Eat My Globe: One Year in Search of the Most Delicious Food in the World

by Simon Majumdar

When Simon Majumdar hit forty, he realized there had to be more to life than his stable but uninspiring desk job. As he wondered how to escape his career, he rediscovered a list of goals he had scrawled out years before, the last of which Go everywhere, eat everything . With that, he had found his mission -- a yearlong search for the delicious, and curious, and the curiously delicious, which he names Eat My Globe and memorably chronicles in these pages.

In Majumdar's world, food is everything. Like every member of his family, he has a savant's memory for meals, with instant recall of dishes eaten decades before. Simon's unstoppable wit and passion for all things edible (especially those things that once had eyes, and a face, and a mom and a pop) makes this an armchair traveler's and foodie's delight -- Majumdar does all the heavy lifting, eats the heavy foods (and suffers the weighty consequences), so you don't have to. He jets to thirty countries in just over twelve months, diving mouth-first into local cuisines and cultures as different as those of Japan and Iceland. His journey takes him from China, where he consumes one of his "Top Ten Worst Eats," stir-fried rat, to the United States, where he glories in our greatest the delectable treasures of Katz's Delicatessen in Manhattan, BBQ in Kansas and Texas, the still-rich po' boys of post-Katrina New Orleans.

The meat of the story -- besides the peerless ham in Spain, the celebrated steaks of Argentina, the best of Münich's wursts as well as their descendants, the famous hot dogs of Chicago -- is the friends that Simon makes as he eats. They are as passionate about food as he is and are eager to welcome him to their homes and tables, share their choicest meals, and reveal their local secrets. Also a poignant memoir, Eat My Globe is a life told through food and spiced with Majumdar's remembrances of foods past, including those from his colorful childhood. (Raised in Northern England, he is the son of a fiery Welsh nurse and a distinguished Bengali surgeon.) A captivating look at one man's passion for food, family, and unique life experiences, Eat My Globe will make you laugh -- while it makes you hungry. It is sure to satiate any gastronome obsessed with globetrotting -- for now.

Genres: Travel, Food, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Humor, Food and Drink

281 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simon Majumdar reminds me of Thomas Friedman in terms of narrative writing - they have the identical ability to make me side-eye the author whenever they go off on their pretentious rants and seem to think that they are far smarter/cleverer than they think they are. a

Majumdar's writing manages to meander and lag at the same time: I was intrigued by the concept behind his book, but I've read better food reviews on Yelp.com. While some of his anecdotes (particularly some of the local history and customs) were informative and borderline interesting, I was turned off by his presented personality throughout. Majumdar's expedition for food was helped by generous friends and neighbors, but I get the impression that he is first a presumptuous and inconsiderate guest (and possibly a remarkably uninformed traveler; I suspect that the notes we get on local culture/cuisine were added later).

I rarely ever give up on a book, but I was so turned off by Majumdar's personality that I gave him in the middle of his US tour.

[Lin · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first saw this book on the shelf at the bookstore, I thought, "Hey look! This is a bright and interesting cover! Ooh and it's about food around the world, too! I'm buying it!"

It might have been one of the worst mistakes I made that year.

The book starts out with a great narrative of how Majumdar's life was lacking something and how he figured out how to fix his ride through the doldrums. He recites anecdotes about his childhood, his mother's cooking, and his general love for food. Then he decides to go on a trip around the world, tasting the food as he goes. It's not a new idea, but everybody's experience is different.

His first leg of the trip starts in the UK, and it is loaded with (sometimes unnecessary) detail. (The unnecessary part is when he describes blood sausage or something of that nature and I mean, more power to him for loving it but really, the page long description was a little...too much.)

But then after that, his knack for detail seems to vanish. Instead of describing each meal he eats in the same painstaking detail as before, he becomes more straightforward and blunt. In fact, he is so blunt that it almost seems a little bit insensitive to the culture he is scrutinizing. And that's just the thing! He scrutinizes everything. It seems like he had a great experience back in his homeland, but elsewhere, forget it. And sometimes he is so critical that it is on the verge of insulting.

I just found this book to drag on and on after a while, and the point became lost. Majumdar certainly has a talent for some beautiful imagery when he feels like it, but at other times, it is quite dull and not worth the money I spent on it. His eloquence ebbs and flows, and it makes me lose my patience.

I think if you want to read about someone's experience around the world, you'd be better off with a different book.

The one silver lining to the book was his recipe for a lentil dish in the back of the book. I only wish I had written it down before donating the book.

[Rachel D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise and most of his travelogue (especially about his childhood as a half-Welsh, half-Bengali Brit), but he comes off as snobby and pretentious. The writing could have been better; I was horrified at the sheer amount of typos. At times, I wasn't sure what his objective was, besides challenging himself and taking a break -- traveling the world in search of the weirdest, grossest national food? traveling the world in search of all the various ways meat, meat byproducts, and offal could be made? traveling the world in search of local food, local dishes, street dishes? looking for national stereotypes to be confirmed? And so on.

I could have done without his tiresome, simplistic, and Cold War-era portrait of the Russians as stern, grumpy, and unhelpful...people with such traits can be found everywhere in the world! I found it very surprising and disappointing that he went to Russia and didn't eat blini (aka blintzes), borshch (borscht), or pelmeni. Guess these famous Russian dishes weren't weird or offally enough for him...for shame!! Also surprised he didn't include South Korea in his Asia trip; he could have written about the bulgogi, kimchi, bibimbap, and the panchan (little dishes, like appetizers) that are served gratis at Korean restaurants.

Overall, a cute read if you like global cuisine and are looking for a quick read.

[Kam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to eat, and I come from a family that loves to eat, as well. This has nothing to do with wealth, because my family is hardly wealthy - comfortably well-off, yes, but not wealthy. We simply enjoy good food, and are not above spending a little more than usual if it means the food will be excellent. Oftentimes, though, the best food is relatively inexpensive, and there is certainly a lot of "gourmet" food that is hardly worth the money spent on it. In fact, it tends to be an even greater disappointment for us when we spend a lot of money of a meal that isn't really worth it.

This insistence on good food (preferably inexpensive good food) is not just some family quirk: it is culturally ingrained. Filipinos are like Hobbits in that we are constantly eating, and food is inevitably at the heart of many social gatherings and personal memories. Friendships and romantic relationships are formed and solidified over food; heartbreak and arguments are often helped along to their resolution by food. Every important landmark in one's life - from birth to death - involves the preparation, consumption, and appreciation of food.

This also explain my fascination with television shows about people who travel around the world, eating their way through it and commenting on what they find. That is my dream job: I love to travel, and I love to eat - and despite what my father says to the contrary, I am far more adventurous now than I was when I was a child. I dream of one day having enough money to travel the world and taking my time at places I've always wanted to go - and eating my way through every stop I make. I've watched shows like No Reservations and would love nothing more than to live Anthony Bourdain's life.

When I discovered Simon Majumdar's Eat My Globe: One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything, I was immediately interested. At first I assumed Majumdar was some kind of celebrity chef I had not heard about, trying to do his own version of Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, but then I read the back blurb and found out that Majumdar was really just an ordinary man who quit his job and set out to "eat the globe," as the title of the book proclaims, in one year. This immediately piqued my interest: unlike Bourdain, Majumdar is what might be called an enthusiastic amateur. He is not a chef, but has been raised in a family similar to mine: a family with a great appreciation for food, and which likes to talk about food, as well.

In short, Majumdar had done what I always dreamed of doing: dropping everything for a year to travel and eat. And not only has he managed to do just that, but he has been generous enough to share his experience with the world in a book.

To be fair to Majumdar, though, he does not truly claim to have gone absolutely anywhere and eaten absolutely everything. In his introduction and first chapter he describes what he had to do before he went on his trip, and what sort of emotional turmoil he underwent in order to not only find it in himself to quit his job, but to find the fortitude to actually push through with it. One would think that any person would be right happy to drop a job and just traipse around the world, but actually making that idea into reality is not quite as easy as it seems. What is more important is actually getting out there and doing it - and that is a constant theme, repeated over and over again in many variations throughout the book.

Once he had begun, though, there really was no turning back, especially once he had left the United Kingdom. His choice of destinations is quite eclectic, not least because he takes the time to visit the Philippines - or at least Manila and Pampanga, which is a great deal more than some of the snootier travel writers and foodies ever do. While he does not really "go everywhere," he does try to "eat everything" wherever he does manage to make it, and, more importanty, he is not shy about saying exactly what he thinks about the places he's been and the food he has eaten.

Take, for instance, the chapters about his trip to China. Chinese food seems to be a bit of a hit-and-miss thing for him, with some really, ridiculously good meals alternating with some absolutely godawful ones, but he seems to have one, very solid, unshakeable regarding many of the Chinese tourists - and it's hardly a very flattering take on them. I will not go into too much detail about what he says, but I do find his commentary on them to be painfully true. I have traveled out of the Philippines often enough, and even in Hong Kong and Singapore the tourists from mainland China aren't exactly the best kind of people one wishes to encounter. Even the locals agree.

This bluntness is something that, I think, will likely offend a lot of readers. Majumdar makes no attempt to "cushion the blow" of his opinions, especially when he finds things disgusting, offensive, or plain out-and-out unlikeable. I have read a few reviews that have found this particular trait of Majumdar's to be a deal-breaker, but I do not find it so. To be sure, he calls Manila "a rejected set from Blade Runner," but I hardly find this offensive because it is true. It is also as dirty as he claims it is, and the way he speaks of the poverty in the city is absolutely true, as well.

But, unlike other writers, Majumdar has seen past the grime and the poverty to the heart of what Manila can be: a place to eat great food that is not quite like food in the rest of Southeast Asia, or the rest of the world, for that matter. As so many other foodies, Bourdain included, have discovered, the Philippines has great food, and a lot of people really don't know what they're missing out on. To be fair, Majumdar was fortunate to have an "in" to the foodie scene here: family who were only too happy to show him around. This is, in truth, the best way to get to know Manila and the food on offer here. Discovery of the cuisine on one's own is possible, but the best places are either well-kept secrets known only to locals (the Chinese cuisine of Binondo, Manila's Chinatown, for instance), or are, in fact, homecooked meals prepared by someone's family. To be sure, Filipino food is not as well-known as the cuisine of neighboring Southeast Asian countries like Thailand or Vietnam, but that is only because no one else besides Filipinos themselves have ever really cared about it - well, until recently, anyway.

The essays (for that is what the chapters are, technically) that Majumdar writes are not solely about food. The enjoyment of food is not just about what is being eaten, but is about the people one meets and the experiences one has along the way. In the introduction, he claims that his family tends to treat food like signposts to the events of their lives: no one really remembers a particular event until someone else brings up what they ate on that day. He proves this true throughout the book: he speaks of friends he's made and the experiences he's had, and how those are just as important as all the food he has gotten to try. Through food, he has made new friends and broadened his horizons - something that myself, and likely a great many Filipinos, will nod to sagely in agreement.

But what I find even more valuable about Eat My Globe is that it was written by an ordinary person: ordinary in the sense tha Majumdar has no "serious" culinary training in the same way that Bourdain has culinary training. He is, as I mentioned earlier, an enthusiastic amateur, and he proves that, yes, without a degree from the CIA and a television network backing one up, it is entirely possible to live like Bourdain. It takes guts, it takes gumption, and it is a very, very difficult thing to do. But Majumdar proves it is entirely possible, and that, more importantly, the rewards are far greater taking the risk than not at all.

[Stuart Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to this title by the concept; the author's mission was to 'go everywhere and eat everything' which sounded like an interesting opportunity to find out more about the diversity of the world's cultures by exploring their cuisines. Sadly, the book which resulted was a real disappointment.

Whilst I didn't expect the book to literally fulfil the premise it would at least have worked a lot better if Majumdar had attempted to more clearly define what the purpose of the book was and to have stuck to some sort of mission statement quite closely. There were obviously several different approaches which could have been taken including visiting the most highly noted restaurants, eating 'everyday food' in people's homes, sampling street food etc. Instead of taking that route the author just seemed to go for a random approach, sometimes visiting a renowned venue, sometimes eating on the street or in a mall and occasionally eating in someone's home. It feels very much like a blog (Majumdar is the author of a food blog), but a book requires a more considered approach to really work. A few chapters don't even discuss food at all but are dedicated to certain drinks, which just felt irrelevant.

Eat My Globe would also have benefitted from the inclusion of some sort of historical context about the food of each country or region but there wasn't any so you never feel as if you are learning all that much about them. The book is as much a travelogue as a food journal, but was weak in that respect also. Sometimes it seemed like there hadn't been much proofreading of the text. Yangshuo is described as a town on one page, yet on the following page has metamorphosed into a 'polluted, bustling city'. This wasn't very accurate either as it isn't particularly noted for levels of pollution by Chinese standards.

Majumdar doesn't seem to have an eye for the telling detail and his account was notably lacking in atmosphere. For me the experience of dining in a restaurant is as much about the presentation, service and ambiance as the food itself but these qualities barely get a mention here. The only instance I can recall is a description of a Sydney establishment having a picture of Frank Sinatra on the wall. Surprising considering Sinatra once described Australian journalists as "fags", "pimps", and "whores", but this seems to have passed the author by as he doesn't mention it.

By now you're probably wondering 'what about the meat of the book?' Well, it literally is that, meat. Given the range of food available I would have expected a greater range of foodstuffs to be described but the author plumps for the meat dish at virtually every opportunity. He is clearly somewhat of a meat fetishist and also a fan of offal. It isn't a book I would recommend to vegetarians. The descriptions of the food are not very well crafted either, with most being a fairly rudimentary account of each dish. It never brings across what makes the food particularly appealing to eat. Majumdar doesn't seem to have much truck with desserts either.

Each chapter comes accompanied with lashings of humour, often ill judged. Majumdar seems to like to portray himself as being somewhat boorish; this was possibly an attempt to create a comic persona by exaggeration. If so, it doesn't really work as it made him too unsympathetic a narrator. When he ordered a meal in Ireland by pointing at the menu it just felt utterly crass. Elsewhere he had the gall to criticise a companions sense of humour yet describe them as a 'good mate'. Hard to get away with that when you are not exactly Woody Allen in the wit department. The overall impression is that Majumdar was happy to take advantage of others hospitality but didn't feel they had to return that in any way. Strangely the author said at one point that the experience of sharing a meal with friends was a significant aspect of enjoying a meal, but everyone else in the book came across as being utterly peripheral and their personalities did not come across in the text.

To sum up, not particularly tasty or nutritious. It was the author's first book so maybe it was wrong to expect the earth but this fell far short of its potential.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the sort I would usually read but it was lent to me by a friend who said it was good. So far I am enjoying it despite thinking, at the same time, what sort of person could be so obsessive about food. Recalling events by the food eaten at them is something I find hard to comprehend, with it being by far the exception rather than the rule. At lease Majumdar seems to judge food fairly. He may be pedantic about how it is presented and tastes but at least there is a lack of snobbery in the food he tries. Pies, fish and chips are consumed as well as the far more exotic foodstuffs and styles. Of course he is only doing very small samplings from around the world so this can not be considered a guide in any real sense other than possibly an appertiser to encourage to get readers to get out and try more types of food and not settle for the smae sort of fare over and over.
Now days later I have finished the book. Revised my rating from 3 stars to 2. I got tired of the style, the end feeling was that the author was more of a gluttonous princess travelling the world using the book as an excuse for a tax deduction and an excuse to indulge himself. So what is wrong with that?

[Kasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many reviews that criticize this book and I would have to agree with them for the most part of this book. It's written in a really bad way and the author has a HUGE problem with his ego. It's inconsistent, lack structure and purpose, and shows that the author doesn't really know what he's doing.
BUT the premise of the book is one of the best ones out there and there were a few moments that I actually quite liked in this book. But they were always about places that he either knew or had someone to point him in the righjt direction, or about cuisine that he knew something about and was actually willing to give it a try.
On the whole, it was just OK and I wouldn't read it again unless the author got rid of his ego or hired a professional writer who'd at least edit his notes or write the whole thing for him.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment for two reasons. First, the author is just plain obnoxious. He alternates among opinionated, gluttonous, and crude. Yes, ladies, he's single! Second, the food all starts to sound the same. How is that even possible, when Majumdar spent a year eating the world's food? Further, Majumbar failed to describe the meals in a way that inspired the reader to seek out various cuisine. What does a banana leaf taste like? Why do so many cultures use chilies? We aren't told. With the "do one thing for a year and write about it" craze, there must be a better book about food around the world than this one.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This truly has to be one of the funnier "do something in a year" books I have ever read! Simon's details, not just of the food, but of his family had me laughing so hard I woke my husband up (and not just once!)

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is some bloke I've never heard of travels to various destinations around the world eating lots of interesting food. It came personally recommended by a couple of people who thought I should read it. In theory I should have got along quite well with it - I like to travel, I've been to a few of his travel destinations which piqued my interest plus I'm a bit of a food tourist.

Unfortunately aforementioned bloke really just eats too much. Gluttony is not good. For much of the book I had visions of him with bits of food in his teeth and grease all over his face...the quantity of food he was describing was all a bit gross. On top of that he was reliant on various hosts in each city, most were strangers he met on the internet which he seemed to impose himself on and take advantage of their hospitality. Quite off-putting, in the end I wanted neither to eat where he had nor what he had.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simon Majumdar is a snob. Don't get me wrong--I'm sure there are people who would call me a snob, too. I prefer to make my own granola, I never buy bottled salad dressings, and I've been known to bake my own crackers. But if you're going to write a food travel book, it's probably best to TRY not to be a condescending jerk about it. Have I enjoyed everything I've eaten while traveling? No. But food is a fantastic way to experience local culture, and that's the book I was looking for here. I tried to find it hidden in and around the pretentiousness but I just don't think it's in there. Then again, I had to give up on Majumdar before he made it any farther away from home than Ireland--where the experience of eating dinner in a small-town pub so horrified him that the next evening he bought groceries to eat in his hotel room.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not nearly as entertaining as A COOK'S TOUR by Anthony Bourdain, this was a fun romp around the world with Simon who vows to try anything in any country. Along the way he tries cooked scorpion (notice that's singular), eel sperm (think is was eel or some other sea creature's stuff but it was as bad as it sounds), and various other "delicacies" in various countries. I didn't find the author nearly as engaging as Bourdain but he did have a way with turning a a witty phrase or making his escapades sound quite humorous. Unfortunately, he was also a bit of a snob and sometimes a little irascible that made him appear not too likable. He also tended to start describing a meal only to skip to something else and I felt like I didn't get enough information about flavors of some of these foods.

[Phil Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I envy Simon Majumdar. In Eat My Globe, he travels to 31 countries in a year to experience many of the foods from each region. He eats often and often eats well. But not always. Some of the dishes presented to him would have the weak of soul running for the door, like the braised dog he tried in China or the Cod Sperm Sushi in Japan.

If it wasn't for all the traveling and living on the road, I would love to copy this experiment. I, like Simon, love to eat and enjoy the surprise of a new flavor. I would even try the Cod Sperm, though probably not until I have had some really great sushi and enough Sake to drown the Cod whose sperm I would be eating.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any book that combines food and tral is OK by me, and this had some good bits. However, there were a couple of things that weren't all that great. For one thing, the author has an admitted predilection for "weird" food: offal, innards, that kind of thing, which I, quite frankly, can live without. Secondly, the author's personality, which came through loud and clear, while very enthustiastic about his "work," somehow rubbed me the wrong way a little bit. Just not a book that I fully warmed up to.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 bk 53. When in pain a comfort read is needed. This book qualifies - shortish chapters, each written in a manner that grabs the readers attention and easily makes you focus on what is happening. The chapters are fun as we follow Simon on his journey from publisher 'foodie' to reconnecting to the whole world through food. His adventures and misadventures make you want to hop a plane and follow him. Admittedly, some food adventures made him and this reader turn green (or was that the back pain?), but overall this was a most enjoyable read.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. There were bits that were interesting and well written, but it was more about his travel arrangements and logistics than the food - as though he had just copied his calendar details and turned them into sentences.

And then he got whiny - oh, not, not ANOTHER street market - I'm SO tired of them. Since he set his own schedule and itinerary, perhaps he could have spared himself, and us, some of the complaining.

[Sandee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do like a good read about someone who took a year to reach a big life goal. Simon's was to go everywhere and eat everything. It falls short of a good book, however, as many of his thoughts and ideas aren't very fleshed out and he makes broad statements without facts to back them up. It is one big essay of what he ate, and that's it.

[Yuliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never heard of Simon Majumdar or his blog before reading this book and did not find his food descriptions particularly enticing. His selection of foods was somewhat dubious as it seemed he was heavily leaning towards weird foods that were not always representative of that country's everyday or traditional cuisine.

[Blithekins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good humor :)

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I've read too much foodie literature lately, but I found this lackluster. The descriptions were banal and at no time did I get really enthused about where he was at or what he was eating.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; I only wish portions of it were longer and more in depth. Majumdar was a narrator whom I found myself agreeing with, unlike a lot of reviewers on this site; I never really felt he was too snooty or repugnant. In fact, I'd rather like to travel with the man (I did not understand all the whining about different wines tasted in different locations and I despise whisky & found the darjeeling tea chapter quite boring, but I still loved the book). Good summer read--can't wait to check out his book about USA eats from the library.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, now I feel nauseous. I am honestly just amazed at the amount of food this man packed away on this trip. I mean, he barely gave himself time to digest one meal before he started eating another - it was crazy! Just reading about it makes me feel ill.

That being said, this wasn't a bad read. I was a little anxious after seeing how many one star reviews it had on here but there were things I enjoyed about it. It introduced me to food from many countries that I'd never heard of (the food, not the countries) and gave me a glimpse into places that I'd previously had little to no interest in so in that sense, it was informative. I'm sure he only scratched the surface of all of these places but it was a nice little taste all the same.

I did wish that he went into more detail at times. It often felt like he would elaborate on one or two good meals or experiences and then bypass the rest of the time he had spent in a city but I suppose it's difficult to figure out what to elaborate on when he visited so many places. I also wish that his writing style was a bit more engaging. Also I really wish that he had visited more than one city in Brazil given his negative experience there. Brazil's such a big country! Why only go to one city and not even one of the main ones like Sao Paolo or Rio? Given that Brazil's a place I'd quite like to visit, it was just a shame hearing how much he seemed to dislike it there. But maybe he would have liked another city more?

I also found it astonishing how often people would start talking to him in restaurants when he was dining alone. I mean, this happened all over the world that people would approach him and be willing to talk about food and give him suggestions about what to eat and sometimes take him all over the city or to their own homes. I know that he said that that was part of what he was looking for when he started the trip (as he reiterated time and time again) but it just seemed a little unusual that he seemed to have such an easy time of finding kind, friendly, hospitable people worldwide even when he didn't speak the language. I can't help feeling that he must have exaggerated things somewhat in that respect. Or maybe I'm just a cynic?

Anyway, it was definitely an interesting read. And now I really want to try Malaysian food. I just keep hearing such good things about it!

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, for two reasons in particular.

First - although I didn’t agree with his food opinions 100%, his escapades constantly made me chuckle. It was a fast read, and perfect for easing into a 2-month leisure trip.

Second – he is honest about the good, as well as the not-so-good, that is par for the course during extended travel. I especially felt vindicated to read how his experience in China mirrored mine (difficult and disgusting). He admits that it’s not always easy to find good food everywhere, and that it actually takes some work to achieve! Lastly, he didn’t take offense about the conditions the country of his ethnic heritage (India) and didn’t feel that he needed to worry about his identity. I could learn something here!

Yes, he glosses over a few destinations/meals that I would have liked to have read more about, but I suppose it’s bound to happen when trying to cover the entire globe. I can forgive him for that!

[Liz Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was actually very excited to get this book, but the author's attitudes throughout the essays were what put me off. A lot of his book highlighted how much he disliked a food, or a city, or a country, and did not leave any room for positives. He also did not write descriptively. It was obvious when he did enjoy something and when he did not, but he seems to have forgotten (the majority of the time) that the reader cannot see or feel his experience. This also resulted in extremely short chapters, and ultimately an unsatisfying read.

PopSugar 2017: A book with a Subtitle

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book -- several parts made me laugh out loud (especially his sojourn in China). Majumdar seems to lose steam near the end though as if he's trying to quickly sum it up. I found him being less descriptive about the food he was eating near the end and clear signs that he was tired of all the traveling, I think. Nevertheless, hilarious and entertaining! (And admirable!)

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is quite funny at times; unfortunately, none of those times seemed to coincide with his descriptions of meals. In fact, the meal portion of this book is the least interesting; it seemed simply a catalog of food eaten. It was in his descriptions of places, events, and his own meandering thoughts that he excelled.

[Délice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable book. I love Simon Majumdar's writing and I love his food snobbiness as well as his adventurousness!! <3 I really hope to meet him someday! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good journey story, loves travel and a bit of cultural history, as well as loves hearing amazing descriptions of fascinating foods from around the world! I want to read more of his stuff! <3

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caveat: the author/narrator is kind of unlikeable. And he actually seems somewhat delighted with that. So, as long as you can get past his personality, which I found it pretty easy to adjust to over time, this is a very fun foodie adventure. And he actually becomes quite funny.

Please note, the proofreading, which wasn't stellar to begin with, deteriorated over the course of the book.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Majumdar, a food enthusiast extraordinare, travels around the world trying all sorts of local foods. I'm glad he tried some of them so that I never, ever have to. Great writing and interesting menus. A fun read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, but it could have been fleshed out so much more. He had some interesting adventures, but he wrote about them in such a brief manner that it really left me wanting more ... or an author who could really capture the story.