One of the best parts about visiting a new country is the plethora of indigenous junk food and snacks you learn about while there. Here is a list of my favorite foods here which is more or less the reason for the 8 Kilos I have put on while here.
My favorite Colombian food:
Helado 2 X 1 Martes: The city that I live in has this cool promotional deal every Tuesdays or Martes called 2X1 where you pay for one Ice creams and get two!! This is a ritual I have been having almost every week without a miss. There are also places where we have a different kind of sundae on every day of a week. Por ejemplo: a banana split on a Friday or a chocolate brownie on a Wednesday. :D I think this offer just rocks and I fail to understand why anyone would ever eat icecream on any other day of the week. I guess that explains the huge queue for the ice-cream where we wait for 20 mins every Tuesday.
My favorite: Ensalada de frutas con Helado. Its huge and has often been my lunch or dinner by itself. I try to convince myself saying it is healthy because it has so many fruits. hehe.
Arequepe: It is the traditional Colombian version of jam but with soft caramel instead. Not only as a bread spread but Arequipa is popularly seen as cake toppings, eaten with cookies or toast.
To know how to make it, follow this You Tube link. I had no idea this is how it was made until this video!
Arepas mixtos @ Calienticos: While I was at this amazing Ultimate Frisbee tournament in the scenic town of Pampalona, I discovered my new found love for Arepas Rellenas Mixtos at this cute restaurant called Calienticos. We loved it so much that we went there every night for all three days of the tournament. Arepas come in different forms, often flat when made at home but Arepa Rellena comes with many fillings and Mixtos is my favorite which has every kind of meat and egg.The best part for me, with all kinds of Colombian food, is the spread of salsa sauces that it comes with. Calienticos had an amazingly delicious variety of salsas from Tarta, Pina, Mayonisa to Guacamoly, Rosado etc; and was so affordable that we didn't mind the 2 and a half kilometer walk every night to get there for dinner. I have also become the biggest fan of Avacado ever since I have come here!
Las salsas con comida
Oblea: It is sweet wafer street snack with a spread of jams to choose from. Almost every street has a cart and every cart has a different variety of colorful fruit flavored jams, condensed milk, Arequipe and fillers like rainbow colored tiny balls. Basically its like powerpuff girls; it hard not to like them since it has everything nice!
Bocadillo de guayaba: Now Bocadillo in spain means a sandwich but here in Colombia the Bocadillo is a quick energy snack made of the pulp of the fruit Guava. It comes in many different forms but traditionally warped in a dried leaf and is an excellent source for instant energy while playing sports due to its high sugar content. That explains why it made it to my list of favorite foods, now doesn't it. :D
Ayacas: The first thing I ate in colombia on my first day here as soon as I landed was this stuffed dish that looked like meat stuffed Upma wraped with a banana leaf. (For those who don't know, Upma is a
vegetarian south Indian dish)
Platano frito: For someone who hates bananas, it came as a pleasant surprise to me that I actually liked Platano the first time I ever had it. Platano is from the same family as bananas but has a sweeter hint to its flavor. Basically it is like caramelized banana but instead of using sugar they just let it rot and then fry it and like I said it is surprisingly tasty for a rotten fruit and for someone who doesn't like bananas!
Sun tea/nestea/fuzztea: One of the things that I've grown to like is how meals here are had with any form of liquid other than water. There is Juice, Soda, milkshake, you name it; but two of my favorites here are Augamiel and Sun tea. While Agua miel is organic sweetened water, sometimes consumed with lemon; Sun tea or Nestea is a pack of crystallized tea that you mix with water and ice and comes in different flavors like apple, lemon, peach etc. I know I know, its basically Iced tea then why the fuss? Well its funny for me that you don’t just eat food with plain water and need to have a beverage with your food EVERYDAY and I used to love iced tea back in India also, so I am not complaining one bit and can have Suntea EVERYDAY!
Nestle should so thank me for all this free advertising!
Nucita: If you like Nutella then you can bet your bottom dollar that you will switch your loyalties after having Nucita. Its just like Nutella but along with the rich hazelnut brown chocolate, the jar also has white chocolate in a swirl. All I need now is a spoon and a jar of this at room temperature and aummm... Need I say more?
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