I still remember my first day trip to New York. As luck would have it my guide was a culinary enthusiast who believed in discovering place by its cuisine. I was amazed at the variety of cuisines available. My first trip to New York was like a mini world culinary tour. I started my day with delicate French pastries at Jaqques Torres Chocolate shop. As I enjoyed the scrumptious pastries and sipped the most wicked hot chocolate of my life, I wondered if they day could get any better. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise.

After the heavenly breakfast, we wandered into China Town and spent the morning haggling with vendors selling everything fake from $ 20 Rolex watces to Gucci handbags to Chanel Perfumes! I had worked up an appetite after all that handbag and watch shopping and walked into Green Bo (which by the way remains my favorite restaurant in China Town till date) where I ate a plate of the most delicately flavored dumplings .

After the heavenly breakfast, we wandered into China Town and spent the morning haggling with vendors selling everything fake from $ 20 Rolex watces to Gucci handbags to Chanel Perfumes! I had worked up an appetite after all that handbag and watch shopping and walked into Green Bo (which by the way remains my favorite restaurant in China Town till date) where I ate a plate of the most delicately flavored dumplings .

Later I found myself on the number 7 train to Jackson Heights, where I walked around streets lined with stores that sold everything Indian under the sun – jewelry, clothes, groceries, phone cards and of course the most aromatically spiced food! Just when I thought I could eat no more, I ate the best and I mean finger lickin’ tender and deliciously spiced BEST chicken tikka of my life at Kebab King! WOW, at the end of the day I was elated and not to mention very very full! And yes, I was also in love…with New York! There truly is no other city like New York! In the months to come, I discovered many neighborhoods and many unique restaurants. From soul food in to Arros Con Pollo, from cheap eats to fancy meals, the city has to offer something to the most discerning of palettes. This is one city where you could eat every single meal of the day in a new restaurant for over a year and yet you will find new places to try! There is no cuisine that is not found and accepted in New York. It sure is a melting pot of cultures.

The southern most state of India, Kerala is also known as God’s own country. Anyone who has ever set foot in this gorgeously lush green land of backwaters, coconut trees and the sea would know why it is so fondly called the most beautiful state of India. A very popular destination with the both Indian and non Indian tourists, Kerala is famous for its Ayurvedic Retreat centers and magnificent beaches.

I share a special connection with Kerala and perhaps that is why I just absolutely love everything about it; the culture, the history, the scenic beauty, the people and of course the cuisine! The cuisine of Kerala is distinctly vibrant due the lavish use of exotic spices like cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, peppercorns, long pepper, black cumin and the quintessential kudampuli (a dried fruit similar to tamarind). Hey, it is not known as the spice capital of India for nothing. A wide variety of premium quality spices and produced and exported to the whole world from Kerala.

The state is blessed with the bounty of the sea and the locals know how to make the best of it. I ate the most lip smacking delicious fish curry flavored with chillies, coconut milk and kudampuli in Cochin. Anotther Kerala speciality which I aboslutely love is Appam – a melt in your mouth soft spongy slightly sweetish pancake with a thick center made out of rice flour. Hot appams with egg curry make the most delectable lunch! If you are into exploring exotic destinations that offer the best of cuisine, I would highly recommend adding this coastal paradise to your gastronomic adventures!

Oh, and how can I not mention the dangeroulsy addictive snack – banana chips! These chips are made with fresh green plantain that is sliced and deep fried in coconut oil. These crunchy bites are so delicious that you will forget your diet but the calories are totally worth pleasing your tastebuds!

Anyone who has been to or is from China knows that Chinese food in China is nothing like the Chinese food in the US. In fact, I don’t recall seeing fried rice which is so popular in US in any of the traditional restaurants. My trip to China began in the capital city of Beijing. They say that “there are two things you must do in Beijing, to eat the Beijing Roast duck and to see the ten thousands miles long Great wall. So writing about Beijing Culinary Travel cannot be complete without the mention of Peking Duck. My friend Bill Zhang took me to Quan Ju De – a restaurant famous for its Peking Duck. But before I could give into the fatty pleasures of the roast duck, I had to learn a little about this Beijing delicacy.

Peking duck begins with a duck that must be the white Beijing variety of superior quality – the “Forced- Feeding Duck,” which is about three kilogram when killed. When roasting the duck, compressed air is injected into the duck between its skin and flesh to make the skin glossy and shiny. By using less smoky hard fuel- fruit tree branches, pear, peach or date tree branch for instance, as firewood, the duck has a fruity flavor and rich and red in color. The serving and eating manner of the Beijing Duck is also unique. The chef presents you the whole duck before taking it away for slicing. One duck may produce about 120 very thin slices, each containing both meat and skin. The duck slices are brought back to the table with some thin pancakes, green onion or shallot, sweet soybean paste, fresh cucumber, garlic paste and sugar sometimes. Here is how you devour the duck: take a piece of the pancake in one hand, then put 3 or 4 slices of the duck onto the pancake with each of the above mentioned vegetable and seasoning. Do not forget the soybean paste in particular. Finally wrap up the pancake into a roll and eat it.

Among the many things that Germany is known for (like the precision workmanship of their luxury cars, ERP Software and the atrocities of the World War II), the least mentioned and talked about is its cuisine. I think it is a pity that German cuisine is grossly underrated as compared to its neighboring counterparts. My trip in Germany began at the Frankfurt International Airport. I landed after a 6 hour red eye from JFK and reached out to the nearest coffee shop at the airport. I ordered a coffee and was taken aback not just by the few lines of an old Hindi song that the Turkish server sang for me as he served me coffee. What surprised me more than the welcome gesture was that coffee at this random airport café was way better than anything I would get in a decent American restaurant! I tried to dismiss the excellent coffee as a fluke but every meal that followed left me with pleasant amazement and a very satisfied palette!

Knowing my passion and love for food, my friends Brian & Sindhu planned my entire trip around the best of local cuisine! Am I blessed with wonderful friends or what?! With them I discovered the culinary secrets tucked away in the “Untere Straße” (lower street), a typical side street in the Old Town of Heidelberg. After a day of sight seeing that included the landmark Old Bridge, the famous Heidelberg Castle and not to mention lots of souvenirs shopping, we decided to recoup our energies at this quaint café. This is where I was first introduced to the refreshingly delicious Radler! The Radler (“cyclist”) is a beverage consisting of a 50%/50% or 60%/40% mixture of lager beer and German-style lemonade. It was invented by the Franz Xaver Kugler when approximately 13,000 cyclists visited his tavern. He didnt have enough beer to serve that many cyclists, so he diluted the beer with lemonade and declared that he had created a very special drink exclusively for the cyclists and named it Radler! What an interesting story to go with a very interesting twist on beer! The Germans are passionate about their beer and the country offers countless different varieties to please every kind of beer drinker.

German food is definitely a meat lover’s cuisine! Classic German cooking conjures up images of fragrant sausage, roasts, stews, dumplings, strudels and marzipan. The vegetarians should consider themselves lucky if they can pick a few bits of potatoes or carrots from a (meat based) stew. Although, asparagus is plentiful and quite popular when in season. Oh and there are always salad greens. So, yes the food is not a vegetarian favorite but it is absolutely delicious nonetheless. Generally, with the exception of mustard for sausages, German dishes are rarely hot and spicy — the most popular herbs are traditionally parsley, thyme, laurel, and chives, the most popular spices are black pepper (used in small amounts), juniper berries and caraway.

Eating is an important part of the Barcelonian culture, something to be valued, taken seriously and enjoyed to the fullest in true Catalan style. Barecelona offers some of the freshest and best tasting seafood ever. Many dishes are based on nuts, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, herbs and dried fruits indihgenous to the land.

One of the most famous Catalan dishes is ubiquitious paamb tomàquet which is nothing but fresh peasent bread rubbed with tomato, a trickle of olive oil and pinch of salt. It is pure magic created by the simplest ingredients!

The one thing to keep in mind is do as the locals do in Bareclona. Try and dapt to the local timing (this would be tough if you come from a fast paced never slows down place like New York); have breakfast when the Barcelonians do, lunch with them, even have “tea” with the old ladies and children and you will easily be able to wait until after 9PM for dinner. Also, another tip that I would like to share is that “Paella” is not a Catalan dish.Traditional Catalan restaurants don’t even have Paella on their menu. That doesn’t mean you wont find good Paella in Barcelona. It merely means you need to go to a touristy restaurant to eat Paella and touristy restaurants usually aim to the please the tourist’s pallete. So if you would like to savor local favorites ask for Paamb Tomaquet (Bread with Tomato) and a glass cava instead!

Paris is without a doubt the ultimate Culinary Mecca. It is “the” place that every food enthusiast must visit once in their lifetime! It is indeed the most gastronomic city in the world. The city is so full of outstandingly excellent food establishments, that it is almost impossible to choose among the wealth of choices. With food that is guaranteed to be sublime and service that is impeccable, Paris food joints stop at nothing to ensure a meal that pleases all the senses. What struck me the most about Paris was the utmost passion and love for food that Parisians have! They are so passionate about food and it sure reflects in the impeccable quality of food. I enjoyed every single meal I ate in my 2 weeks there. Every experience right from my morning coffee and chocolate croissant at the hole in the wall hotel I stayed at in Marais to the salmon omelet in Dalayou to the melt in the mouth macaroons in Pierre Hermes was perfection redefined! If there is a thing called culinary h(e)aven, it sure is Paris!

When I left Paris, I had only two thoughts; one, I would learn French and second, I would put up with the gloomy weather (it was cloudy & damp; rainy for the entire 2 weeks I was there) for the rest of my life if I could savor this food!