It’s happened to us all. You’re starving, a bit sunburnt and possibly drunk. Ahead of you are what feel like 10,000 restaurants, all vying for your attention, your belly and your money. You can’t make a decision, you’re getting hangry and you’re walking in circles. This is what I call the holiday food choice fear.
As someone who is prone to the hanger at the best of times, over the years I’ve come up with some ways to try and avoid holiday food. choice paralysis. It’s not just being hungry you’re avoiding, it’s arguments with friends and family, it’s making the wrong choice, it’s that disappointment with your choice or worse, leaving it so late, a kebab or MacDonalds is your only option. Sometimes you get lucky, like this time in Malaysia but more often than not, you don’t. My advice? Be prepared and avoid hangry. Needing to eat is never a reason to argue.
Beating holiday food choice fear
Go out BEFORE you’re hungry
Oh, I’ve made this mistake so many times. After a busy day exploring you’ve popped back to your airbnb for a shower and a sit down and then… boom, it’s dinner time and you’ve not made plans. When we were in Osaka, we did exactly this. We’d been on our feet all day and headed into the amazing Dotonbori area with empty tummies. Big mistake. There’s so much to see and so many restaurants to choose from that we ended up literally circling round and round and unable to make a decision on where or what to eat.
Do your research
These days, it’s so easy to research places to eat online, especially if you’re in a big city. When we were in Melbourne, Australia, we were a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of restaurants and cuisine types available to us. I spent some time reading blogs and looking places up on instagram. Usually #citynamefood will bring up some good results. In this way, I found a list of places nearby that I knew looked good and according to the internet, tasted good too. Melbourne is pretty well known for two things – burgers and ramen. I love both and didn’t want to waste money and time on bad examples. Through instagram and food blogs, I drew up a shortlist and kept it on my phone so that every time we were out in the city, we could easily find somewhere nearby. We ate some incredible burgers in Melbourne, mostly thanks to Instagram!
Have snacks in your bag
Dave learnt very quickly after meeting me that snacks needed to be an essential part of his girlfriend tool kit. The moment hangry sets in, he throws them at me from his backpack, much like a zoo ranger feeding wild animals. Welaugh about it but that snack bar or babybel (or, something more interesting if you’re abroad) could be the difference between an argument and worse, a bad meal choice. It might just stave off the hunger long enough for you to check out the next street, take a look online or rationally choose from three identical looking street food stalls in front of you.
Make sure you’ve got a fall back option
Even the most ardent food lover needs to know when to give up. If tempers are flaring and you’ve really reached the end of your tether, it’s best to just stop, admit defeat and eat. Eat anything, something. For me, food is an integral part of travelling. It’s how we experience a culture. That said, when we were in Malaysia, we were hot, bothered and starving. We admitted defeat, headed to the local mall and grabbed a McDonalds before hiding away in an air conditioned cinema for a few hours. It reset us and we still talk about that Ayam Goreng chicken now. It was seriously good and ticked all the boxes! Sure, it was a Maccy D’s and that’s a bit depressing but right then, it was everything we needed.
Unless you’re trekking in Mongolia or half way up Machu Picchu, chances are there will be a McDonald’s, KFC, Seven Eleven or CVS store near by. Grab a sandwich, grab some chips, grab a burger. Do what you need to do. Don’t feel bad about it.
Book ahead
Just because you’re away from home, doesn’t mean you can’t book ahead. If you’re staying somewhere for a while, scope out places to eat for later in your trip. Book a table ahead of time, either by walking into the restaurant or online if you can. During our trip to Cologne we did this a lot. It’s quite a small city and after a couple of days, we’d got the measure of its different areas. We were able to get into a really popular place later in the week despite a failed attempt on the night we originally wanted to go. We turned a negative experience into something positive to look forward to! Go us!!
These tips are mostly common sense but having them in the back of your mind before you set off does help. Once the hunger sets in and the holiday food choice fear becomes real, they’ll be mighty handy and could just stop you from arguing and ruining your day. After all, food should be eaten in joy not anger!