Hot dogs around the world

There seems to be a phenomenon where hot dogs have become popular all over the world. Putting aside local delicacies and cuisines, who could resist a good ol’ hot dog as a form of comfort food? Indeed sometimes a hot dog is the best thing out of a bunch of choices, especially for the budget-conscious traveller. After going through my collection of photos, I found out that I too have had many a hot dog throughout my travels. Let’s take a look.

(Date eaten: January 27, 2014) Baejarins Beztu Pylsur in Reykjavik, Iceland apparently literally translates to “the town’s best hot dog”. The joint was in a corner, not so easily noticeable, but supposedly there is always a line up. I went for a hot dog one day because as you may have realized, Iceland is rather expensive and I didn’t want to be TOO broke. The hot dog looks humble and nothing too fancy, and I can’t remember what that sauce was, though I’d guess that it’s some sort of mustard. I do remember, though, that I loaded the bun with a thick bed of crunchy onions underneath the hot dog itself, and the onions did turn out to be the highlight. RATING: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7/10)

(Date eaten: May 3, 2014) TORONTO STREET MEAT! This isn’t technically a travel hot dog because I live in Toronto but c’mon, we can’t miss out on Toronto hot dogs because they are so damn good, perhaps the best I’ve ever had. Not only do you have many types to choose from (Italian, Polish, German, all beef, etc.) but there are rows of toppings and condiments to go with the already delicious hot dog – your typical sauces like BBQ, ketchup, mayo, plus pickles, hot peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, etc. etc. etc. I usually like a perfectly grilled spicy Polish dog with mustard, ketchup, pickles, fresh onions, and crunchy onions, enough toppings to compliment the hot dog but not so much that it oozes out when I bite into it. Oh my goodness my mouth is watering just thinking about it. So unhealthy, yes, but a guilty pleasure when I visit downtown Toronto and one of the more unconventional “must-haves” of Toronto – at least in my eyes. RATING: ★★★★★★★★★★ (10/10)

(Date eaten: December 24, 2014) Hot dog #3 was from a Christmas market in Prague. I only got this because I was there on Christmas eve and many stands were almost closed when I arrived (it’s a tradition for locals to eat a big meal at home on Christmas eve). This was one of the few things that were available. This was evidently a very long hot dog, and I added the classic condiments, ketchup and mustard. Tasted quite good, plus points for size 😛 RATING: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8/10)

(Date eaten: March 20, 2017) I’ve also had a hot dog at the University of Glasgow cafeteria when I worked there, which was not like me at all because I usually don’t get things like pizza or burgers or hot dogs at the cafeteria (and I rarely go there anyway). That day I saw hot dog on the menu and started to have a huge craving for it, so I took one and added an order of potato wedges to go with it. The hot dog was rather average but not horrible, and it was enough to quench my cravings so I was satisfied. RATING: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (5/10)

(Date eaten: October 16, 2017) Away from the centre of Oslo stood a hot dog joint, Syverkiosken, like the one in Reykjavik. Again, as a budget-conscious choice (since Norway too was soooooooo expensive), I went for a hot dog – or two, because I was hungry. The interesting thing about the hot dogs here is that they put a piece of flat tortilla bread on each hot dog. And the hot dogs already came stuffed with toppings – one had potato salad and the other I think had shrimp salad, if I remember correctly. They were both really good but the one with potato salad caught me off guard – I didn’t know potato salad would be such a good compliment to a hot dog…INSIDE a hot dog! Plus points for uniqueness! RATING: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8/10)

(Date eaten: November 19, 2017) Finally, JAPADOG. So this is supposed to be a thing that is unique to Vancouver and I had to try it. Japanese style ingredients + hot dog? WANT. During the three days I was in Vancouver, I ate twice at JAPADOG but only took this photo of the first meal with the classic “kurobata terimayo” (with teriyaki sauce, mayo, and seaweed) and a side of karaage, or Japanese fried chicken. Good? Yes you bet it was good. It was like biting into a hot dog and a takoyaki at the exact same time – imagine THAT! The hot dog was a bit on the small side but hey that’s typical of Japanese food items – small but delicate. RATING: ★★★★★★★★★☆ (9/10)

From high places, part 4

In travelling through different cities, I still search for every possibility to photograph the cities from high (or higher-than-average) places. Part 4 of the “From high places” series will take us all the way to the end of my European adventures, where the last stop was Reykjavik, Iceland. As usual, the list will be in alphabetical order, so please enjoy as I share some of my favourite memories with you 🙂

Bern (read about it)

It was raining in Bern, and the entire capital city of Switzerland was covered in a thick layer of grayness, as seen from the Rose Garden, this high place in Bern. The city was calm and quiet, without the usual audacity of a national capital. Even so, observed from a distance, the old town was nothing less than charming.

Incredible Iceland #5 – Miscellaneous stuff

One final post about Iceland…for now. It’ll be short and simple. I am sure I can write on and on about this beautiful country but five posts in this series is pretty good for the moment. This one will be about some miscellaneous fun stuff that I encountered in Reykjavik that I haven’t written about previously.

When I saw the back of the white polar bear from afar, I thought it was a huge dog…my eyes must be really bad 😦 Anyway, the focus of this photo is on the Icelandic flag, which like the flags of all other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway) has a cross on it. The three colours on the flag each represents one defining natural feature of the country: red for the volcanoes, white for the glaciers, and blue for the sea surrounding the island (source: bus guide Erlingur).

Incredible Iceland #4 – Winter sunrise

On my final morning in Iceland, I decided not to explore anymore, in case I didn’t want to leave. Then the tears on the plane would be for Iceland, not Bordeaux…

…but I was going to see a sunrise on top of the Hallgrímskirkja. Sunrises don’t have to be painful ordeals at 5am. Head to Iceland in the winter months where the sun rises at 10am. Wake up bright (or not) and early (9am is barely early), eat a nice breakfast, drink a cup of coffee or two, and head up the Hallgrímskirkja for a grand spectacle. But…BRRRRRRRRRRRR!! It was COLD! Getting ready for Canada, yeah! Made me wonder why I missed the cold, and how I survived 14 Canadian winters.

The day before the sunset watch, I saw this beautiful scene by the Hallgrímskirkja in the morning. I wondered what it would be like to be at the very top of the tower, observing the rising of the sun as it happens.

Incredible Iceland #3 – So much good food!

The thing about Iceland is that I had such high expectations in everything – and these expectations were exceptionally met – except for its food. Well, that’s not exactly true. More like, I didn’t know what to expect, except for a lot of fish and seafood, maybe. I had taken the time to research about the city of Reykjavik and the natural wonders of Iceland, but I didn’t really pay much attention to the food. It was more of a eat-as-you-go scenario, or so I thought. It seems that Iceland really is a perfect place, as the food was a very pleasant surprise. You go on Tripadvisor or other review sites and every restaurant in Reykjavik has a 3.5/5 rating or higher. So as it turns out, the food was pretty darn good. Add “culinary delight” to the ever-growing list of things I love about Iceland.

The first night I was in Reykjavik, I stopped by a restaurant close to the guesthouse, named 3 Frakkar Hja Ulfari. Apparently the name of the restaurant means either “3 overcoats” or “3 Frenchmen” in English. I sat down and ordered the “Gratineraður Plokkfiskur með rúgbrauði”, or “Hashed fish with black bread “Icelandic specialty””. Icelandic specialty…why not. (I had really contemplated getting the hakarl and was later relieved that I didn’t. The real hakarl experience will be shared in another post.) Don’t be fooled. The yellow blob is not an omelette, but hashed fish covered in some sort of sauce. I couldn’t make out what the sauce was in the hashed fish, so I asked the waitress. She didn’t know either, so she asked the chef, and told me that it was Bearnaise sauce. HUH. That was the strongest Bearnaise sauce I’ve ever had. The one I’ve had before was more on the sour side where as this one was really potent, really…fishy. Or maybe it was just the hashed fish. Good stuff 😛