The first thing you should eat when you visit 8 countries

Food and travel really go hand in hand. When I land in Bali, I’ve got mie goreng on the brain. In Thailand, it’s fresh local fruits like mangosteen. The moment I touch down in France, I’m ready for a baguette with jambon et fromage! Every destination has its own local specialties. Some of them, most tourists know about. But what do the locals really favor? We checked in with locals and others who call the 8 destinations below home, to find out what they say is the first thing you should eat when you land in their country!

Norway

Living for a long time in New York, there is always some food that I miss from my home country, Norway. No doubt, New York has some of the greatest restaurants and food in the world, but … So every time I travel home to visit, either for work or to see family and friends, there is one dish that I’ve always got to have, either homemade or in a restaurant: Fish soup, and preferably from Bergen. Bergen fish soup is a delicacy all visitors to Norway should try when they visit our beautiful country. Norway has some of the best and freshest seafood in the world and the soup is made with a variety of the fruits from the sea; cod or halibut, mussels, salmon and preferably fresh salty shrimps, and of course, with root vegetables such as carrots, leek, potatoes, turnip and fresh parsley. The base of the soup is butter, flour, fish stock, cream. – Harald Hansen, Visit Norway

Brazil

The main dish in Brazil is the feijoada, but that wouldn’t be my first choice. I would recommend that after landing from a long flight to Brazil, people go straight to a churrascaria. Try a rodizio of meat (or fish!) and enjoy a caipirinha (or five) with it! – Joao Rodrigues, media relations professional with over 10 years’ experience representing Brazil

England

Sunday wouldn’t be the same in England without a traditional roast dinner.  The wonderful aroma of succulent roasting meat, lashings of tasty gravy and soft, fluffy Yorkshire puddings have been part of English food culture for centuries.  Eateries from five-star restaurants and hotels to gastropubs, traditional pubs and cafés are all serving up a tempting roast dinner on Sundays and, increasingly, on other days of the week, such is its popularity. No visit to England is complete without sampling one. – Emma Mead, Visit Britain