Lockdown Cooking: How To Make KFC-Style Fried Chicken At Home!

Fried Chicken Recipe: Missing your favorite crispy fried chicken from KFC? Here's how you can make it at home!

Highlights

• Who doesn't love a crispy fried chicken packed with spicy flavours?
• Here is a quick and easy KFC-style fried chicken recipe that you can try
• Made with simple ingredients, this recipe is an absolute delight to cook

If there's one thing a chicken lover cannot resist, it is the crispy, juicy fried chicken! Picture your favourite chicken wings, laced in spices and fried to perfection, aren't you already slurping? And when we talk of fried chicken, the first thing that comes to our mind is the all-time favourite KFC hot wings. Dipping that piping hot KFC fried chicken in your favourite smoky sauce is a heavenly experience!

But amidst the lockdown due to Coronavirus outbreak, when none of us can actually get our hands on our favourite fried chicken, we are here to your rescue with a super quick and extremely easy KFC-style fried chicken recipe that you can make at home! Yes, you read that right. The original recipe might still be a secret we would never know, but here's how we can get close to those mouth-watering and irresistibly delicious chicken wings that the world is crazy for!

KFC-style fried chicken wings recipe has chicken marinated in a pool of spices, including turmeric, red chilli, ginger-garlic paste along with curd and lemon. You can add more spices of your choice such as black pepper too. You can overnight marinate the chicken or marinate it minimum for about at least 30 minutes. The chicken is then laced in crunchy, roasted and crushed to powder-like masala chip. Make sure to completely coat the marinated chicken in this powder and then fry in hot oil. You can even saute the wings instead of deep-frying. Squeeze some lemon over it and savour your favourite KFC style fried chicken wings right at the comfort of your home, cooked just under an hour!

Top 10 online shopping tip

I blame online shopping for the suffering of my social life. On many a Friday eve, you'll find me making fantasy online shopping collages while dropping chip seasoning onto my keyboard, a much more attractive option than cover charge and overpriced alcohol. There's no guiltier pleasure than clicking 'Checkout Now' near midnight and few things more satisfying than finding a FedEx box on your front porch.

Going online comes up tops for convenience, variety and cost, but can be overwhelming. With so many options out there, it's hard to know where to start. Just like navigating your way around a multi-storey, spiral-structured shopping centre, you need a plan of attack. Here are some tips for taking the stress out of the situation.

1. Get tips on how-to-wear from different websites. Thinking of buying something but stumped on how to style it? A lot of online stores stock the same items, but pair them with different things in their display photos.  You could wear this shirt like this or this.

2. Actual shopping centres are sooo early '00s. There are now online shopping emporiums like FashioNZ, FarFetch and Polyvore that act like search engines for clothes, allowing you to find exactly what you want based on brand, style, colour and size.

3. You can't always trust virtual catwalks and augmented reality "change rooms" to give you an accurate sense of fit and feel. Cue "showrooming". The sneaky practice of visiting physical stores and trying on their wares, before looking them up and buying them for cheaper online. We're not the only ones, right?  

4. Don't drop an exorbitant amount on 1-2 day shipping. You may be giving patience a slap in the face, but is that slap really worth $32 on top of your already-expensive purchase? There's so much pleasure in getting a shipping number and tracking your package right to your door.

5. Have a read of customer feedback, but be wary of website recommendations (you'll find yourself loading 20 things into your cart if you were to blindly follow Amazon's). Reviews on the other hand offer great pointers in terms of quality and what size to order.

6. Check for promo codes. A lot of websites have free shipping offers, student discounts and savings upon signing up to their newsletter. You just have to do your research.

7. What do you do when you can only find that rare Kawakubo cocoon coat on a Japanese website that doesn't provide an English translation or ship to Australia? Try a proxy service. They'll converse with the retailers on your behalf, bid on items and organise shipment, from wherever your dream item happens to be. Just do your due diligence and check for reviews first.

8. Don't be scared to buy vintage online. According to WWD, online consignment stores are the best place to score designer bargains since flash-sale sites.

9. Psst! Tuesday isn't just cheap pizza and movie day, it's also the day online shops tend to post sales and upload new items.

10. You have your go-to shops in real life so why not have a list online? We've compiled a few of our favourites worthy of a bookmark.

Summer Tips for Skin Care in Children!

Here comes the summer and it is a great time for kids – long, sunny days filled with lots of outdoor activities and family vacations.

Being prepared to protect your children’s skin will help you prevent unwarranted disasters in outings or vacations.

Dermatologist Dr. Meera Govindaraju is sharing with us about summer tips for skin care to protect the sensitive skin of the child from the harsh sun !!!

Top Summer Tips for Skin Care in Children

Here are a few summer skincare tips that will help you protect your little munchkins

Newborns

Keep the newborns out of the direct sunlight. When the newborn crosses 6-month mark sunscreens can be applied.

How to Choose Sunscreen for kids?

• Look for sunscreens that contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide with and sun protection factor(SPF) of 30.
• Avoid sunscreens that contain parabens, benzophenones, oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, and those that are tinted or scented.
• Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen which protects against UVA & UVB rays.

How to Use Sunscreen for Kids

Always apply sunscreen on your child before going outside. Apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before going outside. Then reapply every 2 hours or sooner in case the child has been swimming. Incase of water-resistant sunscreen reapplies as directed in the product.

Dressing up in Summer

Dress your little one in lightweight cotton clothing. Also choose dark hues of red, blue, or green as these do not absorb sunlight. Ensure that your child wears a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses which protect the eyes and the sensitive area that surrounds the eyes.

Avoid Sunlight during day hours

The best way of sun protection is to avoid sunlight. Staying indoors between 10.00am to 4.00pm when the sun’s rays are strongest.

Nutrition

It is also important to eat fresh vegetables, fruits, and superfoods which are high in antioxidants. Give your child plenty of fluids.

Deal with Prickly Heat

Kids tend to sweat a lot and can end up with heat rash or prickly hear which are tiny red bumps seen on the neck, face, armpits, and upper torso. They are caused by clogged sweat gland pores and are itchy. To avoid this use a mild fragrance-free soap and give a lukewarm bath. Intake of fruits rich in vitamin C is advised to prevent further recurrence. Topical soothing agents like calamine lotion can be applied.

How to treat Sunburn?

If your child gets sunburn place cool compresses on the sunburn and applies aloe gel which is refrigerated a few minutes before application. If the above measures fail to reduce the symptoms it's important to consult a dermatologist.

6 Best Supermarkets and Grocery Stores in New Zealand!

Although New Zealand grocery stores tend to be a bit expensive, shopping for groceries, as opposed to eating out at restaurants, will save you a great deal of money. Together Countdown, New World, and Pak’nSave dominate the New Zealand grocery store industry, but Four Square, FreshChoice, and SuperValue pull their weight.

In no particular order, here is a list of the best New Zealand grocery stores and supermarkets.

1. Countdown

In 1981, the first Countdown store opened in Christchurch. Today, over 184 Countdown grocery stores exist across New Zealand. Owned by Woolworths New Zealand and headquartered in Auckland, Countdown employs over 18,500 New Zealanders. Countdown serves more than 2.5 million New Zealanders every week with over 20,000 different products in each of their stores.

2. New World

Founded in 1963, New World is a full-service supermarket with 140 locations across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Each New World grocery store is independently owned and 100% Kiwi operated. Headquartered in Wellington, New World is one of the top three supermarkets in New Zealand. Similar to PAK’nSave and Four Square, New World is also owned by Foodstuffs.

3. FreshChoice

Founded fairly recently in 1995 and headquartered in Christchurch, FreshChoice is a chain of locally owned and operated New Zealand supermarkets. Just like Countdown and SuperValue, FreshChoice is owned by Woolworths New Zealand. At the time of this writing, there are 30 FreshChoice stores across New Zealand.

4. Four Square

In 1924, the first Four Square supermarket opened. Today, there are more than 240 stores across New Zealand with additional locations in Australia. The name for the grocery store originated when Heaton Barker drew a square around the 4 on his calendar on July 4, 1924. In addition, Barker states that the grocery store “would stand ‘Four Square’ to all the winds that blew”. Similar to Pak’nSave and New World, Four Square is also owned by Foodstuffs.

5. SuperValue

The first SuperValue opened in Opawa, Christchurch in 1964. Today, SuperValue has over 41 locally owned and operated supermarkets in New Zealand. Woolworths New Zealand also owns SuperValue, just like Countdown and FreshChoice. SuperValue was originally spelled without an ‘e’ like SuperValu, but customers disliked this, so the ‘e’ was tacked back on the end.

6. Pak’nSave

The last, but certainly not least in this list of New Zealand grocery stores is Pak’nSave. The first Pak’nSave opened in June 1985 at Kaitaia on the North Island, and today there are 57 locations across New Zealand. This New Zealand discount food warehouse chain is headquartered in Wellington and is probably the cheapest New Zealand grocery store. In order to offer the lowest grocery store prices in New Zealand, Pak’nSave buys in bulk, doesn’t decorate their stores, and has customers pack their own bags—hence the “pack and save” name. Similar to Four Square and New World, Pak’nSave is also owned by Foodstuffs.

Lifebuoy: How the brand's transformation win its fans

Even if it does literally nothing else by the time the year is done and dusted, Lifebuoy is still going to come through as one of the more innovative brands of 2013. In the tsunami of branding unleashed at the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad, Lifebuoy came up with the memorable ploy of embossing messages about the benefits of washing hands on rotis, after tying up with some popular local dhabas.

Barely a month later it has started 'Help A Child Reach 5'. It's a multipronged initiative. Apart from engaging with the brand's massive following on Facebook, it's the offline component that's most significant.

Hindustan Unilever intends adopting the village of Thesgora in Madhya Pradesh, attempting to track the co-relation between hand washing and a decline in the deaths of young children from pneumonia and diarrhoea. It's kicked off with a three minute long film on YouTube - probably the first commercial on the brand in over a decade to not feature a ubiquitous doctor.

There's good news from the market too: Lifebuoy's skin cleansing soaps have grown from 14.7% YTD to 15% in 2013, according to Nielsen figures obtained from independent industry sources. In the smaller handwash category, it was at 18.4% in 2010 and the YTD from 2012 to 2013 has seen a shift from 22.3% to 22.7%.

Not too shabby considering Lifebuoy was in terminal decline a little over a decade ago. Sudhir Sitapti, general manager and category head - skin cleansing, Hindustan Unilever whose association with the brand goes back a long way says, "I was part of the sales force in 2000 and the brand was shrinking month after month. Morale was very low."

It became obvious to the team at HUL that the iconic Lifebuoy campaign at the time, driven by an instantly recognisable jingle and images of macho men sweating it out on a sports field was way past its sell by date. Both commercial and the brand positioning were holdovers from the time men made most shopping decisions. However by 2002, even in rural areas women had begun to play an increasing role in purchases and couldn't relate to a platform of masculine hygiene.The wellbeing of the family had become a key concern area.

Besides tandurusti (or health) as previously defined by Lifebuoy was fairly amorphous since people were unable to understand the specific impact of the brand. "Germ protection was somewhere in the background of the brand's DNA. And so we reinterpreted the health axis of the brand. We moved from 'this makes you fit' to 'this is something that prevents you from getting ill', and from targeting men to women."

Changes were also made on the value axis. From a low priced carbolic soap, Lifebuoy transformed into a vegetable soap with far better aesthetics and smell, at a higher asking price. Sitapati recalls mixed emotions at the sales conference where these changes were announced. "We were initially worried about the price being increased on a product where people didn't perceive value. But then the user experience was also transformed. The essence of the product and proposition didn't change, but everything else was done to make it more in tune with the times."

Most importantly, the consumers went along with the new proposition. A commercial about how a mother could prevent a child from falling ill was a lot more popular than one about a bunch of jocks winning yet another round of football.

Observes Amer Jaleel, national creative director at Lowe Lintas who has a long association with Lifebuoy, "It's one of the most structured brands ever. There's invariably a doctor, the mother and a myth busting scenario." Where the agency - which handles the brand globally - is allowed leeway is in coming up with insights; for instance around concepts like evolving germs and the difference between fast and slow soaps for hand wash. What drives the team at Lowe Lintas is a constant reminder of the brand's humble antecedents. Says Jaleel, "At every brief, we were told 'half a bar of soap on a washbasin outside the toilet is what this brand used to be.'

It's not a communicator's journey but a marketer's journey where they've decided its design, vision and ambition."

Alongside TV ads, Hindustan Unilever began the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna (Health Awareness) after it was found that many people in rural areas needed an education on what germs are.

Sitapati says, "They thought of rats and cockroaches. That germs are invisible and infect you, is not something many of them know." The Swasthya Chetna reached 120 million consumers from 2002 to 2010 and an additional 30 million ever since it was folded into Khushiyon Ki Doli, Hindustan Unilever's rural outreach programme.

As opportunities to move up the value chain present themselves Lifebuoy has been quick to capitalise. It's moved into the more expensive clear soaps segment apart from new categories like liquid handwash and sanitisers.

Sitapati says with a measure of satisfaction, "The brand is in places it would not have been a decade ago. Santisiers are used in extremely high income households, handwash in middle income and Lifebuoy in all households." A chain of innovations keeps things lively from new formulations to a colour changing hand wash lotion that encourages children to wash for a full 10 seconds.

Which brings us back to Lifebuoy at Thesgora. Sitapati is clear that the brand will be working for a year - possibly longer - with the village panchayat and via school contact programmes. He says, "We are trying to make it a model village for hand washing." Speaking of how the film was convinced Jaleel says, "When you are living with a brand on a day to day basis trying to get market share, worrying about competition, it's difficult to reinvent it. All credit to our clients who made us step back and look at it in this new way."

The brand's transformation has won it fans among the marketing community at large. Shripad Nadkarni, founder, MarketGate believes there are several pieces to the transformation - moving from young adult males to housewives, and from functional to elegant packaging. "One thing they kept constant was health. It allowed them to tweak the variables," he says. He believes the brand has avoided the common pitfalls: losing out on a relevant core value proposition or not moving fast enough in new categories.

While agreeing the brand has managed its transition very well, marketing consultant Nabankur Gupta adds a note of caution "If the brand tries to overreach - if they for instance offer French perfume, they will soon be discovered and dropped. Not only does the extension suffer it hits the core value as well."

10 money-saving tips for food shopping

Food shopping on a budget can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. We’ve got some money-saving tips that will help your money go further.

Not only will you save money, you’ll be healthier too. 

How do I save money on food?

Our top tips will help get you started.

1. Make a meal plan

It’s time to get organised because meal planning is a great way to save money.

Simply think about the meals you want to eat in the week ahead and make a meal plan. It’ll stop you from wandering the supermarket aisles picking up things you don’t need. 

Don’t forget to think about breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not sure where to start? We’ve got a great selection of healthy recipes.

2. Use a shopping list

You knew this one was coming next, right? Use your meal plan to make a shopping list of everything you need.

Don’t forget to check your fridge and cupboards to see if you’ve already got some of the ingredients. There’s no point buying extra when you don’t need it. Save that cash instead.

Take your shopping list to the supermarket and stick to it. If you don't stick to the list it’ll end up costing you money. Only take enough money to buy what you need.

Take a list with you when you go food shopping

3. Find the cheap places to shop

Avoid shopping in dairies and service stations. The prices tend to be much higher because you’re paying for convenience.

Local markets tend to be cheaper, and there’s always tons of fresh fruit and veges for you to get your hands on. It’s a great way to make your money go further.

4. Don’t shop when you’re hungry

We’re probably all guilty of this at some point. Notice how your shopping trolley fills up fast when you’re hungry? It’s more tempting to spend money on unnecessary food items which are usually high in fat, sugar and salt.

These extras will help blow your budget on things you don’t need. So do yourself a favour, have something to eat before you go shopping.

Have something to eat before you go food shopping

5. Buy in bulk

If you use a lot of something, buy it in bulk if you can. Things like bread, rice, veges and fruit are often cheaper if you buy them in bulk. Just make sure you’re actually going to use them before they go off.

6. Buy in season

Buying fruit and veges out of season can completely blow your food budget. $8 for an avocado in winter? No thanks.

Get to know what’s in season, so you can make the most out of cheaper fruit and veges. Not sure where to start? Here’s a useful guide to seasonal fruit and vegetables. 

Remember to eat fresh food before it goes off

7. Use fresh items before they go off

It’s never good to throw away food that’s gone off, before you’ve had a chance to eat it. What a waste of money.

You can avoid this by making sure you use things up that can go off quickly, like fruit, vegetables and meat. Keep these items in the front of your fridge, so you can keep an eye on them. 

8. Don't be fooled by brands

Supermarkets often offer a range of the same product at different prices. A brand name, a cheaper brand and their own brand.

Sometimes the only differences are price and location on the shelf. The more expensive brand name items will be at eye height so you can easily see them. Cheaper items may be lower down on the shelves.

Why spend more on fancy packaging? Look for plain packaged items instead (e.g. Pams, Budget and Homebrand).

9. Drink water

Instead of reaching for expensive sugary drinks when you’re thirsty, change to water instead. It’s free and much better for you.

10. Buy fresh foods not in packets

Supermarkets often sell fresh foods in packets like pre-chopped onions, lettuce and broccoli. Trouble is, there’s no real need for the packaging and all it does is increase the price.

Buy fresh food without packaging by visiting your local market. The fruit and veges will be package-free and better value for money

10 Delicious Street Foods You Must Try in Singapore!

 Ah, South Korea, you feed us well. The pizza in Seoul ranges from simple-yet-gourmet slices to authentic wood-fired pies that you would happily eat every weekend.

This is one city where carb-lovers will be safe and sound. To make sure you’re spending less time researching and more time feasting, we’ve rounded up the very best Seoul pizzas.

Dig into these delicious pies…

Best Pizza In Seoul

1. Paulie’s Brick Oven Pizzeria

They cook up a more American-style pizza which they serve by the pan on the table and which is perfect for sharing.

You can easily imagine yourself in New York as you peel away the gorgeous and utterly gooey slices that are heavy with delicious toppings.

2. Spacca Napoli

Huge puffy crusts that are very much in the new Neapolitan-style of making pizza. They load the center up with toppings to create a pizza that is absolutely bursting with flavor through every single mouthful.

3. Motor City

As the name suggests, they serve a Detroit-style pizza slice which is a deep dish and utterly unique in its crust. The slices taste absolutely incredible and look just as good.

Every slice looks like a work of art and features generous toppings and a huge flavor.

4. Gino’s NY Pizza

It’s all about the crust at this hugely popular NY-style pizza joint. Just like it should be, the dough here is made from scratch, aged in-house and hand-tossed, while each pie is baked in a brick deck to get that perfect thin crust.

A world-class place for pizza in Seoul, and a gourmet experience you won’t forget in a hurry.

5. Falo Pizza

The traditional Neapolitan-style pizzas are baked in a wood-burning oven and generously topped with fresh, natural ingredients. You’ll find toppings here that you’ll struggle to get elsewhere: creamy buffalo cheese and artisan ingredients.

For an authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, try their Margherita pizza here as it’s probably one of the best in the city.

6. Myeongdong Pizza

Their pizzas are made with a very traditional Italian base but where they really come into their own is with their innovative toppings. This is true East-meets-West fusion cooking while keeping a focus on the core qualities of both cuisines.

Cheese-lovers will go crazy over the gooey, oozing cheese slices here.

7. Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo

Their pizzas are super authentic and stick to the principles of Neapolitan cooking so tightly that you could easily be sitting in Naples when eating here.

It’s all about the dough, which they prove for over a day in advance, resulting in that perfect springy and spongey crust. Absolute world-class perfection.

For the Best Chocolate Milkshake, Make a Black & White

One of my first gigs as a food writer was at my college newspaper. I reviewed local restaurants and covered breaking news like: The campus diner now has milkshakes! There were half a dozen flavors: vanilla, chocolate, coffee, Nutella, blueberry, and strawberry.

But there was something odd about the chocolate.

It tasted less like chocolate ice cream—which I’ve never, ever enjoyed, don’t @ me—and more like a melted hot fudge sundae, or frozen chocolate milk. So I called the diner and demanded answers. Because our readers deserved the truth.

Sure enough, the chocolate milkshake wasn’t, technically, a chocolate milkshake. It was a black and white, vanilla ice cream blended with chocolate syrup and milk.

The difference here is so small that some would argue there’s no difference at all. Google chocolate milkshake and you’ll find several recipes with that very formula: vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, milk. But the flavor is totally different than when you start with chocolate ice cream.

And, in my opinion, way better. Vanilla ice cream brings balance and contrast, like cream cheese swirled into chocolate cake, or chocolate cookies sandwiched with buttercream. It also makes room for retro additions, like malt powder, which turns anything it touches into gold.

© Provided by Food52 Black and white straws! For black and white shakes!

It also gives you more control over sweetness. Making chocolate syrup is easier than schlepping to the grocery store, especially mid-heatwave when you’d want a milkshake most. And it’s the sort of staple that makes your fridge feel special. Keep around for weeks. Stir into hot coffee. Drizzle on gelato. Set out with strawberries.

I like to make mine with ultra-strong coffee instead of water, less sugar than you’d expect, and an un-shy amount of salt. The result takes itself very seriously, but swoons at the sight of sweet, milky vanilla ice cream. If you want to DIY here, too, I know just the recipe.

For bonus points, freeze your glasses before serving until they’re almost too cold to hold.

Malted Black & White Milkshake

By Emma Laperruque

For the chocolate syrup

• 1 cup coffee, any temperature
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the black & white milkshakes

• 1/4 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup, plus more for drizzling
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 2 tablespoons malted milk powder
• 1 pinch kosher salt

Which country has the best food?

10. United States

This may be because most of the popular foods in the USA originate in some other country. The pizza slice is Italian. Fries are Belgium or Dutch. Hamburgers and frankfurters? Likely German. But in the kitchens of the United States, they have been improved and added to, to become global icons for food lovers everywhere.

There's the traditional stuff such as clam chowder, key lime pie, and Cobb salad, and most importantly the locavore movement of modern American food started by Alice Waters. This promotion of eco-awareness in food culture is carried on today by Michelle Obama.

Yum

Cheeseburger -- a perfect example of making good things greater.

Chocolate chip cookie -- the world would be a little less habitable without this Americana classic.

Dumb

All overly processed foods such as Twinkies, Hostess cakes and KFC.

9. Mexico

If you were only allowed to eat the food of one country for the rest of your life, it would be smart to make it Mexico. The cuisine of the Mesoamerican country has a little bit of everything -- you'll never get bored.

Amongst the enchiladas and the tacos and the heads and the quesadillas you'll find the zestiness of Greek salads and the richness of an Indian curry; the heat of Thai food and the use-your-hands sneakiness of tapas. It is also the central station for nutritional superfoods. All that avocado, tomato, lime and garlic with beans and chocolates and chilies to boot, is rich with antioxidants and good healthful things. It doesn't taste healthy though. It tastes like a fiesta in your mouth.

Yum

Mole -- ancient sauce made of chili peppers, spices, chocolate, and magic incantations.

Tacos al pastor -- the spit-roast pork taco, a blend of the pre- and post-Colombian.

Tamales -- an ancient Mayan food of masa cooked in a leaf wrapping.

Dumb

Tostadas -- basically the same as a taco or burrito but served in a crispy fried tortilla which breaks into pieces as soon as you bite into it. Impossible to eat.

8. Thailand

Street eats are a Thai attraction. Flip through a Thai cookbook and you'll be hard-pressed to find an ingredient list that doesn't run a page long. The combination of so many herbs and spices in each dish produces complex flavors that somehow come together like orchestral music. Thais fit spicy, sour, salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy and slippery into one dish.

With influences from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and a royal culinary tradition, Thai cuisine is the best of many worlds. The best part about eating Thai food in Thailand though is hospitality. Sun, beach, service with a smile and a plastic bag full of som tam -- that's a good life.

Yum

Tom yam Kung -- a rave party for the mouth. The floral notes of lemongrass, the earthy galangal, freshness of kaffir lime leaves and the heat of the chilies.

Massaman curry -- a Thai curry with Islamic roots. Topped our list of the world's 50 most delicious foods.

Som tam -- the popular green papaya salad is sour, extra spicy, sweet and salty. It's the best of Thai tastes.

Dumb

Pla som -- a fermented fish eaten uncooked is popular in Lawa and reported to be responsible for bile duct cancer.

7. Greece

Traveling and eating in Greece feels like a glossy magazine spread come to life, but without the Photoshopping. Like the blue seas and white buildings, the kalamata olives, feta cheese, colorful salads, and roast meats are all Postcard perfect by default.

The secret? Lashings of glistening olive oil. Gift of the gods, olive oil is arguably Greece's greatest export, influencing the way people around the world think about food and nutritional health. Eating in Greece is also a way of consuming history. A bite of dolma or a slurp of lentil soup gives a small taste of life in ancient Greece when they were invented.

Yum

Olive oil -- drizzled on other food, or soaked up by bread, is almost as varied as wine in its flavors.

Spanakopita -- makes spinach palatable with its feta cheese mixture and flaky pastry cover.

Gyros -- late-night drunk eating wouldn't be the same without the pita bread sandwich of roast meat and tzatziki.

Dumb

Lachanorizo -- basically cabbage and onion cooked to death then mixed with rice. Filling, but one-dimensional.

6. India

When a cuisine uses spices in such abundance that the meat and vegetables seem like an afterthought, you know you're dealing with cooks dedicated to flavor. There are no rules for spice usage as long as it results in something delicious. The same spice can add zest to savory and sweet dishes, or can sometimes be eaten on its own -- fennel seed is enjoyed as a breath-freshening digestive aid at the end of meals.

And any country that manages to make vegetarian food taste consistently great certainly deserves some kind of Nobel prize. The regional varieties are vast. There's Goa's seafood, there's the wazwan of Kashmir and there's the coconutty richness of Kerala.

Yum

Dal -- India has managed to make boiled lentils exciting.

Dosa -- a pancake filled with anything from cheese to spicy vegetables, perfect for lunch or dinner.

Chai -- not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes plain tea, but it's hard to resist chai.

Dumb

Balti chicken -- an invention for the British palate, should probably have died out with colonialism.

5. Japan

Japanese apply the same precision to their food as they do to their engineering. This is the place that spawned tyrannical sushi masters and ramen bullies who make their staff and customers tremble with a glare.

You can get a lavish multicourse kaiseki meal that presents the seasons in a spread of visual and culinary poetry. Or grab a seat at a revolving sushi conveyor for a solo feast. Or pick up something random and previously unknown in your gastronomic lexicon from the refrigerated shelves of a convenience store. It's impossible to eat badly in Japan.

Yum

Miso soup -- showcases some of the fundamental flavors of Japanese food, simple and wholesome.

Sushi and sashimi -- who knew that raw fish on rice could become so popular?

Tempura -- the perfection of deep-frying. Never greasy, the batter is thin and light like a crisp tissue.

Dumb

Fugu -- is anything really that delicious that it's worth risking your life to eat? The poisonous blowfish recently killed diners in Egypt but is becoming more available in Japan.

4. Spain

Let's eat and drink, then sleep, then work for two hours, then eat and drink. Viva Espana, that country whose hedonistic food culture we all secretly wish was our own. All that bar-hopping and tapas-eating, the minimal working, the 9 p.m. dinners, the endless porron challenges -- this is a culture based on, around and sometimes even inside food.

The Spaniards gourmandize the way they flamenco dance, with unbridled passion. They munch on snacks throughout the day with intervals of big meals. From the fruits of the Mediterranean Sea to the spoils of the Pyrenees, from the saffron and cumin notes of the Moors to the insane molecular experiments of Ferran Adria, Spanish food is timeless yet avant-garde.

Yum

Jamon Iberico -- a whole cured ham hock usually carved by clamping it down in a wooden stand like some medieval ritual.

Churros -- the world's best version of sweet fried dough.

Dumb

Gazpacho -- it's refreshing and all, but it's basically a liquid salad.

3. France

If you're one of those people who doesn't like to eat because "there's more to life than food" -- visit Paris. It's a city notorious for its curmudgeonly denizens, but they all believe in the importance of good food. Two-hour lunch breaks for three-course meals are de rigor.

Entire two-week vacations are centered on exploring combinations of wines and cheeses around the country. Down-to-earth cooking will surprise those who thought of the French as the world's food snobs (it is the birthplace of the Michelin Guide after all). Cassoulet, pot au feu, steak frites are revelatory when had in the right bistro.

Yum

Escargot -- credit the French for turning slimey, garden-dwelling pests into a delicacy. Massive respect for making them taste amazing too.

Macarons -- like unicorn food. In fact anything from a patisserie in France seems to have been conjured out of sugar, fairy dust and the dinner wishes of little girls.

Baguette -- the first and last thing that you'll want to eat in France. The first bite is transformational; the last will be full of longing.

Dumb

Foie gras -- it tastes like 10,000 ducks roasted in butter then reduced to a velvet pudding, but some animal advocates decry the cruelty of force-feeding fowl to fatten their livers.

2. China

The people who greet each other with "Have you eaten yet?" are arguably the most food-obsessed in the world. Food has been a form of escapism for the Chinese throughout its tumultuous history.

The Chinese entrepreneurial spirit and appreciation for the finer points of frugality -- the folks are cheap, crafty and food-crazed -- results in one of the bravest tribes of eaters in the world. But the Chinese don't just cook and sell anything, they also make it taste great.

China is the place to go to get food shock a dozen times a day. "You can eat that?" will become the intrepid food traveler's daily refrain. China's regional cuisines are so varied it's hard to believe they're from the same nation. It's not a food culture you can easily summarize, except to say you'll invariably want seconds.

Yum

Sweet and sour pork -- a guilty pleasure that has taken on different forms.

Dim sum -- a grand tradition from Hong Kong to New York.

Roast suckling pig and Peking duck -- wonders of different styles of ovens adopted by Chinese chefs.

Xiaolongbao -- incredible soup-filled surprises. How do they get that dumpling skin to hold all that hot broth?

Dumb

Shark's fin soup -- rallying for Chinese restaurants to ban the dish has been a pet issue of green campaigners in recent years.

1. Italy

Italian food has enslaved tastebuds around the globe for centuries, with its zesty tomato sauces, those clever things they do with wheat flour and desserts that are basically vehicles for cream. It's all so simple. Get some noodles, get some olive oil, get some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. Bam, you have a party on a plate. And it is all so easy to cook and eat.

From the cheesy risottos to the crisp fried meats, Italian cuisine is a compendium of crowd-pleasing comfort food. Many people have welcomed it into their homes, especially novice cooks. Therein lies the real genius -- Italian food has become everyman's food.