Where to find it: As a popular street food in major cities like Abidjan, attiéké is usually sold alongside other dishes at open air food markets like Allocodrome de Cocody. Grab a pre-packaged bag full of the traditional side dish, and pair it with other market finds, like fresh grilled fish, chicken, vegetables, and local cocktails.
Traditional Arabic coffee
What it is: “In Middle Eastern culture, serving Arabic coffee (Qahwa in Arabic) is a gesture of respect,” says Mo Noubani, director of The Travel Box International. Traditionally, the coffee is brewed in a special pot called a dallah with spices like cardamom or saffron and served in small cups called finjan, according to Noubani. “Nowadays Arabic coffee plays a central role in Arabian culture as a symbol of hospitality.”
Where to find it: When traveling through the Middle East, you won’t have to search hard to find Arabic coffee. “Just go to any city center, walk around, and you are bound to run into a local traditional coffee shop,” Noubani says. As the tradition has moved into the 21st century, more elaborate coffee houses are available, according to Noubani. “In Dubai, for instance, The Coffee Lab is the go-to for locals and visitors alike who wish to have an authentic taste,” he says. “It is regarded as a sophisticated laboratory with specialty coffee roasters.” But you can’t go wrong visiting a generations-old Arabic coffeehouse, either. “In Saudi, The Roasting House in Riyadh, a third wave roaster that produces Turkish and Arabic coffees, is a hit with the locals, as it maintained its quality through the years while establishing current coffee trends.”.
Traditional sake-making in Japan
What it is: Sake is an iconic Japanese liquor made from rice fermented with koji mold. Called nihonsu in Japanese, it’s the national drink of Japan and is abundantly available at bars, restaurants, and shops, with most regions having their own local twist on the drink.
Where to find it: “Sake is produced throughout the country, and there is an astounding range of variety and styles,” says Andres Zuleta, founder of Boutique Japan. “For casual sake tasting, I love Kimijimaya, a small and low-key sake shop in the trendy Ebisu neighborhood [of Tokyo]. The shop is located in a mall, but it offers great and unique nihonshu from throughout Japan, and is a really reasonable and unpretentious way to taste eclectic sake samples.”
For a more immersive approach, try visiting a sake museum. There’s the Ponshukan Sake Museum in Niigata, which offers sake tasting through numerous vending machines and also a chance to bathe in hot sake, says Gwynnie Vernon, a trip planner also at Boutique Japan. In Kagawa Prefecture, there’s even a guesthouse located in a converted, 150-year old sake brewery that allows guests to go through the sake-making process as part of their stay, according to Vernon.
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