The food memories I still travel for
Shahad Al Nouri
A night market, a village kitchen and an early breakfast: the meals I still think about.
Food is the fastest way into a culture. Some of my best travel days were spent at a market stall or in someone’s kitchen, not in a museum.
A night market in Penang
Skewers over charcoal, bowls of noodles in a rich broth and a queue of families that told me exactly where to eat. I went back three nights in a row.
A village kitchen near Marrakesh
Our host taught me to build a tagine in a clay pot and leave it over the coals for hours. Mine was lopsided; her family ate it anyway.
Breakfast in Amman
Warm bread, hummus, falafel and sweet tea before eight in the morning. To find meals like these, ask the people who serve you where they eat on their day off.