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Teriyaki
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Everyone loves Teriyaki, it is a style of cooking literally meaning glaze and grill. The shiny sauce is used to coat meats, fish and vegetables and can be found on every Japanese menu around the country. Some restaurants make their own sauce from passed down family recipes making the experience unique and special. Teriyaki chicken is a common filling for sushi, while a simple piece of Teriyaki Salmon can make a memorable meal.
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Japanese
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Sushi
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Sushi is the ‘vinegared rice’ used to stuff the rolls and a variety of other ingrediants such as raw fish with nori seaweed, avocado and cucumber or chicken teriyaki. They are served with spicy wasabi and soy sauce to give them a kick!
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Japanese
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Pad Thai
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If your not sure what to order at a Thai restaurant you can't go wrong with Pad Thai! Definitely one of the most popular Thai dishes that consists of noodles, dried shrimp, chicken, red chillies, tamarind and thai basil. Some restaurants are now introducing a ‘chilli beef’ pad Thai which gives a whole different texture and flavour to the dish.
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Thai
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Thai Spring Rolls
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Not unlike the Chinese version, these are served in most thai restaurants you come across. Deep fried in pancake rolls, some are vegetarian and others include chicken, duck or prawns with herbs and spices. Usually served with a sweet chilli dip or a sweet plumb sauce, they are delicious as you crunch into the pastry wrapper and reveal the delicious contents!
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Thai
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Tom Yum
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The most famous of Thai soups, Tom Yum is spicy and sour and utterly delicious. Served usually with prawns and chicken, the flavours are created by crushing all the herbs into a paste and stir frying in oil. To make the soup, stock is added and topped off with fresh herbs. Tom Yum Soup is often served with a bowl of steamed rice.
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Thai
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Wiener Schnitzel
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Ah! The Wiener Schnitzel. A large flattened piece of veal delightfully coated in egg and seasoned breadcrumbs. Add in a portion of your favourite potatos (either chips or roasted) and you have one filling meal. They'll always add in some sort of salad or vegetables to round it out. Lemon wedges are also provided to squeeze over the veal.
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German
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Sauerkraut
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Translated direct to \"sour cabbage\", but don't let that put you off as it is popular for a reason. Finely cut cabbage that has been fermented. Your meal may already come with Sauerkraut, but if it doesn't you can always order a side dish.
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German
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Crispy Duck with Pancakes
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Served in virtually every Chinese restaurant around the country, Crispy Duck is a sociable way of eating with a group of friends or family. The duck is air-dried and then roasted in the oven with a honey and soy glaze and Chinese 5-Spice. This renders the skin crisp while the flesh stays tender. It is then shredded and served with a plum sauce, pancakes and finely sliced matchstick pieces of cucumber and spring onion. Take one of the pancakes from the bamboo steamer, a spoonful of sauce and top with the shredded vegetables and duck. Roll up and crunch it to it, simply delicious!
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Chinese
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Moussaka
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An oven baked lasagna style dish but with the pasta being replaced by layers of eggplant. In between the layers is a delicious mix of spiced minced lamb with oregano and tomatoes. The whole dish is topped with a béchamel sauce and baked in the oven until the top is bubbling and golden. Some moussakas have a more savoury custard topping. Moussaka is made differently from restaurant to restaurant and can include sliced courgettes or part fried potato slices, depending on the chef’s recipes.
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Greek
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Kleftiko
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A joint of lamb, usually a whole leg which has been slow roasted until it falls of the bone. Cooked with garlic, lemon, potatoes and onions with plenty of oregano and thyme and tomatoes. Often the lamb is wrapped in paper and sealed to keep in the flavour and left for many hours on a low heat. Very delicious and very Greek!
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Greek
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Spanakopita
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A Greek savoury pastry often served as a starter or a snack, consisting of filo pastry wrapped around a filling of chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions, egg and seasoning. The dish is usually served as a triangular pastry, but some restaurants make large trays, almost pie like, and cut out wedges to serve with a mixed salad and yoghurt dip.
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Greek
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Thai Green Curry
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Thai food is famous for its curries and the Green curry is probably the most famous of the lot. Made from fresh chillies, lemongrass, shrimp paste, galangal, garlic, lime leaves and coriander, Thai green curry paste has a fabulous distinctive flavour and is mixed with coconut cream to make the curry creamy. Quite often served with green beans and pea aubergines and mountains of jasmine rice, it is a heart warming dish that is loved by Thai food fans around the world.
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Thai
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Mezze
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Traditional starter of an array of small plates of Greek food, similar to eating tapas style in Spain. Regular dishes include hummus (chickpeas with garlic and tahini) taramasalata ( fish roe), felafels and kofte (spicy meatballs or cigar shaped formed meat with herbs, spice and onions), grilled octopus, grilled halloumi cheese and an aubergine salad, plus many more. Served with pitta bread for dipping and cucumber and mint tsatsiki
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Greek
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Souvlaki
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An Amazing Greek dish consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. Check with the staff to the scale of heat as it has been know to surprise people! Be brave and add more spice with a hot chill sauce or soften the heat with garlic yoghurt or hummus
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Greek
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Baclava
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Very sweet and almost ‘teeth-curling’ this is a delicious Greek pastry served as a dessert and comprising of flaky filo pastry, crisp on the outside but with a gooey filling of cinnamon spiced nuts and dried fruit bathed in honey or a sweet syrup. Whilst sold in restaurants as a dessert, it is often found in Greek delis and sandwich shops.
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Greek
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Bratwurst
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A lightly spicy but soft textured sausage is accompanied by fermented cabbage, a traditional German dish. Bratwurst can be made of pork, veal or beef, and is usually cooked by frying or poaching in beer.
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German
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Pork Knuckle
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This classic German dish (Schweinshaxe - The Austrian version of this dish, called Stelze) with pork knuckle and potato dumplings is a great option if you've got an apetite. Enjoy it as you would at a Bavarian beer garden: with a cold glass of your favourite ale.
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German
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Apple Strudel
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A strudel is a type of sweet or savoury layered pastry with a filling inside. The traditional Apple Strudel is filled of cooked apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and bread crumbs. It can be served warm or cold drizzled if liked with a Vanillla Sauce or a big scoop of ice cream.
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German
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Mango Lassi
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Served in most Asian restaurants, it is probably a ‘signature smoothie’ type of drink. Fresh mangoes with yoghurt and light spices poured over ice – absolutely delicious and refreshing to the palate and takes away any heat from spicy food still burning your tongue!
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Asian
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Beer
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Singha and Kloster are the most consumed Thai beers. Singha was originally brewed over 80 years ago in Thailand by members of the Thai nobility. Fairly strong and ‘hoppy’ tasting, it is made from barley and has 6% alcohol content. Kloster is a much smoother beer and a little more expensive.
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Thai
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Whisky
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Some restaurants in Australia serve a selection of Thai whiskies. The whisky is made from rice and is sharp and sweet, but very high in alcohol content at 35%. Mekong and Kwangthong are popular brands. It is not a cheap drink to buy, even though its cheaper in Thailand than beer!
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Thai
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Beer
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Tsingtao is the most popular Chinese beer in China. Best served with spicy food, it is crisp and refreshing when ice cold. It has a nutty, sweet taste and is a perfect accompaniment to Chinese dishes. It is a lager style beer and a modest 4.8% alcohol.
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Chinese
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Jasmine Tea
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Jasmine Tea is a famous Chinese tea brew, deeply aromatic and usually served at the end of a meal with great ceremony. Always served with a teapot and cup, often on a bamboo mat. The unique flavour and aroma is caused by the jasmine blossom fragrance being absorbed into the tea during growth. Subtlely sweet, is is renowned throughout the world.
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Chinese
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Lemongrass Soda
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Very refreshing drink made with lemon grass syrup and mixed with soda or sparkling water, garnished with lemon slices and served over ice. Sometimes garnished with Thai basil to give a more herby taste.
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Thai
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Thai Papaya Smash
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A wonderful cocktail mainly served in the medium to larger restaurants. Made with fresh papaya, orange and a shot of tequila and dash of freshly squeezed lime it has both a bitter and sweet taste. The addition of agave nectar brings more sweetness, but sometimes you have to ask for it.
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Thai
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Ouzo
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Traditional Greek drink served as an aperitif, although Greek people will drink it at any time! Quite a firey spirit, totally clear until water is added and it becomes cloudy. Almost aniseed in flavour, not unlike the French Pernod, but stronger.
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Greek
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Rakomello
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This is more like a ‘hot toddy’ and made with the incredibly alcoholic raki spirit, but mellowed down with water, honey, cloves and cinnamon. Served hot, it is particularly popular in winter months – worth trying, it is quite unique, and the Greeks use it for ‘medicinal purposes’ !!
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Greek
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Retsina
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Another traditional Greek wine, not known for its smoothness. It has been resonated with pine to preserve the wine, an age old tradition from thousands of years ago. It pairs effortlessly with dishes containing herbs such as rosemary, oregano and dill and is a good accompaniment to chicken and fish dishes. Crisp and quite a herbal taste, but some people really like it. Retsina is also available in a rose version but not all restaurants stock it – do ask though, as it is eminently more palatable than the white version!
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Greek
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Berliner Weisse
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Originating in Northern Germany and very popular in Berlin, Berliner Weisse is an unusual wheat beer that is both cloudy and sour in taste. It is often mixed with a paler beer or a lager to sweeten the beer up, but is also mixed with a fruit syrup, such as raspberry or a sweet green syrup, which not only sweetens the beer, but also turns it into extreme bright colours.
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German
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Green Tea
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Green tea is very popular in Chinese restaurants and sushi bars. This could be due to its apparent ‘healing properties’ and distinct flavour. Green Tea aids digestion of raw food and has a slightly earthy but not unpleasant taste. Served in a cup that is often prettily decorated.
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Chinese, Sushi
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Sake
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Sake is a Japanese fermented rice drink, usually served warm and frequently called ‘rice wine’. It is served in small china bottles or in small ‘cup’ style vessels in very small quantities! An acquired taste and quite pungent!
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Sushi, Japanese
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