Around The World in Eight...Snacks with Jon Baines

When planning tours on the road, I tend to eat on the go. I have become adept at hunting down tasty snacks around the world! Here is a selection of my top eight favourites.

Hot dogs - Bogotá, Colombia

These are the finest hot dogs I’ve ever tasted. Not only do they combine good quality sausage and the ubiquitous bread roll and onions, they come with ketchup, spicy sauce and the secret ingredient – pineapple marmalade. It sounds strange, but it really works. Colombia is one of my all round top snack destinations, with other delights such as bolo queso, which are deep fried cheese balls (not good for the arteries, but very tasty.)

Souvlaki - Piraeus (and many other places), Greece

At the top of the kebab tree must perch the simple Greek souvlaki – in this instance, less really is more. The small, round pita bread is fried in olive oil and dusted with salt, before being filled with pork spiced with cumin, salt and oregano. The meat is wrapped in the hot, crispy pita bread with lettuce, tomato, onion and the crowning glory of a few chips. A small but perfectly formed snack.

Steak sandwich - Asuncion, Paraguay

I lived in Paraguay and a little known fact about that country is that there are more cattle than people. Consequently, beef is plentiful and cheap. A steak sandwich would be made out of the finest thinly sliced fillet beef, fried, then finished with a fried egg and cheese on top.

Chilli cumin kebabs - Xi'an, China

When I first travelled to China in the mid-1990s, the food could be challenging, including crunchy birds heads, worms and cold, sweet potato fries. My culinary sanctuary at that time - and still my favourite local snack - were the cumin chilli kebabs, threaded on skewers and cooked over flames on an outdoor grill. These cost about 10p/20c each – you could buy a bunch at a time. I would smell them at a distance and track them down like a hungry hound.

Masala dosa - Chennai , South India

The best way to start your day in South India is with a masala dosa – and the finest I had were in Chennai. Spiced potato, onion, mustard seeds and turmeric – a spicy combo wrapped in a light and crispy, tangy, fermented rice and lentil pancake and served with pickle on the side. Best enjoyed with a mango lassi.

Rice paper rolls (gỏi cuốn) - Vietnam

Vietnam is known for its delicious, elegant cuisine. On a hot day, a cool rice paper roll with a fresh filling flavoured with mint and lime is the perfect snack.

Snack pot of corn, Bulgaria

Small stalls selling pots of hot corn with different toppings are ubiquitous in Bulgaria. A small cup is filled from a steaming vat of cooked corn kernels and then offered with a choice of toppings – garlic, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon, salt, chilli, etc. They are tasty, healthy and very inexpensive and I simply don’t understand why they’re not available all around the world.

Bacon-wrapped tomato kushiyaki, Nagoya, Japan

One of my favourite childhood dishes growing up in London was peeled plum tomatoes wrapped with thick slices of bacon, covered in a heavy cheese sauce. Japan is known for its miniaturisation and refinement and the local version of this dish reflects this. While at an izakaya I was given three small skewers. Each one had three roasted cherry tomatoes, each with a tiny, crispy piece of bacon wrapped around it, finished with a drizzle of cheese sauce. They were exquisite! Perfection on a stick.

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