We'll admit it: This is a pretty sweet gig.Sure, we do our fair share of downer stories here at MUNCHIES, but most of the time we just get to eat, eat, eat. And in order to eat the world, we have to travel to its farthest reaches, discovering some stunning destinations along the way.
Case in point: the Taiwanese city of Jiufen, which served as the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's beloved 2001 film Spirited Away. Not only is it tucked among some mythical-looking hills, it's also home to fantastically delicious taro balls, translucent meat dumplings, and century-old tea houses.
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And if you're into hills, head to the remote stretch of India known as Nagaland, the site of one of the longest running insurgencies in Asia. But it's not all strife: We went there to fish, hunt, and share in the forest's bounty.
On the other side of India, in the state of Goa, we went in search of a highly seasonal species of delicious mushrooms that grow only on termite hills after monsoon season is over.
And in Delhi, we met Tibetan refugees who brought their momos to India, where the dumplings have quickly taken over as a favorite street snack. Just take a look at them and you'll understand why.
Over in Hoi An, a beach city in central Vietnam, we met Nguyễn Thị Lộc, the 79-year-old banh mi "queen." There's only one thing on her menu: a sandwich of pâté, pork char siu, sausage, fried egg, homemade pickles, papaya, carrots, parsley, chili sauce, soy sauce, and her secret sauce.
In Myanmar, we went on a sugar binge with the local dessert offerings, including coconut butter pancakes, sour plum balls, and semolina cake, all washed down with sugarcane juice.
And if you're a sweets junkie, you might want to head to the West Bank city of Nablus, the home of knafeh. It's here that that you'll find the best example of a favorite Middle Eastern dessert, made with shredded dough, cheese, and sweet syrup.
Down on Atafu, an atoll in the middle of the South Pacific, we swam with Tokelauan youth and ate fresh seafood—including the world's largest arthropod, the coconut crab.
After all of this, you might think that Japan is played-out—hardly exotic for the well-traveled stomach. But you probably didn't know about the underground bar serving some of the world's finest sake in Osaka.And this is just the tip of the iceberg. (Oh, yeah—we went to the North and South Poles this year, too.) For more destinations like these, you'll just have to hitch a ride with us in 2016.