it plain and continued. This led Hero and his family to say I must be part Korean because no other group of people would ever eat it raw.

Dinner with the extended family

Yummy Korean Desserts

Stall food in Seoul is some of the best I have had anywhere

The second part of this post has to do with family. When you sit down at a table with people it is my belief that you are sitting with family. Food brings about national, family, and personal pride which should be greatly respected. Customs and edicate usually hold important historical stories and lessons that can be great to learn. Add in the fact that you are a guest and you can get a true family experience

Tigers Friendly Tip: If the family has children I recommend you speak English to them. The parents will really like this as the world understands that learning English can be very helpful. A little English lesson can be a great way to thank the family for a wonderful meal and evening.