What was your most memorable meal? Where was it?

[Siani]

What was your most memorable meal? I would love to hear your stories about what is memorable for you.
It need not be a good meal, just why it was memorable and where it was.

I will give you mine

It was back in 1968, we went to Majorca for a 2 week holiday. We had very little money and the holiday was quite a cheap one. One day we took the train from Soller to Camp De Mar. At this time there was just a restaurant on the tiny island. We ordered Paella..the waiter said it would take an hour or so to make as some of the ingredients had not arrived. We said it was fine and were happy to sit and enjoy a glass or two of wine while waiting. About half an hour later a frogman appeared with octopus, plus other fish on a hook, climbing up a ladder from the sea. The dish arrived and we ate it overlooking the water, so fresh, well worth waiting for, delicious

What was yours?

[migrant]

Many, thank god!!

But similar to yours we were in Mexico at a little village on the beach. The village was known for it's fried fish.

We told the waiter we wanted a whole fried fish, he suggested we wait. It was a beautiful evening and a few beers later a boat pulled up right on the beach. The fisherman came out with 5-6 live, wriggling fish. We picked one, watched it get cleaned, seasoned and fried. I swear it was almost still moving.

That, fresh just made tortillas and salsa, and sauteed fresh veggies, yum!!

[TypicallyTropical]

Mine is kind of odd story since it was at an Italian restaurant in Japan! I think it was in the late 90's, I have been in Japan for a while eating wonderful Japanese food every day, and I started craving for Italian, which is my favorite. My Japanese girlfriend of that time took me to "Rondino's" in Kamakura. I ordered Seafood Lasagne. As it turned out, it was individually made for every order, and instead of ricotta cheese they used bechamel sauce. It was the best lasagne I ever had!

[caller]

So Many, wouldn't say it was the best, and just as above, before Thassos took off, I used to watch the kids spearing squid, clearing the ink by the the less than subtle method of whacking them against the sea wall, then a few minutes later, it was cooked and on the plate!

My really memorable meal was a very simple one, in Darwin, late one night, just before a place closed (I'd just arrived back in town) and eating outdoors, still hot and humid, I had grilled Barramundi, served with lemon butter, double cooked potato's with sea salt and garlic and a simple side salad - perfection.

My best ever, ever, starter was just over a year ago, in the pub in the next village from where I live, about a mile or so away. It was carpaccio of venison with black pudding, served on celeriac and rocket with a balsamic vinegar dressing. I wanted to have it as my main and dessert as well - one of the finest dishes I have ever eaten, anywhere!

[dtaai-maai]

An Afghan restaurant in Islamabad in 1987 with a most delightful and beautiful young lady, the visiting daughter of a senior diplomat. The whole experience was extremely memorable. The food was pretty good too.

[Lily]

Probably on the beach at Mykonos a few years ago. We ordered fried mushrooms as just wanted a snack. After 30 mins wait the waitor turned up with a plate of mussels ! I am allergic to seafood so we explained that I couldn't eat them so the waitor very kindly gave the extra portion to other diners nearby. After another 30 minute wait our mushrooms arrived looking fab.Just as we picked up our forks a very scraggy looking long haired dog bounded out of the sea and proceeded to shake himself dry right next to our table !! We( and all the others around us) laughed so much we cried.. And yes....we did still eat the mushrooms although we didn't need to salt them !!

[Spitfire]

I always remember having fresh Marlin off the bother-in-law's boat in New Zealand, smoked in the back garden with lots of extras.

Super tasty fish Marlin is, especially when fresh and caught that day.

[Dr Mike]

It was 1944 and I was 4 years old. My father was staioned at an Airfield outside Holme on Spalding Moor in Yorkshire. We went for a weeks holiday--an almost forgotten thing--a holiday.

Britain was on the edge of starvation but I was a child and had known nothing else. We stayed at a farmhouse and I had never seen as much food in my short life. On the Sunday we had a beef roast, a huge chunk of meat. The farmers family, our family and strangely two German POWs who worked on the farm and were like adopted family.
That meal was great but it was the Monday meal that I remember even better.

The farmers wife made Yorkshire pudding in earthenware bowls, the joint was cut into small pieces and re heated with extra veggies and thick gravy and that was spooned into the Yorkshires. There was also home made beer for the adults--we ate till we were full, then my father played the piano and the German boys sang German songs---I can feel and taste it to this day.

[Randy Cornhole]

Probably one om my mothers roast dinners when I was a kid. The chicken was succulent and the roast potatoes were a plenty. I can't think of a more enjoyable meal.

[TypicallyTropical]

An Afghan restaurant in Islamabad in 1987 with a most delightful and beautiful young lady, the visiting daughter of a senior diplomat. The whole experience was extremely memorable. The food was pretty good too.

After reading your post I realized the best meal I ever had was not the lasagne at Rondino's! It was that single strategically placed raspberry I "ate" in bed!

[sateeb]

Deep sea fishing in the Seychelles for tuna in the late 80's. Caught some big Tuna and the crew cooked them on the beach for us.

[Dannie Boy]

This could be a bit of a ramble but I want to do it justice. It was 1975 and we had booked to go to a BB Guesthouse in North Devon in a tiny hamlet called Roborough. It turned out that the Guesthouse originated as the Manor House of the Sheriff of Devon in the 16th century and resembled a church with walls more than 2 feet thick. The house had no mains electricity, just a diesel generator, an oil-fired Aga cooker and a well for the water. Throw in a dozen or so chickens for fresh eggs every morning, a small holding for home grown vegetables and milk and butter from the farm up the road and it was no suprise that I put on 3/4 of a stone (about 5.1/2 kg) in two weeks that we were there.

The couple who ran the guesthouse had recently retired from working in the Foreign Office and had been based in Colombo Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The highlight of the stay was the visit of the daughter of the Chief of Police in Colombo who knew our hosts very well and we were treated to a very lavish selection of about six different Celonese curries. Back in those days my experience with eating curries was at the novice stage and for those of you who have never been to Ceylon/Sri Lanka, their curries pack as much firepower as anything you will eat in Thailand.

Happy memories!!!

[dtaai-maai]

Enjoyed that one, Danny - rustic English charm and a little exotic extra from spicy Ceylon; the best of both worlds, though I have to say it's the farmhouse breakfasts and Devon cream teas that are making me drool...

[JW]

This is a great thread and think it will be a long one as everyone remembers many great eating experiences! Some lovely stories already.. bloody hungry now!
This one came to mind for me, its about far away friends also...

We used to have regular Sunday game of golf at 11am at my home course in Bishop Auckland (not well known for culinary delights I might add).

After we played the losers had to buy Pizzas, now the Pizza had to be bought from a place called Pippos which was about 7 miles away, I am convinced I will never eat a better one....

Obviously we had some beers on the Veranda after play (winners only because, even then the polce were hot on DD) and the wait of the Pizza was unbearable, when it came it was heaven, pertect temperature to really get stuck into.

Little sting in the tail was that if the guys getting the pizza took more than 45 mins they had to buy all the beer too!
Good memories.

[Vital Spark]

It started with a meal...(I’ll try and keep this as short as possible)

Back in 1994 I was working for a Ford Dealership, and running their car hire department. I was lucky to be selected as one of the top Rent-a-Car managers in the country. This surprising award resulted in me (along with about 10 other managers) having a wonderful trip on the Orient Express around Kent. The food was divine and the wonderful wine just kept flowing, so I made the most of it.

Towards the end of the trip would be the announcement for the ‘Top Rent-a-Car Manager’. I didn’t think I had a cat’s chance in hell, as the dealership I worked for was considerably smaller than that of my competitors. So I carried on drinking the extremely fine wine and eating the sumptuous food.

‘...and the winner is....’. I clapped my hands to congratulate the winner, only to be nudged by my eating companion that it was me. ME? ME? Oh, heck! I’ve now got to look sober and graciously accept my prize.

So... what was the prize? A £1,000 holiday voucher. I’d never had that much to spend on a holiday in my life. Where should I go? The world’s almost my oyster. Thailand sounds nice. I’d never travelled outside Europe and it looks and sounds exotic.

That was my first ‘toe dip’ into Thailand. I loved it and wanted to come back. I did a year later, just to confirm my first suspicions.

I moved here in 1997 with Mr.VS and haven’t regretted it one bit.

VS