Top 10 New Food Travel Destinations For 2011

The Top New Food Travel Destinations For 2011
|
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

At Endless Simmer, we really only travel for one reason -- new things to stuff our faces with! But we're done with Rome and Paris. Here are our 10 favorite new destinations that are worth the trip just for the grub.

Top 10 New Food Travel Destinations for 2011
10. South Korea(01 of10)
Open Image Modal
For one of Asia's smallest countries, South Korea puts its giant neighbors to shame, at least in the kitchen. From bi bim bap to bulgogi to kimchi with melted mozzarella, this is some of the funkiest food around that still manages to be tasty. (credit:Flickr:Camera on autopilot)
9. Panama(02 of10)
Open Image Modal
Costa Rica gets all the press when it comes to Central American eco-tourism, but in the realm of lying on the beach with fried food, we say Panama has them beat. From Hojaldres - fried sandwiches filled with roast pork - to carimanolas - deep fried yuca stuffed with ground beef - Panamanian fried food is hard to beat.
8. Belgium(03 of10)
Open Image Modal
Forget Paris. For serious chocoholics, Belgium is the place to go. We're not sure if anyone measures these things, but Antwerp has got to have more bon bons, truffles and pralines per square foot than any other city in the world. Belgium chocolate tour.
7. Morocco(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
Exotic as it sounds, Morocco's not as far as you think - Marrakesh is closer to New York than most of Western Europe. It's also got a more diverse food scene, from markets packed with Middle Eastern desserts to cafes serving French fare like escargot.
6. Peru(05 of10)
Open Image Modal
Can you really pass up the chance to dine on guinea pig? Yes? Well even if that's too much, Peru has plenty of other exotic eating adventures, from fresh passionfruit to coco tea and fried alpaca.
5. Sri Lanka(06 of10)
Open Image Modal
This tropical Asian isle is constantly rated as one of the best places in the world to lounge on a perfect beach, but we're more interested in perusing its food. Take a train through the center of Sri Lanka and at every stop a vendor comes on offering a new tasty snack - from spicy fried peanuts to crunchy balls of chickpea to chutney and hard-boiled egg samosas wrapped in recycled math homework.
4. Puerto Rico(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
The closest to home of our top 10 destinations, Puerto Rico may be on the dollar, but its food offerings are anything but standard. From sorullitos and arepas to corn ice cream, PR is a foodie's best travel value.
3. England(08 of10)
Open Image Modal
Long the butt of the food world's jokes, England has moved way beyond blood sausages and beans. Suddenly, every quaint countryside inn has become a gastropub and every chef in the country is trying to out-fancy Jamie Oliver. (credit:Flickr:Halkett)
2. Malaysia(09 of10)
Open Image Modal
Malaysian restaurants (see Fatty Cue, Malaysian Koptiam) are increasingly taking table space from the Thais in this country, so it can't be long before Tionman starts challenging Phuket on the vacation front. The thought of tender beef rendang and flaky roti canai already has us already looking for flights. (credit:Flickr:goosmurf)
1. Japan(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
2009 and 2010 were the years that America fell back in love with bacon and discovered pork belly. We predict 2011 will be the year we remember the rest of the pig. And what better place to learn than Japan? Our favorite travel story of the past year: walking into a restaurant in Tokyo and instead of getting a menu, being handed a drawing of a pig and asked to point to what we wanted. Heart? Liver? Diaphragm? Check, check, check. (credit:Flickr:mdid)

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE