The most surprisingly good restaurant you've discovered while travelling

[Mattg]

A friend was telling me recently about the most amazing, authentic Italian restaurant they discovered in... well, a tiny village in Vietnam, of all places!

It reminded me a bit of the time I stumbled across the best strudel I've ever eaten. I've spent a lot of time in Germany and Austria and had some great strudel there, but none can compare to the apple and cherry strudels at Muggachino's Strudel Hut in Rubyvale, a town in outback Queensland!

I wrote about this in a trip report at the time:

Road trip to Outback Queensland

Agree with you re the regional museums. Looks like they have added a few features outside at the Age of Dinosaurs. You have some great photos in your report

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

What surprising gems have you found when eating out during your travels?

 

[bashworth]

I often find restaurants in the Philipinnes serve some of the most authentic Italian food.

May be some thing to do with the large number of filipinos who work on cruise ships which feature Italian restaurants.

 

[jamesatfish]

Interesting thread!

We found a very surprising Italian restaurant in London last week, a deli / small goods retailer during the day that moonlights as a small restaurant at night.

Fine Foods Deli in Kipling Estate
(https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Rest...015028-Reviews-Fine_Foods-London_England.html)

Had a few pints business meeting at a pub across the road and found this by chance when we got too hungry for another beer agenda item. Amazing pasta, top-notch tiramisu, very cosy atmosphere. Was the night of a Champions League quarter-final and we joined the staff and the guests at the only other table in the restaurant trying to work around geo-blocks to stream the penalty shootout at the end of the Man City v Real Madrid match.

 

[drron]

The one we liked which is no longer was Tom and Marys Greek taverna Coober Pedy. loved it.

The other was Doms an Italian restaurant in Mt. Isa when I was working there in 2006. At that time the best Italian Restaurant we had been to. sadly it is also no longer.

 

[trendwhore]

I'd never be able to find it again but I swear I had one of the best curries in the basement of Nagoya station in a little stand up joint

 

[VPS]

In KL in late 80s while friends were working there I stopped off on the way home from the UK and we went to see the fireflies. It was November and I'd just come from a cold London where the Aussie$ was about $3 to the pound and had taken a friend out to dinner and I almost had to sell a kidney to pay for it.

After we'd been to see the fireflies which were magic we were looking for somewhere to eat and I suggested we follow a tour bus. We ended up in a tiny village and you had to walk along the jetty with houses either side and there was a little restaurant at the end and I think for four people it was about $50A and we ate and watched the sun set and had an amazing meal. The think the $50AU would have maybe paid for one entree in London

 

[sudoer]

I'd never be able to find it again but I swear I had one of the best curries in the basement of Nagoya station in a little stand up joint

South Asian food in Japan is hugely underrated.
Gigantic fluffy naans and punchy, balanced curries without the excessive cream and oil that we tend to get in Australia.

One of my most memorable is a Nepalese restaurant in Miyakojima, Okinawa - Pariwar.

 

[Human]

I'm Middle Eastern. I've been eating authentic, home-made, Arabic food all my life. I know what truly great Arabic food tastes like. So you can imagine my extreme surprise and, yes, disbelief when I was visiting Kuranda in North Queensland with my family in 2018 and we ate what we all agree was the best felafel we've ever had in our lives. It was from a hole-in-the-wall called Felafellicious which, I gather, has since moved down to Cairns.

I didn't believe it either. Still don't. But you won't find better felafel, anywhere.

 

[hwy]

Qld punching above its weight here in these reviews! As opposed to the number of hatted restaurants and general representation in the press relative to NSW, Vic, SA, and even Tassie. What a surprise.

 

[AisleSeat]

The Ben Nevis Inn at the trailhead for Ben Nevis.

Wasn’t sure what to expect from a place that caters mainly to hikers coming off the mountain, but it was amazing. Such good food, big gin and scotch menu. Total gem.

Mentioned in my trip report:

First trip in 2.5 years - England, Scotland and Singapore

 

[33kft]

Not as surprising as some of these but imho the Dickson Noodle House in Canberra does the best laksa I've ever had, and I lived in SEA for a decade (and eaten far too much laksa)

 

[burmans]

Not as surprising as some of these but imho the Dickson Noodle House in Canberra does the best laksa I've ever had, and I lived in SEA for a decade (and eaten far too much laksa)

Gotta agree they do a great Laksa!

 

[Sprucegoose]

It was from a hole-in-the-wall called Felafellicious, which has since moved down to Cairns.

I hope the Flyer Talk Memorial Day Gathering organisers in Cairns this weekend are taking note!

 

[John in Melbourne]

The best Italian trattoria I've ever eaten in was in Fugger Strasse, Berlin. It was in 2019, a few days before covid.
I'm going back there in August, and if it's no longer there, I'm going to throw myself onto the ground and have a tantrum. Well maybe I'm exaggerating, but I will be disappointed, because I've been thinking about that meal for 5 years. Talk about tragic .

 

[AIRwin]

It was in 2019, a few days before covid.

A few weeks/months or 2020?

 

[John in Melbourne]

A few weeks/months or 2020?

Thanks, AIRwin. I got covid's arrival date wrong.

 

[Mattg]

Not as surprising as some of these but imho the Dickson Noodle House in Canberra does the best laksa I've ever had, and I lived in SEA for a decade (and eaten far too much laksa)

I do like the laksa there a lot (and this is one of my favourite foods) but I don’t think it’s as good as Laksa Delight in the UNSW food court

 

[Mattg]

The best Italian trattoria I've ever eaten in was in Fugger Strasse, Berlin. It was in 2019, a few days before covid.
I'm going back there in August, and if it's no longer there, I'm going to throw myself onto the ground and have a tantrum. Well maybe I'm exaggerating, but I will be disappointed, because I've been thinking about that meal for 5 years. Talk about tragic .

Is this the one? So I can try it when next in Berlin

Starten

www.trattoria-muntagnola.de

 

[John in Melbourne]

Is this the one? So I can try it when next in Berlin

Yes, it is! If the food is still the same standard, I'm sure you'll love it. Another good restaurant was "Sissi" in Motzstrasse.

 

[L2.]

I stumbled upon a restaurant named Namaste Nepal Curry in a back street of Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan last year, which specialises in both Indian and Nepali cuisine, and had a great dish of chicken tikka masala.

If you're not familiar with the region, Wakkanai is the northernmost town in Japan, and after many years of population decline, has definitely seen better days. It's the kind of place where you feel lucky to find anything that's open in the evening.