An Outlet of Potrefená husa in Prague

My local teammate took me to this outlet of a small chain near the office, where this bacon-wrapped cheese called Hermelín was on the menu. It's a mild Camembert-like cheese that is normally deep fried or marinated with peppers (both of which I was able to try last night and this morning at the hotel breakfast spread), but this one was wrapped in bacon and placed on a salad, which suited me today. What was even better was the hearty gulášovka soup; apparently soups are a common way to start a meal here in Czechia.

Pivovar U Medvídků in Prague, Czechia

One of the other things that my local colleagues told me was a big thing in Czech cuisine are the dumplings. It took me a while though before I realized that these were not like xiaolongbao nor even those big Georgian ones, but instead those bread-like slices above.

Yep, they were called knedlíky and were a type of bread that had been boiled and then sliced. It was like a mildly sour mantou that one could use to mop up the sauce next to the duck confit above. There was also a darker potato-based version to the left of it. We got this from a wooden beer hall in the Old Town (Na Perštýně 345/7, 736-662-900)/

Speaking of beer, they had their own brews here, as well as Budějovický Budvar, which I finally got to try. It was a little sweeter than I was expecting, but certainly still better than American Budweiser. It also wasn't the cheaper-than-water price that I had heard about, although it was technically cheaper than soft drinks.

Restaurace Mincovna in Prague, Czech Republic

This is my first time in Czechia. So our local team took me out to lunch at this local restaruant (Staroměstské nám. 930/7, 72-795-5669), with the top of the lunch menu today featuring these veal medallions with green beans and potatoes. It doesn't sound that exciting, but it was edible enough, especially with the bacon in the potatoes as well as the savory mushroom sauce. My teammate mentioned that sauces are a big thing here.

Crabshakk in Glasgow's Finnieston Neighborhood

The Finnieston neighborhood isn't the easiest to get to on public transport, but it is filled with lots of nice restaurants, including this shellfish place (114 Argyle Street, 0141-334-6127). They had "queenies" on the menu today, referring to queen scallops from the Isle of Man that they did in sizzling butter above. They were naturally tender and sweet, and were fantastic. I also finally got my languoustines, one of which could have been fresher. But the rest were likewise tender and sweet, with the added bonus of some rich head fat to dig into. This is a good place.

Mharsanta Scottish Restaurant & Bar in Glasgow

Contrary to how it looks, the name of this restaurant is pronounced "Varsanta" (26 Bell Street, 0141-552-9900). And they serve Scottish food, so I stopped by for a proper serving of haggis, especially since I wasn't too happy with the vegetarian samples from yesterday.

The idea behind the vegetarian version is that the organ meat itself doesn't have much taste anyway since the taste comes more from the spices. But the difference stood out to me, as the vegetarian version tasted more like oatmeal, whereas the real one was more bouncy thanks to the chopped up bits of heart, liver, and lungs. This shop sourced theirs from a supplier called Macsween, which seasoned it nicely enough that I inhaled this plate quickly, along with the neeps and tatties.

In case you're confused, the haggis is in the upper left quadrant of the plate above, whereas the tattie mashed potatoes were on the right, and the neeps were the orange-colored rutabega underneath, flanked on both sides by a whiskey cream sauce. It was all savory but also soft like baby food, making it easy to eat.

The Fishmarket Newhaven in Edinburgh, Scotland

I was originally planning to go to this shop's taekout counter and eat outside on the pier like Phil Rosenthal did (23A Pier Place, 0131-552-8262). But then I noticed that they had indoor table service, which was quite inviting given how gloomy it was outside.

Either way, this was seriously some of the best fish and chips that I've had, and it all came down to the ingredients. I'm not just talking about the fresh haddock in there, but also the quality of the potatoes as well as the peas, with those chips in particular being thick but bursting in potatoey goodness. In other words, it was real food rather than just sustenance to put into your stomach for energy. Big thumbs up.

My only regret was not getting their grilled langoustines, which oddly were not on the dine-in menu but were available from the takeout section. Well, I couldn't eat much more anyway. But if I come back here, then I need to remember to ask them for the langoustines.

Shawarma Star BBQ Charcoal Grill in Glasgow

Kebabs were not on my list of things to eat in Scotland. But I didn't have anything but beer in my belly tonight and needed something solid to go in there, and this late night place (44 Dundas Street, 0141-384-4679) was right next to the train station.

It was impressively good, not only in that the lamb was fatty and actually tasted like lamb, but also there were some super salty pickles buried in there, with hummus as an availble option. I loved how the lamb was fatty enough to leave a shiny residue on the bread underneath, making it easy to gobble up.

Perhaps most importantly though, they didn't use a sweet chili sauce, but instead was more like that thin Yemeni one that I like, albeit spiked with some garlic here. They had signage for Kurdish tea available; I'm not sure if the food was a Kurdish take on it all, but it was good.

Cullen Skink from Rab Ha's Pub in Glasgow

i was on a local food tour today that brought us around to try a number of local dishes, ranging from Scotch eggs to vegetarian (!) haggis and a boozy yet oat-garnished cranachan dessert. The highlight for me though was that Cullen skink above, which was basically a thin smoked haddock chowder. This place (83 Hutcheson Street) is a cute pub on the corner with wooden benches outside that made for a nice place to kick back with some of their cask ale on a (thankfully) sunny afternoon.

Cafe Gandolfi in Glasgow, Scotland

It's my first time in Scotland. So the first thing on my mind after landing this morning was getting a full Scottish breakfast into my tummy, and this place was nearby (64 Albion Street, 0141-552-6813). Yep, it was good, be it the tattie potato scone and buttery eggs on the left or that crumbly yet savory black pudding in the center. The best part on that plate were actually the dark mushrooms at the bottom (think: underbellies), as they were grilled and seasoned just right. There was no haggis on this plate, but I'm looking forward to getting it later this weekend.

Omdur Sudanese Streetfood Restaurant in Berlin

I was pretty excited about going to a Sudanese restaurant precisely because I'd never tried it before (Schlesische Strasse 38, 0176-67901700). I probably should've read the description a little more closely though, because it turned out to be a shop dedicated to falafels. Granted, the Sudanese version called tamiya are different with a spicy peanut sauce on top, which was nice. But the falafels themselves were hard and dry, reminding me of the falafels that I disliked back in college. The magali, or fried vegetables, weren't as exciting I had hoped for either. Perhaps the most interesting thing then was the salad dressing, which I think was made from mangoes. I still ate it all, but next time I want to try the Ghanian place down the street instead.

Rüya Gemüse Kebap in Berlin, Germany

There's a very famous kebab shop in Berlin called Mustafa's that is open late with long lines, but I have not been able to go there yet. This shop, on the other hand, was supposedly even better, less touristy, and was near my meetings morning (Otto-Suhr-Allee 19). I had a feeling that this one was going to fare much better than the one from the other night.

Yep, the kebab turned out to be huge. The bread was basically opened up like a laptop computer above with tons of veggies about to topple out of it. I basically had to eat those vegetables with a fork before I could close the lid and eat the underlying meat in sandwich form. Fortunately, the bread wasn't anywhere as dense as it looked, being light and crispy instead.

But the sauce was sweet, almost like an American barbecue sauce. They actually provided a choice of three different sauces and I suspect that it was the spicy sauce that made it sweet, so next time I'll skip that, especially since they also had dried chili powder available for you to scoop on top, including an "extreme" one that packed some decent heat.

Restaurant Salhino in Berlin's Charlottenburg

There was a Georgian restaurant on the way home tonight and I stopped by, both out of convenience as well as the fact that I'd hardly ever get the chance to eat stuff like this otherwise (Waitzstraße 1, 030-555-94563). This time I made sure to get the khachapuri, which was pizza-like given that it was covered in melted cheese. But the stick crust on the sides was so dense that I couldn't finish, despite pairing it with some cold badrijani eggplant and washing it down with a tarragon-flavored soda. I was happy with it either way.