Japanese food on the tip of world’s tongue

Japanese food could one day rule the world after being voted global travellers third favourite culinary delight, a new worldwide food survey from Hotels.com reveals.
The survey, which questioned more than 27,000 travellers, shows there is now tough competition for more traditional favourites such as Italian and French cuisine from food from the Far East.

Although international travellers do still favour Italian (32%) and French (24%) cuisine, with them taking first and second spot in the rankings, the dishes from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ Japan are gaining in popularity with more cosmopolitan palates.
Eighteen percent of all people surveyed favoured Sushi, Tempura, Ramen and Japanese Soba, particularly when it comes to fine dining.

“Japanese food is seen as great example of healthy eating and there are a variety of Japanese restaurants in every multicultural capital,” said Alison Couper from Hotels.com.
“I’m a big fan of Japanese and not surprised at its elevated ranking. The fact that it beat more traditional holiday dishes such as Tapas and Burritos is testament to the world class reputation of Japanese chefs.”
Several other Asian countries appear in the Top Ten list, including China (13%), Thailand (8%), Taiwan and India (5%).

The popularity of Paella and Tapas could have contributed to Spain clinching fifth place (11%) on the list, while those who love Burger and Fries have helped the USA secure sixth place (10%) in the table.
According to Japanese locals there is much more on the menu than just Sushi and traditional cuisines like Tempura, Ramen, Japanese Soba, Okonomiyaki, Shabu Shabu, Japanese Curry, Yakiniku, Natto and Fugu are creeping up the popularity scales with the global traveller.

The plate of Indian travellers:
According to Indian travellers, the world’s best local food is found in India (38%) followed by USA (31%) and China (17%).
Within India, travellers voted for the capital city of New Delhi (33%) as having the best local food, followed by Mumbai (20%) at second place and Kolkata at a close 18%.

Since Indian culture is known to be family oriented, travellers also voted for the best city in the world for family dining. London, New York and Paris were the top choices amongst Indians for this.

If Indians had to recommend to travellers the top three ‘must try’ dishes of India the following were the choices:

Pani Puri 53%
Alu Paratha 45%
Idli Sambhar 41%

The other popular Indian dishes were Pav Bhaaji with 39%, while Butter Chicken and Mutton Biryani followed closely with 37% votes each and Sarson da Saag/Makke di Roti received 34%.