It is curious how things have changed over the years. Whilst it has always been relatively easy to find great restaurants and shops selling food from some countries all over the world, London has never been known for that. Today, things are different. It has never been so easy and affordable to discover new food, and it has even become cool to know about the latest culinary invention or what is good to buy in some shops.

Whilst I love the fact that enjoying food is now mainstream and cool, what if it is just another trend? I get to hear the word foodie all the time, and it usually comes from people who don’t seem to know much about cuisine at all.

However, I have always enjoyed eating, and this is a great time to discover food and new ingredients which otherwise would be rather difficult for me to try. Granted that a kebab or an Ethiopian dish may not taste exactly the same as in other parts of the world. But, as I live in London, I can only try them and make a note for when I visit those countries.
Besides, I love the fact that some also focus on the experience. Have you ever dined in an old route master?

It is not only food. Some drinks like wine and coffee have also made it onto the list. Trying new things and getting to know about the country where they come from is not an expensive and weird thing to do any more.

Where to try new and exciting foods?

Aside from specialist, regional restaurants, London holds a myriad of festivals and street markets, where you can replace the usual sarnie or boring salad. Even more, many other events also offer street food market.

• Food clubs, ranging from pop-up and secret supper clubs to home cooking clubs and walking tours.
• International festivals, such as Streets of Spain festival last weekend.
• Specialist festivals, such as the Coffee Festival, London Wine Week, London Cocktail Week, London Beer Week or the London Street Feast.
• Lunch time street food markets, like the one near Goodge Street Station
  Close to it though, I love the Charlotte St area, where there are loads of different restaurants, such as the Filipino.
• Weekend street food markets, like the Whitecross St, the one behind South Bank or the Sunday Upmarket in Brick Lane.
• The various international meetup groups, such as couch surfers, tend to organise food and drink events to get to know a bit more about other countries.
• Pubs. Some pubs now offer other cuisines, aside from the usual pub grub or Thai food. A pub in Highgate is offering traditional Colombian food until 25 May

The dangers 

Two dangers:

• Watch out for the money. Some street food restaurants charge for extremely simple food.
• Eating too much!!

A Londoner from Afar