World’s 50 most delicious foods
“There is no love sincerer than the love of food,” George Bernard Shaw said. Judging by the number of amazing dishes out there, he was right.
But which are the tastiest? We’ve scoured the planet for what we think are 50 of the most delicious foods ever created.
No doubt some of you will be left reeling: “How did French fries not make the list?!” That’s where our Facebook poll comes in.
Head over there once you’ve finished here and let us know: what’s your favorite food?
For now, feast your eyes and control your drooling, as we reveal the world’s most delicious foods:
Also, don’t forget to check out our choices for the best dishes and restaurants around Asia,
on our BEST EATS page
30. Buttered popcorn, United States
Corn — the workhorse of the industrial world — is best when its sweet variety is fried up with lashings of butter till it bursts and then snarfed in greasy fistfuls while watching “Commando” late at night.
29. Masala dosa, India
A crispy, rice-batter crepe encases a spicy mix of mashed potato, which is then dipped in coconut chutney, pickles, tomato-and-lentil-based sauces and other condiments. It’s a fantastic breakfast food that’ll keep you going till lunch, when you’ll probably come back for another.
Also: World’s 50 most delicious drinks
28. Potato chips, United States
Potato chips were invented in New York when a chef tried to play a trick on a fussy diner. Now they’re one of the world’s most child-friendly foods. But think of them this way — if a single chip cost, say, US$5, it’d be a far greater (and more popular) delicacy than caviar, a prize worth fighting wars over.
27. Seafood paella, Spain
The sea is lapping just by your feet, a warm breeze whips the tablecloth around your legs and a steamy pan of paella sits in front of you. Shrimp, lobster, mussels and cuttlefish combine with white rice and various herbs, oil and salt in this Valencian dish to send you immediately into holiday mode.
Though if you have it in Spain, you’re probably there already.
26. Som tam, Thailand
To prepare Thailand’s most famous salad, pound garlic and chilies with a mortar and pestle. Toss in tamarind juice, fish sauce, peanuts, dried shrimp, tomatoes, lime juice, sugar cane paste, string beans and a handful of grated green papaya.
Grab a side of sticky rice. Variations include those made with crab (som tam boo) and fermented fish sauce (som tam plah lah), but none matches the flavor and simple beauty of the original.
25. Chicken rice, Singapore
Often called the “national dish” of Singapore, this steamed or boiled chicken is served atop fragrant oily rice, with sliced cucumber as the token vegetable. Variants include roasted chicken or soy sauce chicken.
The dipping sauces — premium dark soy sauce, chili with garlic and pounded ginger — give it that little extra oomph to ensure whenever you’re not actually in Singapore eating chicken rice, you’re thinking of it.
24. Poutine, Canada
French fries smothered in cheese curds and brown gravy. Sounds kind of disgusting, looks even worse, but engulfs the mouth in a saucy, cheesy, fried-potato mix that’ll have you fighting over the last dollop.
Our Canadian friends insist it’s best enjoyed at 3 a.m. after “several” beers.
23. Tacos, Mexico
A fresh, handmade tortilla stuffed with small chunks of grilled beef rubbed in oil and sea salt then covered with guacamole, salsa, onions, cilantro or anything else you want — perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is the reason no visitor leaves Mexico weighing less than when they arrived.
22. Buttered toast with Marmite, Britain
OK, anything buttered is probably going to taste great, but there’s something about this tangy, salty, sour, love-it-or-hate-it yeast extract that turns a piece of grilled bread into a reason to go on living. For extra yum factor, add a layer of marmalade.
21. Stinky tofu, Southeast Asia
Nothing really prepares you for the stench of one of the strangest dishes on earth. Like durian, smelly tofu is one of Southeat Asia’s most iconic foods.
The odor of fermenting tofu is so overpowering many aren’t able to shake off the memory for months. So is the legendarily divine taste really worth the effort? Sure it is.
20. Marzipan, Germany
Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations, which use soy paste or almond essence. The real stuff, which uses nothing but ground almonds with sugar, is so good, you’ll eat a whole bar of it, feel sick, and still find yourself toying with the wrapper on bar number two.
19. Ketchup, United States
If Malcolm Gladwell says it’s a perfect food, then it’s a perfect food. Let’s face it, anything that can convince two-year-olds to eat their carrots rather than spitting them onto the floor is worthy of not just a “delicious” title, but a “miracle of persuasion” title, too.
18. French toast, Hong Kong
Unlike its more restrained Sunday brunch counterpart, Hong Kong-style French toast is like a deep-fried hug. Two pieces of toast are slathered with peanut butter or kaya jam, soaked in egg batter, fried in butter and served with still more butter and lots of syrup. Best enjoyed before cholesterol checks.
This one claims no roots in Chinese, Continental or Indian cuisines. It comes from Butter Land, an imaginary place balanced on the premise that anything tastes great with melted butter.
This delicious, simple dish is made by drowning a large crab in a gallon of butter-garlic sauce, which seeps into every nook and cranny and coats every inch of flesh.
The sea gods of Butter Land are benevolent carnivores and this, their gift to the world, is their signature dish.
17. So good, they gave it five levels. 24. Champ, Ireland
Irish national dish champ goes down faster than the first pint of Guinness on a Friday night. Mashed potato with spring onions, butter, salt and pepper, champ is the perfect side with any meat or fish.
For the textbook plate of creamy goodness, we suggest the busiest pub in any Irish seaside town. Around noon somehow feels right.
21. Best way to eat this? In bed, at 3 p.m., in a gite in Brittany.
16. Lasagna, Italy
Second only to pizza in the list of famed Italian foods, there’s a reason this pasta-layered, tomato-sauce-infused, minced-meaty gift to kids and adults alike is so popular — it just works.
Also: Best Italian restaurants in Seoul
18. It’s as if sunny Sunday afternoons were created just for shish sizzlers.
15. Brownie and vanilla ice cream, global
There are some who will not frequent an establishment if it does not have brownie and ice cream on the dessert menu. You may call them fools.
We do, too, but having done so we then happily leave the first restaurant after the main course to visit one we know has this perfect dessert on offer.
17. If you were on a million menus you’d have big claws too.
14. Croissant, France
Flaky pastry smothered in butter, a pile of raspberry jam smeared over the top and a soft, giving bite as you sink in your teeth; there’s nothing not to love about this fatty, sweet breakfast food that must be married to a cup of strong coffee.
14. Yeh, you’ll get fat, but you’ll have a great time doing so.
13. Arepas, Venezuela
A corn-dough patty that provides a savory canvas onto which you can paint any number of delicious toppings: cheese, shredded chicken, crisped pork skin, perico, beef, tomato, avocado … it’s the most beautiful thing to come out of Venezuela since all those Miss Universe winners.
12. Good food day and night, shepherd’s delight?
12. Nam tok moo, Thailand
Grilled pork combined with lemon juice, green onions, chili, mint sprigs, fish sauce and toasted rice. Legend has it the blood from the meat along with the dressing inspired some happy carnivore to name this brilliant dish “waterfall (nam tok moo) meat.”
Also: The myth of royal Thai cuisine
11. Don’t judge an awesome food by its dour appearance.
11. Kebab, Iran
For keeping starvation at bay for the entire student population of the United Kingdom, the doner kebab should clearly be honored. But they are hardly the delicious prototype worthy of representing a region.
For that, summon the shish kebab. Pick your meat, shove a stick through it, grill. Then wonder why you don’t eat like this every day.
9. Who put that stinking fruit in there?
10. Lobster, global
Forget all your fancy, contrived lobster dishes deployed by showoff chefs eager for Michelin endorsement. When you have something as naturally delicious as these little fellas, keep it simple. The best way to enjoy lobster is simply to boil it and serve with a side of melted butter and slice of lemon.
6. The best cows come minced and in a bun.
9. Egg tart, Hong Kong
Like many classic dishes, the Hong Kong egg tart marries two contrasting textures: crusty, flaky pastry and jiggly, trembling custard. It’s sweet, it’s delicious and it’s best eaten hot from the oven on the street while queuing up to get just one more.
8. Kalua pig, United States
Only commercially available in Hawaii, the kalua preparation turns a meal into an epic event, with a whole pig roasted in an underground sand pit for six or seven hours.
But it’s not just for show. Smashed banana tree trunks, sea salt and shredded (never sliced) meat means this smoky, aromatic piece of pig will linger long on your tongue and even longer in your memory.
Also: Bali’s incredible pig roast
7. Donuts, United States
These all-American fried wheels of dough need no introduction, but we will say one thing: the delicious guilt of snacking on these addictive calorie bombs makes them taste even better. If that’s possible.
6. Corn on the cob, global
God probably created corn just to have an excuse to invent melted butter. There’s something about biting down on a cob of corn — it’s a delicate enough operation to require concentration but primal enough to make you feel like the caveman you always wanted to be. Great food is caveman food.
5. Shepherd’s pie, Britain
Some might say England’s greatest inventions were the steam engine and the Jaguar E-Type. We like to think shepherd’s pie — minced lamb topped with mashed potato — comes somewhere in that list.
Tastes best at the end of a gloomy, rainy day with an open fire licking at the chimney breast and Ricky Gervais insulting people on the telly. Which is lucky, as that’s what most days are like in England.
4. Rendang, Indonesia
Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a few hours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.
Tasting it fresh out of the kitchen will send your stomach into overdrive, but many people think it gets even better when left overnight.
Also: The baddest chef in Asia?
3. Chicken muamba, Gabon
A bastardized Western version of this delectable Gabonese dish swamps everything in peanut butter. Oh, the insanity. The proper recipe calls for chicken, hot chili, garlic, tomato, pepper, salt, okra and palm butter, an artery-clogging African butter that will force you into a second helping and a promise to start using your gym membership.
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