Ways of eating
Food is more than dishes. These are 68 customs, formats and institutions of the table: how a meal is shared, served, walked between bars or cooked in the ground.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for cooks, travellers and the curious.
Crawls and food tours
Meals eaten on the move, a bite at a time, from one bar, stall or stand to the next.
🇪🇸Tapas and the tapeoSmall plates eaten with a drink in Spanish bars, usually standing, and usually in more than one bar a night.
🇪🇸 🇫🇷Pintxos and the txikiteoThe Basque bar round: one small glass and one bite, often on a skewer or a slice of bread, at each stop.
🇮🇹Cicchetti and the giro di ombreThe Venetian bar round: small snacks called cicchetti with a small glass of wine in the city's old wine bars, the bàcari.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇧🇩 🇳🇵The street chaat crawlAn evening walk between Indian street stalls for chaat: crisp, sour, sweet and spicy snacks made to order and eaten standing.
🇲🇽 🇺🇸The taquería crawlEating tacos the Mexican way: a few at a time, standing at a stand or counter, then on to the next taquería for a different filling.
🇹🇼 🇹🇭 🇲🇾 🇨🇳Night marketsOpen-air markets that set up after dark across East and Southeast Asia, where dinner is a slow walk past dozens of small stalls.Shared tables and spreads
Many dishes set out at once, for everyone at the table to share.
🇮🇳 🇳🇵 🇧🇩 🇱🇰ThaliA complete Indian meal on one round plate: rice or bread in the middle and small bowls of vegetables, lentils, yoghurt and pickle around it.
🇹🇷 🇬🇷 🇱🇧 🇨🇾MezeA table of many small shared dishes, cold then hot, eaten slowly with bread and drink across Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and the Levant.
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 🇧🇾 🇵🇱ZakuskiThe Russian and East Slavic table of cold starters, pickles, cured fish and small bites, laid out before the meal and eaten with vodka.
🇸🇪 🇳🇴 🇩🇰 🇫🇮SmörgåsbordThe Swedish buffet of cold and warm dishes, eaten in a set order across several visits to the table, each on a clean plate.
🇳🇱 🇮🇩RijsttafelThe Dutch-Indonesian rice table: rice with a dozen or more small Indonesian dishes served together, a format born in the colonial Indies.
🇮🇩 🇲🇾 🇸🇬Nasi padang and the hidang tableMinangkabau dining from West Sumatra: every dish in the kitchen is stacked on your table at once, and you pay only for what you touch.
🇵🇭 🇺🇸Kamayan and the boodle fightThe Filipino way of eating with the hands, at its fullest in the boodle fight: a long table covered in banana leaves, rice and food.🇮🇳Sadya, the banana-leaf feastThe vegetarian feast of Kerala: twenty or more dishes served in a set order on a banana leaf, eaten by hand at Onam and at weddings.
🇺🇿 🇰🇿 🇰🇬 🇹🇯DastarkhwanThe Central Asian meal cloth and everything laid on it: bread, tea, fruit, sweets and plov, shared by guests seated around it.
🇪🇹 🇪🇷The injera table and gurshaThe Ethiopian and Eritrean shared platter: stews served on a large sour flatbread, eaten by hand, with morsels fed to others as a sign of care.
🇰🇷 🇰🇵The hansik tableThe Korean meal laid out all at once: a bowl of rice and a soup for each person, with kimchi and shared side dishes across the table.
🇰🇷 🇺🇸Korean barbecue and banchanMeat grilled by the diners on a burner set into the table, cut with scissors and eaten in lettuce wraps with side dishes and sauces.
🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇭🇰 🇯🇵Hot potA pot of simmering broth in the middle of the table, in which everyone cooks thin slices of meat, vegetables, tofu and noodles.🇬🇪Supra, the Georgian feastThe Georgian feast table, loaded with dishes and led by a toastmaster, the tamada, who sets the order of toasts for the whole evening.
🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🇳🇿PotluckA shared meal where every guest brings a dish, common at North American churches, workplaces, schools and neighbourhood gatherings.
🇨🇳 🇭🇰 🇲🇴 🇸🇬Dim sum and yum chaThe Cantonese morning meal of tea with many small steamed, fried and baked dishes, shared around a table in a teahouse.Courses and styles of service
Meals defined by the order of the dishes and the way they reach you.
🇯🇵KaisekiThe formal Japanese multi-course meal: a sequence of small seasonal dishes, each served alone on tableware chosen to suit it.
🇯🇵 🇺🇸OmakaseA Japanese meal with no menu: you sit at the counter, say you will leave it to the chef, and are served piece by piece.
🇫🇷The French gastronomic mealThe French festive meal in a fixed order: apéritif, starter, main dish, cheese, dessert and digestif, with wine matched to each.
🇧🇷 🇵🇹 🇺🇸Churrasco rodízioBrazilian all-you-can-eat barbecue service: waiters circle the room with skewers of grilled meat and carve at your table until you say stop.
🇯🇵 🇹🇼 🇰🇷BentoThe Japanese boxed meal: rice with several small portions of fish, meat, egg and vegetables, packed neatly to be eaten away from home.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰WazwanThe Kashmiri wedding feast: a long series of meat dishes cooked overnight by master cooks and served to groups of four on a shared platter.
🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇦🇺 🇳🇿Afternoon teaThe British mid-afternoon meal of tea with small sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and cakes, served in tiers and eaten in that order.Places to eat
Kinds of eating house, each with its own menu, manners and regulars.
🇯🇵IzakayaThe Japanese pub: a casual place to drink after work and share a long run of small plates, ordered a few at a time.
🇸🇬 🇲🇾 🇭🇰Hawker centresOpen-air food halls in Singapore and Malaysia where dozens of small stalls each cook one or two dishes, with shared tables in the middle.
🇲🇾 🇸🇬 🇮🇩 🇧🇳KopitiamThe neighbourhood coffee shop of Malaysia and Singapore: strong local coffee, toast with coconut jam, soft eggs and a few food stalls.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰Irani cafésOld corner cafés in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad, opened by Zoroastrian migrants from Iran, known for sweet milky tea and buttered buns.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰DhabaThe roadside eating house of North India and Pakistan: fresh bread from a clay oven, dal, tea and a rope cot to rest on.
🇬🇧 🇮🇪The pub mealEating in a British or Irish pub: plain, filling dishes ordered at the bar and eaten with a pint, in a room that belongs to the neighbourhood.
🇩🇪 🇦🇹Beer gardens and BrotzeitBavarian outdoor drinking under chestnut trees, with litre mugs, long shared tables and a cold snack meal called Brotzeit.
🇲🇽Cantinas, pulquerías and botanasTraditional Mexican drinking houses where each round of drinks brings a free plate of food, called a botana, to the table.
🇵🇪 🇪🇨 🇨🇱 🇲🇽The cevichería and ceviche hourPeruvian lunch restaurants devoted to ceviche: raw fish cured in lime juice with chilli and onion, eaten at midday while the catch is fresh.
🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🇦🇺Food trucksKitchens on wheels that park on streets, lots and festival grounds and sell a short menu through a window, to be eaten nearby.Sacred and ceremonial meals
Food and drink shared as worship, remembrance, charity or ceremony.
🇮🇳 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇺🇸LangarThe free community kitchen of every Sikh gurdwara, where anyone of any faith or background is fed a vegetarian meal, seated together as equals.
🇸🇦 🇪🇬 🇹🇷 🇮🇩IftarThe meal with which Muslims break the daily fast at sunset in Ramadan, begun with dates and water and shared with family and neighbours.
🇪🇬 🇸🇦 🇹🇷 🇵🇰SuhoorThe meal Muslims eat before dawn in Ramadan, ahead of the day's fast, taken quietly at home and finished before the dawn prayer.🇮🇱 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇨🇦The Passover SederThe Jewish ritual meal on the first night of Passover, at which the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold through symbolic foods.🇮🇱 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇨🇦Shabbat dinnerThe Friday night meal that welcomes the Jewish Sabbath, with candles, a blessing over wine, two braided loaves and an unhurried family table.
🇮🇳 🇳🇵 🇱🇰 🇲🇾Temple prasadam and annadanamFood first offered to the deity in a Hindu temple and then shared with devotees as a blessing, often as a full free meal for all who come.🇹🇭 🇱🇦 🇲🇲 🇯🇵Buddhist alms giving and temple foodTwo Buddhist food traditions: the dawn alms round of Theravada monks, and shojin ryori, the plant-based cooking of Japanese Zen temples.
🇪🇹 🇪🇷The Ethiopian coffee ceremonyCoffee roasted, ground and brewed in front of guests and served in three rounds, the daily ritual of welcome in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
🇯🇵The Japanese tea ceremonyChanoyu, the Way of Tea: a host prepares powdered green tea for guests with exact, practised movements in a small, plain room.
🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇭🇰 🇲🇾Gongfu teaThe Chinese method of brewing tea with skill: a tiny pot packed with leaves, many quick infusions, and thimble-sized cups shared round.Fire, pit and earth oven
Feasts built around coals, smoke, hot stones and a long wait.
🇦🇷 🇺🇾 🇵🇾 🇨🇱AsadoThe barbecue of Argentina and Uruguay: beef and offal cooked slowly over wood embers by one person, the asador, for a long shared meal.
🇿🇦 🇳🇦 🇧🇼 🇿🇼BraaiThe South African wood-fire barbecue and the gathering around it, common to every community in the country and across southern Africa.
🇳🇿HāngiThe Māori earth oven of Aotearoa New Zealand: meat and root vegetables steamed for hours on hot stones in a covered pit.
🇫🇯 🇼🇸 🇹🇴 🇦🇸Lovo and umuThe earth ovens of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga: food wrapped in leaves and baked on hot stones, for Sunday lunch and for every feast.
🇺🇸LūʻauThe Hawaiian feast, centred on a whole pig cooked in an underground oven, with poi, fish, music and hula.🇵🇪PachamancaThe Andean earth oven of Peru: marinated meats, potatoes, beans and corn baked on hot stones under the soil, as a feast and an offering.
🇺🇸Clambakes and crawfish boilsAmerican outdoor shellfish feasts: New England clams steamed in seaweed and Louisiana crawfish boiled with spice, tipped out to share.
🇺🇸American pit barbecueMeat cooked low and slow over wood smoke for many hours, in distinct regional styles across Texas, the Carolinas, Memphis and Kansas City.Daily meals and habits
The small fixed points of an ordinary day or week at the table.
🇸🇪 🇫🇮FikaThe Swedish coffee break: stopping work to sit down with coffee, something sweet and other people, usually twice a day.
🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇦🇺 🇳🇿The Sunday roastThe British and Irish Sunday lunch: roast meat with roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, eaten together as a family.
🇬🇧 🇮🇪The full breakfastThe cooked breakfast of Britain and Ireland: bacon, eggs, sausage and more on one plate, with toast and tea, in English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish forms.🇮🇹AperitivoThe Italian early evening drink, lightly bitter and low in alcohol, taken with small snacks to open the appetite before dinner.
🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇺🇾 🇵🇭MeriendaThe late afternoon snack of Spain, Latin America and the Philippines, which bridges the long gap between lunch and a late dinner.🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇲🇽 🇨🇴SobremesaThe Spanish habit of staying at the table after a meal to talk, over coffee and a small drink, with no hurry to leave.🇧🇷Feijoada SaturdayThe Brazilian weekend lunch of black beans stewed with pork, served with rice, greens and orange, and followed by a long, slow afternoon.
🇲🇦 🇩🇿 🇹🇳 🇱🇾Couscous FridayThe North African custom of gathering after Friday midday prayers to share one large dish of couscous with meat and vegetables.
🇮🇳Dabbawalas and the tiffinMumbai's lunch delivery system: home-cooked meals in stacked steel boxes, carried by hand, bicycle and train to office desks every working day.
🇯🇵Hanami and the picnic bentoThe Japanese spring custom of eating and drinking outdoors under cherry trees in bloom, with boxed food, sweets and sake.
🇪🇸Menú del díaThe fixed-price weekday lunch offered across Spain: a first course, a second course, bread, a drink and dessert or coffee.
🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇦🇺 🇳🇿The Sunday roastThe British and Irish Sunday lunch: roast meat with roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, eaten together as a family.🇬🇧 🇮🇪The full breakfastThe cooked breakfast of Britain and Ireland: bacon, eggs, sausage and more on one plate, with toast and tea, in English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish forms.🇮🇹AperitivoThe Italian early evening drink, lightly bitter and low in alcohol, taken with small snacks to open the appetite before dinner.🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇺🇾 🇵🇭MeriendaThe late afternoon snack of Spain, Latin America and the Philippines, which bridges the long gap between lunch and a late dinner.🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇲🇽 🇨🇴SobremesaThe Spanish habit of staying at the table after a meal to talk, over coffee and a small drink, with no hurry to leave.🇧🇷Feijoada SaturdayThe Brazilian weekend lunch of black beans stewed with pork, served with rice, greens and orange, and followed by a long, slow afternoon.🇲🇦 🇩🇿 🇹🇳 🇱🇾Couscous FridayThe North African custom of gathering after Friday midday prayers to share one large dish of couscous with meat and vegetables.🇮🇳Dabbawalas and the tiffinMumbai's lunch delivery system: home-cooked meals in stacked steel boxes, carried by hand, bicycle and train to office desks every working day.🇯🇵Hanami and the picnic bentoThe Japanese spring custom of eating and drinking outdoors under cherry trees in bloom, with boxed food, sweets and sake.🇪🇸Menú del díaThe fixed-price weekday lunch offered across Spain: a first course, a second course, bread, a drink and dessert or coffee.