Which food did you find the most underwhelming?

[gbb]

As is so often the case, I think the heavy irony went undetected...

More seriously though, there's a difference between saying you don't like something and making massive judgments about whole (food) cultures based on the fact you once (or twice) had a bad meal. And more generally, the thing is that taste is not entirely inbuilt, is it? It's as much about learning (and a willingness to learn) too.

(BTW, if you disagree, you don't need to frame your disagreement in a personal insult - you can make the same point, as Maz did, without being rude - especially if you've missed the - admittidly rather dry - humour in a post).

As i'm one of the few that made judgements about whole (food) cultures, i'll expand...
Not just one or two bad meals, rather three weeks worth of breakfast, lunch and evening meals, living and eating as they do, not as a holidaymaker.
I do wonder if salt doesnt get used in Uruguayan cooking, perhaps thats why it was all so bland.
I remember one day after days of uninspiring food, they asked 'would you like some fish and chips'?
Well i'm not expecting cod, but hey, sounds good.....how wrong could i be. River fish, bland...and chips that were just ok.

Certainly not averse to trying different 'cuisine', ive eaten genuine Egyptian, Cypriot, Spanish and Uruguayan meals..meals they eat day by day, everyday food.

Cypriot food, can't get enough of it, lovely food. Go to a proper taverna or stay with Cypriot friends or shop in villages miles away from the sea, where theyre eating whats been staple food for generations...i love it.

Egyptian ? two weeks of it, i'd never choose to do it again...a couple of everyday examples..

I never did find out what it was, couldnt even bring myself to try it, yet they relished it.
Below...stuffed pigeon....bloody awful, not just to look at but taste wise as well

Not one decent meal in two weeks, a broad range of what they eat, yet nothing to tickle my fancy, very underwhelming. Chips became a staple for me.

I suppose the point is, we eat english food, some of it 'just ok', some you really enjoy and it doesnt have to be expensive or special, you can really enjoy 'ordinary' meals....where i just didnt in Uruguay, Spain or Egypt.

It is subjective, it can never be anything else, but if i can't find something reasonable to eat in two weeks in a country, its a fair indicator IME.

 

[TVC]

Have a beer.

Good point, well made.

 

[Ian H]

Ian H said: ↑

Cornish pasties. A poor substitute for food.​

You must be kidding! Did you post this to be controversial?

There are a very few home-made ones that are passable. But the ones that come in plastic wrappers, or out of a factory in Saltash, are grim.

 

[Maz]

Below...stuffed pigeon....bloody awful, not just to look at but taste wise as well

Ye gads. That looks like it's just come from The Valley of the Kings.
Might be a delicacy to someone, but I'd deffo give it a miss.

 

[Fab Foodie]

As is so often the case, I think the heavy irony went undetected...

More seriously though, there's a difference between saying you don't like something and making massive judgments about whole (food) cultures based on the fact you once (or twice) had a bad meal. And more generally, the thing is that taste is not entirely inbuilt, is it? It's as much about learning (and a willingness to learn) too.

(BTW, if you disagree, you don't need to frame your disagreement in a personal insult - you can make the same point, as Maz did, without being rude - especially if you've missed the - admittidly rather dry - humour in a post).

Well I feel better that I wasn't the only one undetecting heavy irony... maybe you need more practice (or a better audience )
Neither was it intended to be a personal insult, and I sincerely aplogise if it came over that way, it was just how it read to me.

 

[slowmotion]

In my mis-spent youth I enjoyed food from street stalls in all the countries between Istanbul and Kathmandu ( OK, the food in Afghanistan was vile). I subsequently visited other places including Mexico. Eating at street stalls carries a risk to your intestinal well-being but it's usually worth it....no pain, no gain.

It wasn't worth it travelling round Mexico. The stall food was ghastly.

 

[BigTam]

Pease pudding, like dried out wallpaper paste

 

[swee'pea99]

Fresh tuna. I've only had it twice, in restaurants each time. The first time it was tough, flavourless and dry - very disappointing. So I had it again, just to see if that was a one-off. It wasn't. I like canned tuna though.

Apart from that, I'm with the blue fella - I love pretty much everything listed here that I've tried, apart from the really bland stuff. Polenta and tofu, say, I can take or leave. But I can't say I was underwhelmed, 'cos I wasn't really expecting to be whelmed.

But how anyone can dis champagne, oysters or cornish pasties is beyond me. Yum. I say, I say, yum.

 

[slowmotion]

"Seared" swordfish steak? Nah...tasteless boot leather actually.

 

[col]

Trout, no taste at all.

 

[Aperitif]

I think the humour was also lost on my "Horses for Courses" joke. Or maybe it was a bit too Francophobic. Or just a bit too rubbish.

Horses for Courses was a '10/10' for me, Maz There's a Chevaline on Rue Lepic in Paris, which took me by surprise a long time ago...(I escaped though).
I am not bothered by food much, but I do find tepid baked beans on a breakfast plate underwhelming, particularly when one's mind has been 'cooking' this a.m.brosia for the previous hour or so, and the smells, tastes and textures are developing apace. It's all in the mind!

 

[vernon]

Pease pudding, like dried out wallpaper paste

Ever sampled carlin peas?

It was a strange ritual, having to eat them on Carlin Sunday, the fifth Sunday in lent and being totally underwhelmed.

I've never encountered carlin peas outside of the North East.

 

[srw]

Fresh tuna. I've only had it twice, in restaurants each time. The first time it was tough, flavourless and dry - very disappointing. So I had it again, just to see if that was a one-off. It wasn't. I like canned tuna though.

That's just bad cooking. Buy it spankingly fresh and sear very lightly. Or eat it as sushi.

 

[Kahuczek]

Parmo's .... what's all the fuss about, I bought a Chicken Parmo in Hartlepool, it was rubbish!.

 

[Browser]

Mange tout - don't really taste of anything.
Agree with the previous comments about champagne, dry and undeserving it's reputation.
Beef Steak - I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the steaks I've really enjoyed, I'd much rather have salmon BBQ'd on a cedar plank or smoked chicken thanks.