Top walking tours for traveling foodies (part 1)

We tend to talk about food, gastronomy, local and regional cuisine here quite a bit. We do this because experiencing the local food is one of the best ways of immersing oneself in a particular place’s culture. And there are several ways of doing this, one can tour restaurants and cafes, take the self-catering route and check out the local markets, or tuck into the best that street food stalls have to offer. All of these options are equally relevant and would make for a great time for a globetrotting foodie. Let’s look at some of the best such tours one can take from around the globe.

Hanoi, Vietnam – Street food

Ideally you can start this Vietnam tour at the Chau Long market located in Hanoi’s rather labyrinthine Old Quarter. You need to make sure to hit a few street food specialties in this place, like pho bo – beef noodle soup – robust banh xeo – egg crepes – banh cuon – steamed rice crepes filled with minced pork, shallots and mushrooms. Your tour will ideally conclude with some sua chua ca phe – coffee with yoghurt.

Gastwon, Vancouver – Craft beer

This one’s for those foodies who can pack a solid thirst for some great beer. Head to the historic Gastown district of Vancouver where you’ll find at least three different craft beer venues worth your patronage where you can sample different craft brews. These are places where you’ll find concepts such as ‘hop bombs’ or innovative brews flavored with things like liquorice. The nice Canadians will also match the snacks in each venue with the particular type of beer that you’ll order.

Istanbul – exploring the markets

This is one of the few places, or probably the only one where you can explore markets coming from two different continents. The Spice Bazaar on the city’s European shore is a wonderful mix of aromas and after a short ferry ride, you can visit the Kadikoy market, located on Istanbul’s Asian side where you can find a hub for seafood, cheeses and all manner of Turkish pastries and sweets.