Bubblin’ in Dublin: Dublin Eats

10 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by mrsselfish in Dublin, Europe, Food & Drinks, Ireland

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brother hubbard, Dublin, Food & Drinks, Hogans, Ireland, Leo Burdock, Queen of Tarts, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, The Stag's Head

This is post three of fourteen on our trip to Northern Ireland and Croatia, minus our mini Game of Thrones tour. Those posts can be found here.

During our stay in Dublin during the Selfish Year, we enjoyed some tasty food. This time around, Mr. Selfish and I figured that we would enjoy some new eats. However, when we asked our cabbie from the airport for food recommendations, he immediately recommended Leo Burdock for fish and chips. So we decided to go back. It was just as good as last time. The fish and chips were perfectly crispy and well-seasoned.

I think we’ll have to make it a tradition to eat here every time we visit Dublin.

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There’s a Meat Town in Naxos!

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Naxos

≈ 3 Comments

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Filoti, Greece, Greek Islands, Meat Town, Naxos, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

This is post twelve of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Fresher is always better when it comes to food. We know this, but at home it’s hard to beat the allure of convenience that a super market promises.

Restaurants have been quick to pounce on the rising foodie trend, however, with phrases like “locally sourced” and from “farm to table.” It’s both annoying that we have to use these phrases and a sad state of affairs that most of our food is actually imported from farms over half a continent away.

This is not the case on islands, where the food is often incredibly fresh since the economics of the island often force them took cook only what they grow there. I first noticed this during our Selfish Year trip to Tasmania, which consistently had some of the tastiest, freshest eats I’ve ever had.

So when I found out that Naxos had a town the locals were describing as a “meat town,” Mrs. Selfish and I immediately jumped in our car and headed there for lunch… and then dinner… actually I kind of want some now.

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Looking for Santorini’s Best Eats

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Santorini

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Amoudi Fish Tavern, Lolita's Gelato, Roka, Santorini, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

This is post ten of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Santorini is a major tourist trap – there’s no use mincing words here. Despite that, it is also one of those must-see-before-you-die locations.

Unfortunately, like most tourist traps Santorini (and in particular Oia) is filled with over-priced mediocre restaurants whose main selling point is the view. Fortunately thanks to some local recommendations and the power of the Internet we managed to score a few good meals.

Fresh Squid at Amoudi Fish Tavern

Located at the Western most part of Oia, the Amoudi Fish Tavern can be found right at sea level, which is always a good sign when one is looking for fresh seafood.

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Oompa! Eating Athens

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Athens, Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece

≈ 2 Comments

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Athens, Greece, Karavan, Manh Manh, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Souvlaki, Thanasis, To Steki tou Ilia

This is post four of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Having recently eaten our way through Taipei, Mrs. Selfish and I were finally getting tired of Asian food, a rare feat in the Selfish Household. Fortunately, we were now in Greece and I was hungering for some Greek food.

Pitas! Gyros! Lamb! Feta! Baklava! Actually, that’s about all the Greek food I knew going in.

Apparently our offerings of Greek food Stateside are very weak and consists almost entirely of gyros, which is like going to a sushi restaurant and declaring you know Japanese food. We just don’t get the breadth of Greek food in the good ol’ USA.

Fortunately, Athens has a wide variety of Greek food types, so we set out to expand our palettes.

Munching down at Manh Manh

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Busan BBQ: A Mixed Bag

11 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Busan, Food & Drinks, South Korea

≈ 1 Comment

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Busan, Ilpum Hanu, Korean BBQ, Mapchanduel Wang Sogeumgui, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

This is post eleven of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

When it comes to personal cuisine preferences, I’d rate Korean food somewhere behind Japanese food. Korean food is excellent, but I find it lacks the breadth of flavors as some other cultures, and I can’t eat it back-to-back-to-back-to-back like I can other foods.

That being said, there are a few types of Korean food I cannot get enough of, like Korean fried chicken (So crispy! So tender!), or bibimbap (So spicy! So tasty!), or Korean BBQ.

While we already had an amazing Korean BBQ meal in Seoul, I was looking forward to repeating the experience in Busan.

Grabbing some Galbi from Mapchanduel Wang Sogeumgui

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Eating Our Way Through Seoul

04 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Seoul, South Korea

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Bonga, Kyochon Chicken, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Seoul, South Korea

This is post four of twelve on our autumn trip to South Korea. Check out the other posts in this series here:

Having eaten our way through the northern side of Seoul during our Selfish Year (and because Mrs. Selfish was less mobile this time around), we decided to try some of the eats on the Gangnam side of Seoul.

Seoul has tons of good restaurants, and is a fairly cosmopolitan city. That being said, I am admittedly and whole-heartedly a cheap eats kind of guy. $10 – $15 per person is my idea of a good meal, so Michelin restaurants were simply not in the cards.

Below are some of the delicious (and affordable) eats we found. Be warned, they are largely Korean chains, but that doesn’t preclude them from being mouth-wateringly delicious.

Fried Rice and Galbi at Yoogane

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Taipei’s Cheap Eats: Sweet Edition

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Taiwan

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Bobba Tea, Cheap Eats, Cheap Eats Taipei, Chun Shui Tang Teahouse, Ice Monster, Mango Shaved Ice, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tai Yi Milk King, Taipei, Taiwan

This is the seventh of eleven posts on Taiwan. Check out our other posts here:

It turns out we did so much eating in Taipei that I couldn’t fit all of the restaurants into one post. If you missed it, yesterday’s post talked about our favorite savory restaurants in Taipei. Today’s will focus on the sweet side.

Boba Tea at the Chun Shui Tang Teahouse

One of Taiwan’s most famous exports, boba milk tea (or pearled milk tea) has swept the States in popularity. If you are Asian or have Asian friends, chances are you’ve tried this dish.

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Taipei’s Cheap Eats: Savory Edition

04 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Taiwan

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Ay Chung, Beef Noodle Soup, Cheap Eats, Cheap Eats Taipei, Jin Feng Lu Rou, Pork Rice, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Slack Season, Taipei, Taiwan, Tao Yuan Street, Yong Kang Beef

This is the sixth of eleven posts on Taiwan. Check out our other posts here:

Taipei is known as a mecca for cheap, delicious food. While I touched on some of the Night Market eats on Thursday, in today’s post I’ll talk about some of the better brick-and-mortar restaurants we visited.

These restaurants were more expensive than night market stalls, but they were still insanely cheap: $195 TWD (~$6.50 USD) for the cheapest meal, and $506 TWD (~$16.60) for the most expensive.

Keep in mind this was for two people and you get a sense of just how cheap good dining can be in Taiwan. Now on to the eats!

Beef Noodle Soup

A well known Taiwanese dish – braised beef is served with noodles in a slowly cooked broth with thinly sliced green onions. On the surface it sounds very similar to Japanese ramen, but Beef Noodles are a horse of a different color.

We tried this at two different restaurants: Yong Kang Beef noodle, and Tao Yuan Street Beef Noodle.

Yong Kang Beef Noodle

About a 5 minute walk from the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Yong Kang Beef is a simple little sit down joint that offers a variety of different soups.

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Taking it to the Streets: Taipei’s Night Markets

02 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Taiwan

≈ 5 Comments

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Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang, Hot-star, Night Market, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Shilin Night Market, Taipei, Taipei Night Markets, Taiwan, Tong Hua Night Market

This is the fourth of eleven posts on Taiwan. Check out our other posts here:

I’ve heard a lot of city food scenes described as high end, middle ranged, or low-end. One of the reasons Mrs. Selfish and I love to travel is for the food. Unfortunately, my tastes are rooted firmly in the low-end to mid-range side of the food spectrum, so cities are often hit or miss.

Paris, as great as it is, doesn’t do a lot for me food wise. Most of the best options are Michelin starred type deals, with $40+ entrees and a dress code to match. The first time Mrs. Selfish and I traveled there we largely got by on Paninis, crepes, baguettes, and croissants.

So I was very excited to come to Taipei, home of the humble night market. While we marked more than 6 night markets on our map, we only hit up two of them due to time constraints.

Tong Hua Night Market

Just a 10 minute walk from the Grand Hyatt Taipei and Taipei 101, Tong Hua Night Market is a small, intimate night market specializing mostly in food stands.

The eats here are seriously cheap, and start for as little as $20 TWD (~$.66 USD). You can literally find a delicious, hot meal for 2 people for less than $6 USD. Plus, it’s good. Really good.

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Shopping at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar in Istanbul

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, Istanbul

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Asia, Europe, Food & Drinks, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Spice Bazaar, Turkey

This is the eighth of eleven posts on Istanbul. Check out our other posts here:

I love Daniel Craig as James Bond. I mean, he’s no Sean Connery, but in my opinion, he is the next best James Bond. So, while in Istanbul, Mr. Selfish and I rewatched Skyfall, because the opening sequence is set in Istanbul. Although it didn’t seem quite geographically accurate, there is an awesome chase scene near the Grand Bazaar.

Unfortunately, I didn’t spot James Bond on a motorcycle at the Grand Bazaar. Nevertheless, it is still quite epic. The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. It is quite large with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops. I was pretty surprised as to how large it was.

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Turkish Food is Quite a Delight!

17 Saturday May 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, Istanbul

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Acik Mutfak, Asia, Casita, Ciya Kebab, Europe, Feraye, Food & Drinks, Hayvore, hünkar beğendi, Hunkar, Istanbul, Manti, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Turkey, Zubeyir

This is the sixth of eleven posts on Istanbul. Check out our other posts here:

I already went over the delicious cheap eats we had while in Istanbul. This post will go over some of the “fancier” food we had.

Zubeyir: The Best Adana Kebabs Ever!

I know I said in the last post that Turkish food was much more than kebabs, but we had to sample some while we were in Istanbul. After some Internet research, I discovered that Zubeyir (located at Şht. Muhtar Mh., 34435 Beyoğlu) is reputed to have some of the best adana kebabs in Istanbul.

When we walked in and saw the grill in the middle of the restaurant, I knew that we had made the right decision. Mr. Selfish and I usually order different things when going to a new restaurant in order to diversify and try more than one dish. We didn’t do that here. We both ordered the adana kebabs, and I’m glad we did.

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Cheap Eats in Istanbul!

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Europe, Food & Drinks, Istanbul

≈ 2 Comments

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Asia, Balık ekmek, Borsam Tasfirin, Europe, Food & Drinks, Galata Bridge, Istanbul, Lahmacuns, pides, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sultanahmet Köftecisi, Turkey

This is the fourth of eleven posts on Istanbul. Check out our other posts here:

When I started researching the food in Istanbul, I was overwhelmed by all the different types of Turkish food of which I was unaware. Turkish food is so much more than just kebabs. Mr. Selfish and I knew that we had to try as much Turkish cuisine as possible.

This post will outline some of the cheap eats we had in Istanbul. Mr. Selfish and I sampled as much as possible from the street vendors and more economical restaurants.

Red and White Carts: Give Me Pastries!

The first thing I noted was the abundance of pastries available from street vendors in Istanbul. I loved seeing those little red and white carts, because I knew a tasty treat was in store for me.

We especially loved simits, which are circular bread covered with sesame seeds. The sweet donut-like treats weren’t too shabby either. Each treat cost about 1 TL, which is about $.48 USD.

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Where’s the Wagyu Beef? At Maruni!

27 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

≈ 1 Comment

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Maruni, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, wagyu, wagyu beef

During our first visit to Japan in 2009, Mr. Selfish and I feasted at Grill Miyata, which was located in Kyoto but is now closed, for the best wagyu beef ever. With the revelation that most “Kobe” or “wagyu” beef in the States is in fact just regular beef, we knew that we had to have it again while in Japan.

Wagyu is expensive, as it should be. The term refers to several breeds of cattle that are genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of unsaturated fat. This, of course, makes them extra tasty.

Mr. Selfish and I did some research online and decided to try Maruni (1-11-1, Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0004). It is a small yakiniku restaurant where they grill the meat right in front of you.

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Good Eats in Tokyo: Yuian Izakaya and Jinnan Curry

25 Saturday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Jinnan Curry, Little Shop, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, Yuian, Yuian Izakaya

I love Japanese food. During our travel during the selfish year, Japanese food is the one cuisine of which I never got tired. Considering that we spent over forty days in Japan, that is quite a feat. Here are two tasty restaurants that we discovered during our last time in Tokyo.

Yuian Izakaya: A Great View and Good Food

Although Mr. Selfish and I are quite partial to the 35 Steps in Shibuya, we decided to give another izakaya a try. We found rave reviews for Yuian Izakaya (2-6-1 Shinjuku Sumitomo Building 52F) online and booked it for our last night in Tokyo. It is located in Shinjuku on the 52nd floor of an office building, which makes for great views during dinner.

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Relaxing in Roppongi

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Tokyo

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Roppongi, Roppongi Fukuzushi, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tokyo, Zōjō-ji, Zōjō-ji Temple

Mr. Selfish and I always love visiting Tokyo. We usually stay in the areas of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Harajuku. This time, we decided to go to the expat area – Roppongi.

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The Selfish Years

~ Over 200 cities, 42 countries, 6 continents and counting.

Category Archives: Food & Drinks

Bubblin’ in Dublin: Dublin Eats

There’s a Meat Town in Naxos!