[Jenjenz]

What's the best meal you've ever had?

Similarly, what's the worst meal you've ever had?

I've just been asked these questions and I'm stumped!

[Lady Star]

Best meal I ever ate was at a restaurant called Vooges in Amsterdam... Best meal I made myself was Nigella's Chai Sui Pork using a Whirlow Farm pork loin... Worst meal I ever had was in a Spanish Hotel... Worst thing I ever cooked myself was Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Lambs Hearts - Followed recipe to the letter, but it was just nasty!!!

[DT Ralge]

Originally Posted by Jenjenz

What's the best meal you've ever had?

Similarly, what's the worst meal you've ever had?

I've just been asked these questions and I'm stumped!

My best was in a one-man backstreet restaurant in Brussels - steak amoureuse (Diane) on a wooden platter, dagger, side plate of salad and one of chips, bottle of Bordeaux. Divine.
Went back the following week to check it could be as good all over again. It was.

Worst? Probably a 1960's Friday school meal. I simply hated bacon/cheese flan, lumpy mashed potato, cheap (rammy) baked beans. Worse still was if it was backed up by semolina and prunes!

[denlin]

Christmas dinner at home, nothing can touch it

[HeadingNorth]

The worst meal I ever had?


My mother was not a good cook. There's plenty of choice on that one.

[boyfriday]

Originally Posted by Jenjenz

What's the best meal you've ever had?

Similarly, what's the worst meal you've ever had?

I've just been asked these questions and I'm stumped!

The best? A surreal dining experience at Palais Soleiman in Marrakesh, followed closely by 'all you can eat' sushi at Yo-Sushi, tonight!

The worst? A curry at a vile Indian in Huthwaite, it shall remain nameless (although there can't be many!)

[Bassman62]

Apart from my wifes cooking which is top class and one of the reasons I don't like dining out the best meals were in HMForces whilst stationed in Cyprus in the mid 60s.
Contrary to popular belief service food was excellent, being a forces musician we got to visit many different messes all over the island on dance or rock band gigs, the RAF messes being superb, the first time I ever tasted caviar was in an RAF officers mess.

The worst food was in Tunisia.

[HeadingNorth]

Originally Posted by Bassman62

Contrary to popular belief service food was excellent...

... the first time I ever tasted caviar was in an RAF officers mess.

Were all the messes you attended officers' messes?

[boyfriday]

Originally Posted by Bassman62

Apart from my wifes cooking which is top class and one of the reasons I don't like dining out

Nowt to do with you being antisocial then Bass?

[Stan Tamudo]

Originally Posted by Bassman62

the first time I ever tasted caviar was in an RAF officers mess.

Is that what they called it in those days?

[aliceBB]

Best - fish and chips from our local chippie
Worst - home-made beetroot curry at my mate's house (it was unspeakable)

[medusa]

I think that whether a meal is fabulous is very highly dependent on context. For instance, after a whole month of hospital food, a Balti King takeaway was manna from heaven

I find that a disproportionate number of the best meals (and the worst meals, come to think of it) were experienced whilst on holiday. I think the best ever was at a restaurant called The Big Black Pig (except in Dutch, seeing as it was in Holland!) and it was a 12 course selection of all sorts of wonderful things.

There have been too many bad ones to judge, but the aforementioned hospital food would make up at least 25 of the top 20.

[aliceBB]

Originally Posted by medusa

There have been too many bad ones to judge, but the aforementioned hospital food would make up at least 25 of the top 20.

I agree. Hospital is the only place Ive ever been offered toast which was white and wet on one side and burnt black on the other.

[HeadingNorth]

Originally Posted by medusa

I find that a disproportionate number of the best meals (and the worst meals, come to think of it) were experienced whilst on holiday.

I wonder if that's something to do with novelty value? Something enjoyable that you don't normally have because it's not a regular dish over here, would be extra enjoyable because of that fact; similarly, you might try something while on holiday that turns out to be thoroughly disgusting, just because you've never come across it before.

[Bassman62]

Originally Posted by HeadingNorth

Were all the messes you attended officers' messes?

We attended all ranks messes all over the island we were out most weekends so we got around.

[Bassman62]

Originally Posted by boyfriday

Nowt to do with you being antisocial then Bass?

Being a gigging musician hardly.

[Bassman62]

Originally Posted by Stan Tamudo

Is that what they called it in those days?

Pardon..........................................

[medusa]

Originally Posted by HeadingNorth

I wonder if that's something to do with novelty value? Something enjoyable that you don't normally have because it's not a regular dish over here, would be extra enjoyable because of that fact; similarly, you might try something while on holiday that turns out to be thoroughly disgusting, just because you've never come across it before.

It could be the novelty value of trying new things, but it could also be down to the judgement of whether it's a good meal or not being skewed by the overall holiday experience (along the lines of all wine tastes nicer when being drunk at sunset overlooking a beautiful view).

Taste is such a subjective thing and memory is so affected by other things that I'm sure that there are times when a serious gourmet meal would not even really be noticed, and times when a pretty normal meal would taste wonderful because of the other things that are happening at the time.

[scousemouse]

One of the best meals I had was in Canada, where steaks are HUGE, fabulous and fill your plate!!! Locally the best (I think) is the Dore Grill. Worst food, was many years ago at a hotel in Ibiza .....yuk!!!

[Odin's Wrath]

Worst - Balti King!