Food Away from Home (World Tour)

Final Destination

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Annie: Whats up guys Welcome to the last episode of Food Away from Home (World Tour) with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv! This episode will be a little different, as we will be driving *Driving audio* to all of our top three places that we have talked about in our past episodes. We will be sharing our favorite thing or food dish from each place and ask some trivia questions about each place. Soooooo, let's get started!

Driving in Car

Segment 1: India

First stop, INDIA!!! I’m going to be doing a quick little summary of our original India episode, and maybe even introducing you guys to more of the extremely fun and vibrant culture of India

Okay so too start lets talk avout ome our favorite snacks desserts and dishes from india. Lets go!!!

*Slam on breaks* So first, we’re gonna talk about one of my most favorite dishes of all time, biriyani. Biriyani is a flavorful rice dish that uses many spices to bring out the aromatic flavour of the rice. This dish can often inclide meats such as mutton, chicken, fish, and beef. This dish also many various vegetarian options

Next some of my favorite yummy snacks from India, mixture and murraka, or jaggery. These snacks are crunchy and made using a mix of ingredients. Mixture is crispy little pieces of fried dough with nuts and seasonings, while muurrak is a crunchy fried dough that's crispy and hard.

Finally some of the best desserts i’ve ever had. Im gonna start by talking about a SSUPER popular dessert, which is paysam, theres many different types of this dessert and many different have different regions for it, but it is generally a sweet rice pudding with nuts and raisins.

Before we a little trivia, im going to talk about one thing that is a very important part of indias culture, the street markets.India has grown more modern of the years, however they have never fully gotten rid of the shops and stands on the side of the roads. These sops often sell snacks and some veggies, but they also sell other thighs like hygiene items. Many of these stores can also have a large variety of clothes and jewelery. There are also kiosk like things thatsell yummy flavourfull dishes that they make right in front of you

Ok, so now we’re gonna do a little trivia, see if you know the right answer!

*Driving in Car*

Segment 2: New York

Hey! My favorite place that talked about was New York! I will be summarizing the episode for you in this segment. Starting with some background information, New York is a very big city with many buildings and tall towers. Some places that you might have heard of is Browday, which is a big company that puts on many performances like musicals or plays. Now, moving onto the restaurants. I will be summarizing my favorite restaurant that we talked about. That restaurant is a Mediterranean restaurant called “Il Trapezino”. It is a European-Italian-based restaurant. There are triangular shaped bread pieces, with a choice of fillings that are plain with cheese and pepper, red sauce, and more, leaving you with a warm tasting dish for your day. It can be found at the lower east side, orchard street.

Now, street food in New York City! *Horn honking*

There's many delicious foods outside of restaurants that New York has to offer. One of my favorites is a pretzel. There are also Indian and Chinese food, ice cream, and many more. I love grabbing a pretzel or a nice cold ice cream on those hot days.

Lastly, desserts! I love desserts from all over New York. And the good thing about New York, is that since there are a whole bunch of different cuisines, there is something for everyone! My favorite desert place to go is serendipity. It doubles as a restaurant with main meals and desserts. I went there once and it was sooooo good. I got their signature frozen hot chocolate and it was the best thing I have ever had. I will say that it is very rich and their portions are very big, so you will get full pretty quick.

Now that we have made it through all of this information, time for some triviaaaaaaaa. Here are some food related trivia questions.

Which New York food is traditionally sold with the phrase “You want mustard and sauerkraut?”

Hot dogs

What dessert, now found worldwide, was popularized in NYC by Jewish bakeries?

Cheesecake

Which food card item became a late night staple for club-goers and night-shift workers alike?

Pizza slices

And we will be right back

And we are back

Driving in Car

Segment 3: Japan

Cece: Lastly, let’s take a drive to Japan! I think that the best place we talked about was Japan. It had so much variety in its foods, and it was such an amazing place to visit when I went in the winter of 2022.

What I especially liked about the foods were the Shabu Shabu japanese dishes.

- Shabu Shabu are those restaurants where there are hot pot dishes and you can cook your own thinly cut meat, tofu, as well as vegetables, inside of this “broth” like soup.

- Another popular and one of my favorite dishes in Tokyo is ramen.

- Ramen is a bowl of broth, or soup, with noodles, either crispy or rice noodles, in the broth, with vegetables, and tofu.

- I also loved Sushi - Rolls of rice, veggies, and fish/meat and dipped in soy sauce, wasabi, and/or ginger. There are both meat rolls as well as vegetarian rolls.

Tempura was also super good, as well as Tonkatsu and Takoyaki.

Also, my favorite restaurants so far could include Ichiran, and Hibiki. As well as, the best experiences so far were the cat cafes, grocery stores, and even the pharmacies!

Japan was one of the best places that I've ever gone to and that we talked about, and I am so happy that we could include it in this episode! So now, time for some trivia!!

*Crickets sound or Car Horn*

What fast-food item was popularized in Japan during Christmas? KFC fried chicken.

WHat is the name of the Japanese art of arranging food to look cute? Kyaraben (character bento)

Which Japanese city is nicknamed the nation’s kitchen? Osaka.

Thanks for joining me!! :))

Ending

Annie: We hope that you guys saw why we talked about all of the places that we did in this series and why these were our top three. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We hope you enjoyed our podcast!!!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Boogieing in Brazil

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Cece: What’s up guys? Welcome to the NINTH episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be talking about the different foods that you can find in Brazil, and where they can be found.

Segment 1: About Brazil

Cece: Brazil is a GIANT country in South America, bordered by Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, and Guyana Suriname. The capital of Brazil is Brasilia, but a very famous and important city is Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is very bright and vibrant. It is filled with many different cultures, and many tourists go especially during seasons of Carnival, where many of the citizens dress up in colorful and beautiful costumes, and there is a great parade held in the center of Rio de Janeiro. Another very important factor of Brazil, is their “samba” dancing, similar to how the Spanish have “salsa” dancing.

Shiv: Brazil is greatly known for its soccer, and its famous soccer players. Going from past famous soccer players, like Pele, and Garrincha, to presently famous players, such as Vini Jr., and Neymar Jr. The most famous soccer stadium is in Rio de Janeiro, and it is called, “Maracana Stadium”.

Brazil also has many amazing and beautiful beaches. There are nice beaches in Maceio, Natal, Cabo Frio, Buzios, and Trancoso.
There is a large part of the Amazon Rainforest that is in Brazil.
In Cuiaba there is much culture and history
Foz du Iguazu (iguazu falls) border both argentina and brazil
Sao Luis has very pretty scenery and culture and architecture.
Jalapao is an oasis in brazil-beautiful

Annie:Now here are some fun facts!

It is the biggest part of the Japan community outside of Japan.
They have a record of 5 world cup wins.
60% of the Amazon rainforest is part of Brazil
They produce vast amounts of coffee

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Shiv: And even though Brazil has some beautiful scenery and exciting sights, there's also a TON of amazing foods and restaurants that you can find there. They use a ton of different flavours and put their soul into their cooking, and now Annie's going to talk about all these amazing foods you can find in Brazil!

Annie: to start, lets talk about some of the savory dishes you can find ALL OVER Brazil, like,

Feijoada: a rich, hearty stew of black beans and various cuts of salted, smoked, and fresh pork and beef

Moqueca: a flavorful Coxinha: A teardrop-shaped, deep-fried croquette filled with shredded chicken and cream cheese, shaped like a tiny drumstick

Brazilian seafood stew:, traditionally made with fish, shellfish, coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, and palm oil

Acarajé: Deep-fried bean fritters (from African roots) stuffed with shrimp, vatapá, and salad, a famous street food in Bahia

And Churascho, which is Brazilian barbecue, and includes Picanha, a prized, flavorful cut of beef from the rump cap (top sirloin) known for its triangular shape and signature thick fat cap

Annie: And now onto some tasty, sweet options, like

Brigadeiro: A rich, fudgy chocolate fudge ball rolled in sprinkles

Beijinho: "Little kiss" sweets made from condensed milk, coconut, and butter, often topped with a clove

Paçoca: A melt-in-your-mouth sweet made from ground peanuts, sugar, and cassava flour

Mousse de Maracujá: A popular, tangy passion fruit mousse

Quindim: A vibrant, golden dessert of baked egg yolks, sugar, and grated coconut

Annie: And finally, some snacks! Which are,

Pão de Queijo: Chewy, gluten-free cheese bread balls made with tapioca flour

Pamonha: A sweet or savory paste of fresh corn wrapped in corn husks and boiled

Annie: And now, restaurants!

The first restaurant we will be talking about is A Figueira Rubaiyat. There is a giant tree in the middle of the restaurant for decoration. It offers a luxury vibe and the food is made from locally sourced ingredients. If you want a table under the fig tree, it is recommended that you call ahead to get a table.9pm is often the busiest time.

Monday-Thursday: 12PM - 11PM

Friday-Saturday: 12PM-12AM or 1AM

Sunday: 12PM-11PM

Menu:

Starters/sides:

Tapioca Bites with pepper jelly

Appetizer Filet with Chimichurri.

Codfish Fritters

Rice dishes

WIld mushroom Risotto

Main Meals: High quality grilled meats like Picanha and Baby Beef

Fresh Sea food like fish, octopus, and shrimp

Brazilian-inspired dishes like pupunha palm heart

Dessert:

Chocolate Lava Cake

Tropical Meringue

Dulce de Leche pancake

There is also an extensive wine menu, mocktails, and and sodas

Shiv: And the second restaurant is Oteque, a two star michelin restaurant, which is located in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro. They are open 5 days of the week, beside monday and sunday, from 7 to 11

Menu: They serve a tasting menu and there are vegetarian and vegan options available. They are mostly known for their fish and seafood dishes and their style of dishes are often minimalist and focus on the elegant texture and simple presentation.

Here are some of their most popular dishes that they recommend.

Langoustine with kale, shio kombu, and sherry
Oyster with brazil nut milk, green apple, and tucupi sauce
Raw scallops with fish mayonnaise and pine nuts
Monkfish with burrata and broccoli
Foie gras boudin (blood sausage)
Grilled octopus with tomatoes
Chocolate and dehydrated pear ice cream

Cece: Fun fact time!! Did you guys know that trying new food and the art of cooking and tasting food is called gastronomy. So maybe, your guy’s name for listening to our podcast could be gastronominios! Get it? Because you guys listen to us like how the minions in the movie listen to Gru

Anne and shiv: OHHHHH hahhaha i get itttt

WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK

AND WE ARE BACK

Segment 3: Experiences

Annie: Brazil has many fun experiences and many that you need to try. These experiences range from tours, to hikes, and food tasting trips around the city. Now Cece will tell you all about some of these experiences!

Cece:

Rio De Janeiro has many fascinating sites. Some of these include visiting Christ the Redeemer which is on top of a mountain. Visiting Sugar Loaf mountain, you can take a cable car to the top of the mountain and take in the amazing views from the top. Tijuca National Park, which is an urban rain forest that you are able to walk around and it offers a great hike. There are also many incredible and beautiful beaches with clear waters and beautiful views that we totally recommend going to. As well as these, there is also a lot of old architecture and ruins like the Museum of Tomorrow and the Maracana stadium that offer great educational learning while also being fun.
There are also the Iguazu falls that are breathtaking and beautiful to walk around or take a boat tour around.
The Eat Rio Food Tour is a highly rated day and night time food tour that captures traditional flavors and tropical style through food.
The Amazon rainforest is by far the most well known rainforest. You can journey into this rainforest by yourself or with a tour guide in a group or just you. You can learn about the various types of wildlife and creatures that the first has to offer.
Brazil also has many islands that you can visit, like the island of Fernando de Noronha. There are different foods that you can taste and places you can walk around and look at.

Ending

Cece: As you can see, Brazil is a very exciting place when it comes to food. It is pretty clear why we wanted to talk about it today. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Arriving in Argentina

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Annie: What’s up guys? Welcome to the eighth episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be talking about the different foods that you can find in Argentina, and where they can be found. Let's get started!

Segment 1: Different Regions and landscapes.

Cece: Argentina has many different landscapes like mountains, as well as different regions. Let's get into some of these different areas!

Shiv: Argentina which is soooo beautiful, is split into 4 different regions, which are the andes, The north, the pampas, and Patagonia

Shiv: The Andes are the western mountains, and the highest mountain range outside of Asia. These mountains look absolutely ANGELIC! They are extremely pointy and imperfect, but that is what makes them so beautiful. The highest peak in the Andes mountains is Mount Anaconda which reaches a height of 22,831 feet or 6,959 meters. Insane!

Shiv:the north, This region is extremely rustic and breathtaking, there are a lot of colorful mountains and salt flats that connect to deep indigenous roots. The scenery has a lot of vibrant natural colors like shades of yellow, orange, brown, and greens.

Shiv: The pampas are known for their rich soil and fertile land that is amazing for agriculture. There is a TON of open land in this region, and like the other regions it's super elegant and has a lot of natural tones like brown and green. This land also serves as the Southwest’s “bread basket” for cattle wheat.

Shiv: And lastly Patagonia, which is easily the MOST breathtaking out of all of these regions as it is surrounded by beautiful trees and icy mountains. The overall climate is really cold, but very suitable for tourism because of its magical scenery and crystal clear lake. Fun fact, the jacket brand Patagonia was inspired by the mystical south american landscape, I actually have my own blue-teal Patagonia jacket at home! And my dad is basically obsessed with them because they have a lot of high-quality jackets for lower prices than most popular jacket brands.

Shiv: There are also beautiful waterfalls, and rainforests all over Argentina, like

Iguazu Falls: A spectacular waterfall system on the border with Brazil, a major natural wonder ,and Misiones Province: Known for its tropical rainforests, waterfalls, and historic Jesuit missions

Shiv:

There are also other less known regions like Northwest (Cuyo): Arid, Andean landscapes, perfect for wine-making, the Lake District (Bariloche): Alpine scenery with lakes, forests, and snow-capped mountains, resembling a Swiss landscape, and Atlantic Coast: Home to wildlife havens like Península Valdés

Overall, Argentina is FILLED to the brim with lots of amazing wildlife and scenery and definitely in my top 10

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Shiv: Getting into some of these delicious foods! Argentina has many foods, snacks, and sweets to offer. These foods range from vegetables, meat, and lots of cheese.

Annie: Some popular savory dishes are

Asado: The quintessential Argentine barbecue, featuring various grilled meats (steak, ribs, sausage).
Empanadas: Baked or fried pastries filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables, with regional variations.
Milanesa: Breaded meat cutlets (beef or chicken), often served with fries or mashed potatoes, sometimes "a la Napolitana" (with ham, cheese, tomato).
Choripán: A simple, popular street food of grilled chorizo sausage in bread.
Provoleta: Grilled provolone cheese, often seasoned and served as an appetizer.
Pizza & Fainá: A strong Italian influence means pizza (often with lots of cheese) and a chickpea flatbread called fainá are very popular, especially in Buenos Aires.
Locro: A hearty corn and meat stew, especially popular in colder months.

Now moving onto Snacks and Sides!

Chimichurri: A zesty sauce of parsley, garlic, oregano, and vinegar, essential for grilled meats.
Salsa Criolla: A fresh relish of diced peppers, onions, and tomatoes.
Picada: A platter of cured meats, cheeses, olives, and spreads.

Now lastly, sweets!

Dulce de Leche: A rich caramel-like milk confection used in everything from ice cream to pastries.
Alfajores: Sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate or meringue.
Medialunas: Flaky, sweet crescent-shaped pastries, similar to croissants.
Mate: The national caffeinated herbal infusion, a deeply ingrained social ritual.
Fernet and Coke: A popular bitter liqueur mixed with soda.

Talk about our favorite foods - Shiv start

Cece: Andddd now, what you have all been waiting for!! The great, the amazing, the all-waited for, the RESTAURANTS! Argentina is known for its delicious, awesome, and fantabulistic restaurants, that we will 100% be looking right at, asap! VAMONOS!:

-Okie-dokie so the first restaurant we are going to be talking about is the Elena Restaurant.. So yes, like the name “Elena”. Why is this restaurant so great? Well, it is beautiful inside, having an almost ambient atmosphere, being a little light-dimmed, aesthetic, and luxurious. It is a South American restaurant, and it is at the Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires. They have many unique and diverse foods, here are their specialty dishes: I have also been here as a little child young-yin.

-Dry aged T-Bone meat steak (they are big on meats and steaks and beef)

-They also love their charcuterie plates-for those who don’t know, charcuterie plates are wooden plates that are usually appetizers, filled with ham, cheese, sometimes olives, nuts, and more salty snacks. On their charcuterie plate, they have Camembert, (a cheese), Aged cheddar, Kobe Bresaola, and Duck Breasts. I LOVE CHARCUTERIE BOARDS!!

(THOUGHTSSS!!)

Bone in Angus Ribeye-another type of meat
Dry aged Milanesa-a type of meat- with toppings: egg that is fried, mustard, and potatoes with truffle.
They also have a curry-lemon-ricotta lamb-sounds so good
Desert: they have a really cool, and appetizing dessert, called Chocolate Almendro, and it is basically a chocolate and whisky ice cream chocolate cream and sponge cake with almond praline-it looks so good!
Almond praline is a crunchy, creamy, and delicious almond covered in caramel.
Then there is another desert called: The Balcarce of Buenos Aires, which is Dulce de leche, Roasted lemon ice cream with chestnuts, and meringe, and cream
Also another dessert called Apple Sidron, which has a cloud of apple and olives, with cream cheese and cider.
These all sound good to me! So exotic too-things that you normally wouldn’t find here in New Jersey! What do you guys think? But, it is also quite expensive too!
(thoughts)

Fogon Asado:

Also quite expensive, it also has South American foods, and it includes:
Starters/firsts: ember-roasted eggplant
Provoleta cheese
Molleja-Sweetbreads of animal pancreas
Morcilla-Pork blood, seasonings, and pig fats.
Chorizo-Pork sausage
Meats: Slow braised Asado meat
Pork Flank Steak
Ribeye meat
Additionals: Yellow chili sauces
Lime and cilantro salad
Pine cone smoked flat iron-meats cooked with pine cone oils.
Creamy cauliflower puree-potatoes and cauliflower mashed together.
Flame roasted corn
Grilled vegetables
Desert:
Pancake with Dulce de Leche

I also went to a restaurant when I was little in Argentina that is called Jardin Japones, which is like a Japanese Garden, and you could eat at their restaurant, and it was so beautiful I still get memories and deja vu hehe.

Don Julio Parrilla is going to be our last restaurant that we will be talking about. It is also known for its South American food, and its amazing meats. Let's get started:
Mollejas-sweetbreads
Ojo de Bife Bife-meats
Flan with Dulce de Leche and Cream
Asado de Tira meats
Morcilla meats
Papas Fritas(French Fries)
Panqueque Dulce de Leche pancake/crepe
Bife Ancho meats
Provoleta de Cabra cheese
Empanadas de Cortesía
Dulce de Leite and chocolate
Thoughts~

Segment 3: Experiances

Annie: Now lastly, here are some fascinating, and cool experiences to do when you go! Take it away Cece!

Cece: Thanks Annie! There are many exciting things to do in Argentina, but we will be sharing our top 10!

You can go to Patagonia, the very end of Argentina, very cold, penguins, glaciers, whales. I went here
Iguazu falls-very amazing and cool waterfalls to experience
Perito Moreno Glacier I went here
There are national parks, such as Parque Nacional Talampaya
Many museums such as Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo
(Decorative Arts)
Planetario Galileo Galileo planetarium
Parque Nacional Los Alerces
Puerto Madryn
Casino Buenos Aires
Teatro Colon

(Thoughts)

These are some of the best experiences to do in Argentina! Thanks for tuning in!

Ending

Annie: As you can see, Argentina is a very exciting place when it comes to food. It is pretty clear why we wanted to talk about it today. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Downloading Dubai

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

MORE ENERGYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shiv: What’s up guys? Welcome to the FIFTH episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be talking about the amazing, unique, and diverse foods that you can find in Dubai, and where they can be found, as well as the experiences too! Let's get started!

Segment 1: Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi

Cece: There is a main difference between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both on the coast of the UAE or United Air Emirates. Let's get into some of the differences between the two places. Start us off Annie!

Annie: Thanks Cece! Dubai is more fast paced and modern structured. It is more focused on shopping, entertainment, and still busy and exciting at night. There is a main spot in Dubai that is designed for shopping and entertainment. This area is by the Burj Kalifia, which is famous for being the tallest freestanding building in the world. You can go inside of it and there is an elevator that takes you to the top. From there you can go to a viewing deck at the top and look over the city. This tall tower took a duration of 6 years to complete.

Abu Dhabi on the other hand is more traditional and quieter with less tourists, but people still go through to look around. People tend to call it more religious. The key feature of Abu Dhabi is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is a key religious place in Abu Dhabi. It is created with white, marble material and has many columns. It is beautiful and I highly recommend going there and viewing it. There is also a Louvre, like the one in Paris in Abu Dhabi, which is a museum. The Jumeirah Burj Al Arab is a giant, sail shaped hotel on its own island. It is quite expensive, but definitely a fantastic investment. Abu Dhabi is a more culturally based place and offers a more traditional culture and visit. I highly recommend visiting one of these, if not both of these places.

Annie: Now, stay tuned to hear about some popular foods, because you will not want to miss this.

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Annie: And we are back! There are many delicious foods, sweets, and snacks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Many authentic to the county, and even some that you might already know of! Like McDonalds! Which is very clean and very good by the way. Some popular flavors in Dubai are cinnamon and cardamom. The flavors in Abu Dhabi are saffron, cardamom, turmeric, and thyme. Now Shiv, bring us more into these cuisines.

Shiv: Thank you Annie, When most people think of Dubai you think of Dubai chocolate, but there are many other foods too! So let's get into it!

In Dubai some popular foods are

Khuzi - Roast lamb served with rice, nuts,and raisins - is often considered the national dish of United Air Emirates.
Machboos - Spiced rice with meat
Harees - Meat stew with vegetables over pieces on Emirati bread
Jasheed - Minced shark and seasonings

Lots of street food too like

Shawarma - meat put into a flatbread with other fillings
Falafel - Deep fried balls made with ground chickpeas.
Sambusa - popular savory pastry, made with meat or vegetables

Some popular breads and breakfasts are

Chebab - Emiati pancakes served with cheese or date syrup
Rehah - thin crepe like bread
Khammeer - Flatbread that resembles a burger bun

Some desserts are

Balaleat - sweet and savory dish of noodles with sugar and seasonings
Luqaimat - Sweet-deep fried dumplings that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Mamoul - A type of cookie often filled with dates or nuts

Talk about favorite food from Dubai

There are also many popular foods in Abu Dhabi

Some popular foods are

Khuzi - It's the national dish that features a whole roast lamb served over spiced rice with nuts and raisins.
Machbous - A mixed rice dish with spices, meat, and vegetables.
Madrooba - A hearty thick dish made with salted fish and spices
Ghozi - A lamb dish that is paired with stuffed rice, eggs, and nuts

Popular street foods and snacks

Shawarma - Marinated meat, wrapped in flatbread with garlic sauce and date syrup
Luqaimat - sweet golden fried dumplings that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Breakfast

Balaeet - A unique breakfast dish of sweet noodles seasoned with rose water and saffron topped with a salty omelet
Harees - A thick, porridge like dish made from wheat and meat that is slow cooked for hours

As you can see, there are many of the same foods between the two places. Some of them we did not include because they were the same. But there is some variety from what you just heard.

Talk about favorite food - cece starts

Segment 3: Experiances

Shiv: There are many awesome, fascinating, and one-of-a-kind experiences that you can have in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There are desert experiences, unique foods to try, car shows, water-activities, and more.

Cece: I have been to both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and I went to so many super cool and fascinating places, as well as interesting experiences that I have been through as well. Here are some:

Desert Experiences: You can experience the Dubai deserts, by going on a quad in the desert, with guides, and other people.
You can go sand-boarding, “snow boarding in the sand dunes”
Camel riding, where you can follow a trail in the desert with a camel.
Experiencing the unique foods that Dubai has to offer in the restaurants in these touristic trips to the deserts.
Car shows and franchises
There are many car places for car lovers to experience a bunch of fascinating and cool cars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, and Porsche.
There was a slo an experience where you go on inflatables/ inflatable cars on the water but I didn’t go on these ones, because I didn’t have enough time sadly 🙁
There are many mosques and churches that you can visit too, very unique and amazing experiences.
The airport in abu dhabi, you can check it out-its so pretty, unique, and amazing, built sort of like a but and is just a beautiful sight too see
There is a major stadium in Abu Dhabi, lights up purple at night.
Yas marina circuit- major grand prixs are held for formula one and at night you can bike through the track, or walk through as well. There are pieces of rubber from burnt tires from past formula one cars that went by-also sometimes small pieces of car too-unique experience.
There is Warner Bros world and Ferrari world
There are mosques every like one mile
Even McDonalds is unique, with everything being written in Arab,
Dubai Mall to visit-so many stores
Like Annie said, the Burj Khalifa is a landmark of Dubai, you can go visit it through a super fast elevator that brings you to one of the last floors of the buildings-it has 163 floors. It is very expensive, however it is worth the investment.

Talk about favorite experiences

Ending

Shiv: As you can see, Dubai and Abu Dhabi is a very exciting place when it comes to food. AND 100000 PERCENT IN OUR TOP TEN!!! *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Frolicking through France

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Shiv: What’s up guys? Welcome to the SEVENTH episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie :), Cece :), and Shiv :). DREAM GUEST…NOAAAAA In this episode, we're going to be talking about the amazing, unique, and fascinating foods that you can find in FRANCE, and where they can be found. Let's get started!

*Noa include anything you want in between lines! Just give us a little wave or hand and we'll stop talking, and let you include whatever you want! :)) *

Segment 1: Coastal vs. Central…Plus Monaco!!

Shiv: France is a very large, and touristic country. It can go from Le Cannes, which is near the coastal region of France, to your favourite, PaRiSSSSsss (say in French Accent)! Stretching from these vast regions of land, there are millions of diverse cultures, traditions, beautiful language, things to do, and you guessed it, FOOD!!

Annie: Let's start with Le Cannes. It is a super-DUPER-TROUPER touristic and amazing part of France. It is located near The Bay of Cannes, and it is where many French citizens and tourists from all over the world go to see the beautiful French sea. It is found in the Southern, very tip of France, at the very end. It is very close to Monaco, which is its own little country, located in France.

Short Story break: Cece: I want to live there so bad!! I love Monaco. I’ve never been, but I hear it is such a beautiful, and extraordinary place. I would really want to visit Monte Carlo, which is a very famous, fancy, and unique port-like city in Monaco, where all the celebrities are-F1 drivers, soccer players, singers, and more….It’s basically like the Hollywood or Las Vegas of Europe! Anyways-it sure is next on my list of things to do! But Alas, let’s get back into France!!

--------Shiv and Annie add in thoughts if they would like

Annie: Haha, thanks for sharing Cece. As I was saying, Le Cannes is also near an island called, Iles De Lerin, located just underneath Le Cannes, as well as Le Cannes is near Antibes, and Cap D’Antibes, a resort town, known for its vintage-ness and luxury! But what else makes Le Cannes so special? Well, Its INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, OF COURSEE!!!!!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

In 2026, it will be Le Cannes: 79th edition of the international film festival! WOO!!!!! It is known as a market for those professionals in the film-industry, and it showcases many different movie genres, such as blockbusters and movies in general! Many of these movies are international, and can even be from here, in New Jersey!

----Shiv and Cece maybe add in some thoughts

Annie: Paris is the capital of France, and home of the all-famous Eiffel Tower! Paris gets over a million tourists each year, and houses some of the best experiences as well as foods, that we shall most definitely talk about! Paris is a very large city, located in the center of France, near Versailles, andddd DISNEYLAND PARIS….

Cece: WHATTTT!!! DISNEY???

Shiv: NOOOOO!!! I WANNA GOOOO!!!

Annie: Yup! You heard that right, DISNEY IN PARIS!!-Could it get any better?????

Cece: Wait!!! Story time!!!

I remember now! Well, I used to live in France, a little outside Paris, in a place called Croazi. But keep in mind, this was like when I was two or three hahaha! As I was looking through photos from when I was little, I saw pictures of me when I was in Disneyland, and turns out, it was in PARIS! Quite the deja vu, am I right??

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Annie: France has a very large variety of really delicious foods. Many of these dishes have a very high end and luxurious taste that embodies the beauty of France, and today, we are going to tell you about some of the most popular dishes, snacks, and sweets in France, and also some of our favorites. Now Cece is going to take it away!

Cece: Some super popular dishes in France are :

--Pissaladiere-onion tart, topped with anchovies, or small fish.

----Tourte au blette-Local pie, with Swiss chard.

----Duck like Foigras

-Onion Soup

Bœuf Bourguignon: A rich stew of beef braised in red wine

Ratatouille: A stewed vegetable dish with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers(talk about this, make connections)

Steak Frites: Steak served with French fries

Escargots: Snails, usually prepared with garlic butter and served in their shells

Cece: There are also a lot of other things to try in France, like their famous pastries and sweets like:

Crêpes: Thin pancakes that can be sweet or savory

Crème brûlée: A dessert with a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar

Macarons: Small, sweet meringue-based confections (Shiv talks about making macarons, Cece and Annie add on)

Tarte Tatin: An upside-down tarte with caramelized apples baked into the pastry

Croissant: A buttery, flaky pastry

Cece: Besides all the more formal and fancy dishes you can find in France, there are also a LOT of yummy snacks, some of which are:

(Sweet snacks)

Madeleines: Small, sponge-like cakes with a distinctive shell shape(Shiv talks about making and eating them, Annie and Cece add on)

Chouquettes: Small, hollow choux pastry puffs often topped with sugar

Pain aux raisins: A spiral-shaped pastry with raisins and custard

Baguette with Nutella: A common after-school snack, especially for children

And for savory snacks, some really good options are,:

Croque Monsieur/Madame-Grilled ham and cheese sandwich

Baguette with Cheese

Tapenade: An olive-based spread from Provence, often served with bread or as a dip

Saucisson: A dry-cured sausage that is often sliced and served as part of an apéro (pre-dinner snack)

All add in thoughts and Opinions/ talk about fav foods from france - especially NOA

Cece: I think after all of this talk of food, I’m going to have a bite of some cheese….

Shiv: Haha, you go cece, im not blaming you- all this talk of food is making me want to try to make this stuff at home!

Annie: Ill catch up with you guys a little later! Gotta go finish my minion drawings!

Who thinks I should add Vector?

Cece: OOOOh SNAPPP!! Got some GeOmeTry Brains Over HerE!! HahHa Ha

Shiv: Yesss!! According to google, a vector is, “a quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another.”

Annie: Yup! You heard it folks! Prepping for my 4.1-4.3 quiz on vectors, transformations, and translations!

Noa: Okay guys, you go ahead! I am going to do some weightlifting

Cece: ANYWHO

Annie, SHiv, Cece, and NOAAA: SEE YOU GUYS IN A JIFFY!! 🙂

Annie, SHiv, Cece, and NOAAA: AND WE ARE BACK!! 🙂

Segment 3: Experiences

Noa: Along with amazing foods in France, there are also truly one-in-a lifetime experiences to experience in France! France is such a beautiful and unique country, so when you go, you don't just want to experience the food-you want to experience all that France has to offer!

Shiv: Let’s start with the top three best things to do in Paris!

Eiffel Tower: it costs $16.50 per person, and it is located in the center of Paris.
It has a 4.7 review on Google-it is beautiful to visit, especially in the summer.
It is close to the Arc de Triomphe, and the Basilisque du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre.
It is a lattice and metal tower, where you can climb, and see the amazing view from. It is also near a really pretty park, leading up to the tower.
The Louvre: it is a very fancy and cool museum of art. It's a triangular-shaped building made almost entirely of glass, and it’s also the home of the very renowned and famous painting, The Mona Lisa
It is $25.55 per person, and it has a review of 4.7 review.
It is very beautiful, and home to the best artworks in the world
At night it lights up and is very pretty.
Arc de Triomphe:
It costs about $18.59 per person.
It has a review of 4.7, meaning it is very good.
It is located in a roundabout in street PI. Charles de Gaulle.
A very unique and valued monument.

Ending

Shiv: As you can see, France is a very fun and colorful place for food and travel, and it has so many unique and cool experiences to do! Thank you so much for coming Noa and thank you for listening to this episode of food away from home and we’ll see you next week!

Music Credits:

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Ponduring about Portugal

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

MORE ENERGY!!!!!!!

Annie: What’s up guys? Welcome to the SIXTH episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be pondering about the best foods to try in Portugal, where they can be found, and experiences as well! Let's get started!

Segment 1: Restaurants

Annie: There are many delicious restaurants in Portugal.

Cece: Story Time:

When I arrived at the Lisbon airport at 4 am in the morning, from Italy, it was super lively, and crowded. The restaurants there were SOO GOOD! I mean, even in an airport, they were just excellent. The stores were amazing, and I just really enjoyed my time there, even if it was just at an airport.

Cece: There is a restaurant called The Belcanto, which is in Lisbon.

So far, it opens at 12:30-3pm, 7pm-10 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, and then it closes Sunday and Monday.

Majorly, the price per person is 50 euros, which would be around 60 dollars.

There are reservations required, they have vegetarian options, and serve great cocktails

They have a lot of fish for their main dishes, such as sea bass, grilled hake or cod, and seafood rice.

They also have nice desserts, such as apple and rhubarb pie, chocolate and caramel desserts, sweet eggs and citrus, mandarin.

Shiv annie and cece talk about the desserts for a minute

Cece: GARRETT!!!!!!

It is a bar in Estoril, Portugal. It has all sorts of smoothies, sweets, pastries, and drinks.

Also I have lived in Portugal, when I was two years old we moved there from Italy. I do not remember it that well, but when we went to Lisbon a couple years ago we went back to see our old

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Annie they are so many good and amazing popular foods and sweets,,,,

Shiv: There are many foods in Portugal. Everything in Portugal is so aromatic and flavorful so here are

Some popular savory dishes we heard of or liked

Bacalhau: Cece add details, annie and shiv add on
- Salted cod which is considered the national food.
Grilled Sardines- fresh sardines that are grilled and often served with bread, usually during summer festivals
Francesinha: a decadent sandwich from Porto that has layers of meat, cheese, and a special spicy sauce
Bifana: a simple sandwich of marinated pork cutlets in a roll, which is also very popular
And arroz de marisco: a flavorful rice dish simmered with a variety of seafood
But, not to be confused with Caril de Gambas-Cece add details, Shiv and Annie add on which is a shrimp curry on top of rice-very, very good, my mom makes it all the time, and it is super spicy.

Besides all these tasty, savory dishes, Portugal also has a variety of yummy snacks and sweets

Some of those delicious sweets would be

Pastel de Nata,: Cece add details, shiv and annie add on
a famous egg custard tart with a flaky crust.
Arroz Doce, which is a sweet rice pudding made with rice, milk, sugar, and cinnamon, often decorated with cinnamon patterns.
And Pão de Ló, a simple sponge cake made with eggs, sugar, and flour, with a long history in Portuguese baking

Portugal has a lot of options when it comes to snacks, there are a LOT of sweet and savory snacks so here are just few

Pão de Deus: A sweet bun topped with coconut and a sweet custard
Bola de Berlim: A traditional doughnut, often filled with a sweet custard cream and coated in powdered sugar
Rissóis: Fried pastries filled with ingredients like shrimp or meat.
And Bifana: A sandwich with marinated pork, often served on a soft roll.

Talk about our favorite foods/snacks

Segment 3: Experiances

Shiv: Portugal is a country in Europe, located in the South. It is part of the Iberian Peninsula, next to Spain. It is on the Atlantic Ocean, which influenced its many cultures and traditions, as well as foods and trade throughout history. The flag is dark green and dark red, having green represent hope for Portugal’s future and fate, and red being the blood of those who died for their country. The symbol on the flag of Portugal, represents its Age of Exploration and maritime travel and trade. All in all, Portugal is an amazing, and beautiful country that needs to be visited.

-- There are so many unique, fun, and amazing experiences you can do in Portugal. From its awesome beaches, interesting as well as fascinating castles, super good food, and amazing things to explore and experience. Lets get into some of the best things to do in Portugal:

Annie and cece

There are many wonderful resorts that you can visit in Portugal to make your experience even better.
I have been to Villa Bicuda and it was such a great experience. Not only are the people super nice, putting the whole environment together is amazing. The villas, or small little town houses, were beautiful, even though they were small, they were very modern, and cute, as well as there was room cleaning every day, making it just a perfect experience. They had pools, which were neatly and nicely kept, as well as the lawns and everything was just gorgeous. The villa I stayed at had a balcony, and so I would always go there to do homework, or just relax, which was really nice. It also has many accessible things, such as a kitchen that has everything you need, great A.C, cute bathrooms, and nice rooms.
The beaches in Portugal are amazing. Wherever you go, there is just a huge, and vast, ocean that meets your eyes-the only problem is the water can be a little cold, because since Portugal is located right on the Iberian peninsula, on the Atlantic ocean, strong winds as well as harsh rip currents are very popular on the beaches of Portugal-however that is why it is such a great place to surf in! Wherever you go for beaches, you can always see surfers in the waves, doing amazing tricks. Being located where it is, Portugal can get many sharks, making it a little dangerous, but the sharks always stay far from the shores, so don't worry 🙂!!!!
Portugal is known for its ports! Everywhere in Portugal, there are ports filled with sailboats, yachts, and little motorboats. It is such a beautiful sight to see, even if it is just walking on a boardwalk near a port.
There are also casinos in Portugal. As I was walking with my family in Estoril, I saw a casino.
Monument to the Discoveries-Lisbon, Portugal very pretty, top-view, great experience also known as Padrao dos Descobrimentos.
Belem Tower in Lisbon, beautiful monument, very cool experience.
Sanctuary of Christ the King is a statue, similar to the one in Rio, Christ the Redeemer-very pretty
Lisbon Aquarium-very big, pretty, and amazing.
Carmo Convent building in Lisbon, very nice, educational.
Pena Palace, very cool and colorful castle
Nazare-biggest waves in the world very nice views
The Alcobaca church building is very nice.

Ending

Annie: As you can see, Portugal is a SUPER AMAZING, COOL, and FASCINATING place when it comes to food, as well as 100% when it comes to experiences! I think we've made it clear why you should visit this place. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Entering Italy

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Introduction:

Annie: What’s up guys? Welcome back to our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we will be exploring the variety of popular foods and sweets from Italian cultures, as well as the differences between the Northern and Southern parts of Italy. Now we'll hand this off to Cece.

Segment 1: North vs. Southern Italy

Cece: Thank you Annie! Being Italian, born in Rome, I can tell you that Italy is a place not-to-be missed. Italy is a bright, unique, and amazing place, with many different cultures, and traditions, making it special, and different from other parts of the world. In this segment, we will be talking about the Northern parts of Italy, versus the Southern parts of Italy, and what makes them similar and different. Now, we will hand this off to Shiv:

Shiv: In Northern Italy, the foods vary more from pasta, meats and fish, as well as more heavy, and filling dishes, due to the cold climate.
They use a lot of butter, cream, and cheese. Fun fact, “cheese” in Italian is called “Formaggio”.
They also use a lot of grains, such as rice and corn. These ingredients help with forming “Polenta”, a potato and grain dish with red sauce toppings, very good, and “Risotto”, a bowl of rice with any choice of fillings.
Lots of herbs are used as well, going from rosemary to basil, and thyme as well.
They are used to add more flavor to the dishes, and make them more aromatic and fragrant.
Northern places in Italy can include the mountainside, “Alpi” or “Dolomite”, which are very important and touristic mountain ranges in Italy. Some mountain ranges and Northern places in Italy also are very close to Austria, making the people there bilingual and cross-cultural, due to how they are both Austrian and Italian. Meran and Tyrol, are one of these places
Cece’s been to Meran, and personally, it is one of her favorite places to visit when going to the Northern part of Italy.
It is part Austrian and Italian, so you see people that speak Austrian and Italian as well as English.
It consists of certain meats called “Wiener Scnitzel”, which is a breaded, as well as fried, veal cutlets, which is meat from younger calves of cows. It is very good, and perfect for a winter-weather meal.
There is also a pasta meal called “Spaetzle”, which is a type of pasta with shorter, and smaller pieces of pasta dough making it up, and it goes very well with plain and sausages, spinach filled spaetzle with small pieces of bacon or ham, and also with plain spaetzle with small pieces of fresh caught salmon. Spaetzle are known for going with plain ingredients, and would not go very well with red sauce. Spaetzle are Cece’s favorite pasta meals when going to the Northern parts of Italy.
In the Northern areas there are more focuses on meats, such as cows, calves, lamb, rabbit, pig, and sheep.
When going to Italy, and when it comes to having a nice filling meal on a cold day, you should definitely take a trip to Northern Italy, and visit Meran or Tyrol.
Then there is the countryside, like Umbria and Peruggia, where Cece’s grandpa is from (Todi). The countryside can be found anywhere in Italy, and they also have many amazing foods.
Having many sorts of “farm or tavern” aspects and restaurants, they serve a lot of meats like lamb, sheep, cows, calves, rabbits, and chicken.
They also are experts in pasta, and have a specialty of “Pasta al Tartufo” which is plain pasta with some cream and truffle, and it is very very good, perfect for both a delicious lunch as well as dinner.
Finally there is the South of Italy, where it is warmer, and typically more tropical.
You can go to some islands off the coast of Italy, such as Capri, which would serve you a lot of very good fish, as well as pasta.
You can also go very South to Sicily, which is the closest region of Italy to Africa, it is very hot, and it has a lot of fish, pasta, and gelato options for food. Cece has been to Sicily, and describes it as one of the best places she has ever been to. It is beautiful; the scenery of the beaches and the transparent-turquoise waters, the good food, the nice people, the cool language and accents, and the weather.
There is also Sardegna which is very famous for its amazing beaches, weather scenery as well as its very good food.
Calabria also has very good scenery and food, beautiful waters and beaches as well.
In the South, the foods are also highly “packed” and filling, even though the temperatures are warmer.
They focus more on fish instead of meat, due to the fact that they are more coastal.
However there is always a great deal of pasta.
There is also a lot of gelato and pastries.
The people are very lively-more than in the North.
The language and accents are thicker and different than those of Rome.
Cece has visited more of the Northern areas than the South, and prefers the Northern food more.
There is also the center of Italy, where Rome, or Lazio, is, and it has a great deal of everything; pasta, gelato, pastries, meats, fish, and vegetables as well. And pizza.
Being from Rome, cece has had the most food from Rome, especially at her grandmas house 🙂 😀
Cece jumps in: Yes my grandmother is town-wide known for her famous “Pomodori con il riso” which are stuffed tomatoes with rice and then surrounding grilled vegetables, and “Gnocchi al sugo”, which are small little circular pieces of dough for pasta with red sauce made from scratch at home. She takes pride in her meals and always tries to teach me when I come over……..it does not end well haha 👍

Segment 2: Popular foods

Shiv: There are many delicious foods in Italy. Pasta and pizza are commonly eaten foods in Italy. In this segment of popular foods, we will be talking about the popular foods in Italy and where you might be able to locate some of these cuisines. Cece, take it away.

Cece talks about popular foods - Thanks Shiv

Capoboi - restaurant- seafood and pasta - popular foods: sea bass, zucchini flowers, and lots of fresh fish.
Sicilily- great street food, arancini- rice with fillings like sugo, with red sauce, or others, and the rice is then fried for a solid background-very good,
Sorrento- fish, mozzarella, and pizza.
Locanda Grutti- good pasta and prosciutto (ham) as well as meats.from Umbria, Italian countryside
Locanda Il Cavaliere good hand made pasta and meat, from Umbria.
Le Streghe, meaning the witches, from tyrol, which have home made pasta, meats, fish, and more. Have austrian half italian
Cacciani-roman cuisine, pasta, and meats
Locanda delle Grazie: roman, meats, pasta, fish.
Now onto Annie

Segment 3: Sweets

Annie: Thanks Cece! There are many delicious sweets in Italy, ranging from ice cream/gelato, pastries, tiramisu, and many more. Italy is known for sweet treats. Now Cece will finish our podcast off.

Annie talks about sweets

Cornetti- Italian croissants, sweeter, and a pastry, good for breakfast, not for salty things
Triramisu-coffee based dessert with tiramisu cookies and cream filling
Meringue-Meringue- egg whites and sugar whipped into meringue, you bake it at a low temperature, and it gets hard on the outside, and soft on the inside.
Cannoli- fried outside but sweet, cream cheese filling, and chocolate chips inside or pistachio-truly good.
Panna cotta-sweet white cream with usually fruit (especially strawberries) with chocolate drizzle.
Gelato- sweet, and delicious Italian “ice cream”, where the cream is softer, and fluffier.
Maritozzi con la panna and Maritozzi con il gelato- pastry with sweet cream filling, or the same pastry with gelato filling.

Ending: Annie: In the end, Italy is a very interesting and cultural country with many unique and fascinating food and desert options, and most definitely part of our top ten choices, that you have to visit! *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to Food Away from Home today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits:

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Jamming in Japan

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:30:00 -0500

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Food Away from Home (World Tour)

Episode Title: Jammin in Japan

Cece: What’s up guys? Welcome to the fourth episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be talking about the different foods that you can find in Japan, and where they can be found. Let's get started!

Segment 1: City vs. countryside: Tokyo and Kyoto

Shiv: Japan is a large country-island-that is located in the South Pacific Ocean. It has many geographic locations that vary from cities, countrysides, and mountains, such as Mount Fuji. In these widespread and vast areas, there are many different cultures and traditions, as well as amazing foods, that need to be tried out.

Annie: We can start with Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Tokyo is a very populated and touristic city, with many different experiences and places to visit-but lets get into the food!

Annie: In Tokyo, the foods include many.

-Sushi, which is a ball of rice underneath a piece of freshly picked, raw fish, such as salmon, and tuna.

-Sashimi, which is just pieces of freshly picked, raw fish.

-Maki, which is your classic rice roll with seaweed to contain the rice and a piece of raw fish on top.

Cece-I have been to Japan, and I found it such as amazing, and cultural place. There were so many things that were unique, and different from the U.S, and it had very beautiful scenery. I spent about a week in Tokyo, and can tell you that the foods are so good, and need to be tried!

Cece-What I especially liked about the foods were the Shabu Shabu japanese dishes.

- Shabu Shabu are restaurants where there are hot pot dishes and you can cook your own thinly cut meat, tofu, as well as vegetables, inside of this “broth” like soup.

“Shabu Shabu” is a literary term for “swish”, because of the swishing sound that the meat makes when it is cooked. They usually use Wagyu beef, which is very prestigious and important to the Japanese culture.
I found these so interesting and diverse, and I loved the taste of the finishing product!

Shiv: Another popular and interesting food in Tokyo is ramen. Ramen is a bowl of broth, or soup, with noodles, either crispy or rice noodles, in the broth, with vegetables, tofu, and oteh==her ingredients for a perfect finishing product!

Cece: When I went to Tokyo, I visited this one restaurant, where you could choose the ingredients you wanted in your ramen, simply buy taking a grocery basket, and "shopping around” for fresh ingredients around the store. Then, you would pay for the ingredients, and give them to the chefs, who would make you the ramen using the ingredients you chose. They could also add spice levels, and toppings for you as well. This was so good, and a unique experience!

Shiv says what her favorite is - Annie and Cece build off of that

Cece: Now, take it away Annie

Segment 2: Popular foods and Sweets/Snacks

Annie: There are many delicious foods in Japan. Many that you might eat! There are many snacks as well. There are different foods in Tokyo and Kyoto, like what we described in India, but they are all still delicious. Shiv will start us off with some of these cuisines.

Shiv: Thanks Annie!

Some of the popular foods in Tokyo Japan are many that you might have heard of!

Raman - Noodle soups with rich broth and toppings. Great for anytime of the year.
Sushi - Rolls of rice, veggies, and fish/meat and dipped in soy sauce, wasabi, and/or ginger. There are both meat rolls as well as vegetarian rolls.
Tempura is deep fried fish or veggies and has a crunchy outer layer.
Yakitori is skewered grilled chicken
Tonkatsu is A breaded and deep fried pork cutlet
Monjayaki is a runny, savory pancake cooked on the griddle
Takoyaki is ball shaped snacks with deep fried octopus.

Some of the popular sweet snacks are

Tokyo banana, which is a sponge cat outer layer with a soft banana inside. Even if you are not a fan of banana’s, this is something everyone can love.
Pocky are bread sticks with hardened chocolate around it.
Japan also has many flavors of kit kats

These are just a few of the popular Tokyo snacks

There are also many savory snacks

Umaibo - puffed corn snack - many flavors
Senbei - rice crackers that come in many flavors as well.

You might have thought that with all of these sweet snacks, Tokyo doesn’t have as many desserts, but you would be mistaken.

Dango - Dumplings with a sweet soy glaze
There are many gelatin like sweets as well

Now onto the other part of Japan - Kyoto

Some popular foods are

Yudofu - Simmered tofu, served with dipping sauces
Nishin Soba - A noodles dish with sweetened, simmered herring
Tsukemono - Variety of Japanese pickles

Some popular snacks are

Mitarashi Dango - Skewered rice dumplings coated in a sweet and savory soy glaze.
Dorayaki - Pancakes filled with anki and modern variations like matcha cream or custard

Soma savory snacks include

Senbei - Japanese rice crackers that can be rather sweet or savory
Yuba - Tofu skin that can be a snack or used for various dishes

Some popular deserts include

Matcha roll cake- popular in many kyoto cafes, very internet famous, a soft cake that's usually cream filled
Ajari mochi- a type of mochi with a red bean paste; kyoto specialty

Cece: My dad goes to Japan often and some of his favorite restaurants to go to are…

Ristoranti

Sushizanmae

Informal sushi place open from 11am to 5am, great food, great quality fair price, sushi menus and singles

Shabusen

For the lovers of meat this shabu shabu and sukiyaki place seats everyone at the counter and has excellent service and food, at the 8th floor of a department store

Hibiki

Classic Japanese menu, elegant, with vegetarian options, named after the famous Japanese whiskey

Zauo

Multiple locations in Tokyo, we tried the Shibuya. Great choice and attraction is you fish your own fishes in the big pools located inside the restaurant. Fish can be prepared as you wish (sushi, sashimi, tempura, soup) Great for families with kids

Ichiran

Classic Tonkatsu Ramen, nice jingle, great food, each has his own cubicle where waiter leave food raising a sliding door. High quality, multiple locations around town, can get crowded at peak hours

Before end, everyone talks about favorite dish and from where, Annie starts

Segment 3: Experiances

Cece: There are many unique, fascinating, and diverse experiences that you can have in Japan. Many can not only be free, but can include even taking a trip to a grocery store or pharmacy in Japan.

-When I went to Japan, the grocery stores were one of a kind. EVerything was written in Japanese, so I couldnt understand a single word. The foods were interesting, and they included many fruits that I never saw in the U.S, as well as many vegetable that I didn't see either. Their snack collection was huge, and all the snacks looked very appetizing, I wanted to try all of them!

Experiences-

Cat cafe- act cafes are very popular in urvan areas like Tokyo, there are close to 150 cafes nationwide, many areas in japan do not allow pets so this is a way for people to interact with them since they cant keep them in their houses, and these are popular tourist spots

Shiv: Yes! The pharmacies in Japan are so much different than the rest of the world! They are known for having many different items, such as multiple skincare brands, and everyday used materials. Their pharmacies are packed, and have many, many things inside.

Cece: a lot of popular brands, like shisedo, have beauty stores in Japan, that have a variety of beauty products you might not find in america

Annie: The people in Japan are amazing. You can always see people greeting you when you go into restaurants or stores, and saying goodbye when you leave. Fun fact, good

Ending

Cece: As you can see, Japan is a very exciting place when it comes to food. It is pretty clear why we wanted to talk about it today. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits: List the artist and song name

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

Into India

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Food Away From Home (World Tour)

Episode Title: Into India

Introduction

Shiv: What’s up guys? Welcome back to our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we will be exploring the variety of popular foods and sweets from Indian cultures. Now we'll hand this off to Annie.

Segment 1: South vs. North India, the difference

Annie: Thanks Shiv! India is a very large and amazing country, where there are so many different cultures and traditions, as well as foods, that can be split into two portions; Northern India, and Southern India, having many differences as well as similarities that are important and impactful to the country. Today, we're going to be talking about the differences between South and North India, and its many unique and cool foods that you can find when you go! And now, we'll have Cece take it away!

Cece talks about -

Thank you Annie

In Northern India, the cuisine is more heavily based on wheat, dairy, and stronger flavors.
There are many spices like cumin, coriander, and turmeric.
The flavor profile of North India is Dairy, ghee, which is like butter, and aromatics, which are ginger, garlic, and onion. These help enhance the flavor base of many dishes.
In Southern India, there are more fresh aromatics like curry leaves and spicy chili peppers.
There is a lot more spiciness and heat as well as savory flavors.
They use many of the same spices as Northern India.

Segment 2: Traditional indian sweets

Cece: So, there are truly many fascinating and interesting, as well as really good, Indian sweets that need to be tried when you take your next visit to India. Mithai, or Indian sweets, can include many different and authentic recipes with unique flavors and ingredients in each. Now onto Shiv

Shiv talks about different sweets

Thanks Cece! So,...

There are many popular sweets in Northern India like gulab jamon,a soft cake- like oval shaped ball drowned in sweet sugar syrup Jalbei, a crispy fried dough with sugar syrup, Kulfi, a dense frozen desert, similar to ice cream, as well as many more delicious cuisines.
Some popular deserts in Southern India might be Mysore Pak, a rich ghee based desert, paysam, a sweet rice pudding dish, and param purri,a sweet banana that is fried in a flour batter
There are many delicious deserts in India no matter what part you go to.

Segment 3: Popular foods

Shiv: Some of the most popular foods from India are biryani, curry, and dosa. Indian dishes are made with a variety of spices and ingredients that cause the flavors to explode in your mouth. . And now Annie will finish this off.

Annie talks about popular foods

Thanks Shiv!

Biryani is a rice based dish that is traditionally made with rice, seafood, meat, or vegetarian, with many different spices. My personal favorite is the meat dish, but they are all very good. It is one of the most popular dishes.
Curry is a soup-like base, with sauce and many add-ins like meat and vegetables. It is often served with rice or a flatbread or naan for dunking.
Dosa is a thin savory crepe/pancake that is made from a batter of fermented rice and black lentils.The texture is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. There are many popular add-ins like spiced potato or an onion mixture. Dosa is often served with a black lentil soup and various types of chutneys. Dosa can be either a light snack, breakfast, or main meal.

Ending

Shiv: In the end, India is a very cultural and diverse country with many different delicious food and sweet options, and definitely in our top 10. *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to Food Away from Home today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits:

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

New York, New York

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Episode Title: New York, New York

Introduction

Cece: What’s up guys? Welcome to the first episode of our podcast, “Food Away From Home (World Tour)”, with your hosts Annie, Cece, and Shiv. In this episode, we're going to be talking about the different foods that you can find in New York City, and where they can be found.

Segment 1: New York, New York (City)

Shiv: There are many good places to eat in New York City. There are many different cultures, places, and styles of food. New York is what you could call a melting pot of different foods and people. It can be very overwhelming at times, but we are here to help you narrow down your choices and give you some ideas on where we like to eat.

Cece talks about restaurants:
Mediterranean: “Il Trapezino”, “Eataly”,
Il Trapezino is a European-italian-based restaurant, where you can find these triangular shaped bread pieces, with a choice of fillings that are like plain with cheese and pepper, “cacio e pepper”, red sauce, like “polpetta e sugo”, and more, leaving you with a warm tasting dish for your day. It can be found at the lower east side, orchard street.
Eataly is a restaurant-market-store based food court, where you can find a variety of foods to eat, as well as you can shop for many European-Italian foods. It can be found at Flat Iron, NYC, and Liberty street, and Lafayette street.
Asian: “Pecking Duck House”
The Peking Duck House is an Asian style restaurant, where they serve you soups, rice, pad thais, and then crepe-like bread that you can put vegetables like small celery sticks, and onions in, with sliced grilled-glazed duck pieces as well. Then you can fold the bread with the ingredients into a burrito, and add soy sauce for a final finish. It can be found in Chinatown, New York City.

Segment 2: Street food in New York City

Cece: Moving onto our next segment, we will be talking about street food in New York City. A lot of food and popular tourist attractions in New York food wise is street food. You see it in so many movies and shows, people grabbing a hot pretzel on a cold day, or snagging a chili hot dog. There are so many different types of street food and varying cultures. Street food is a great option to resort to to eat something on the go or if you can’t find a fitting restaurant around.

Annie talks about street food like smoothies, pretzels, etc
I am sure that no matter if you have been to New York or not, you have heard about street food. If you haven't it is exactly how it sounds. Food on the street. There are many different carts, there are many blue carts and some trucks thrown in and other carts. These carts have food from pretzels, to Indian, to ice cream. If you want something, chances are these carts have it. Some of the toppings that you can put onto your hot dog could be yellow mustard, an onion sauce, but the most popular topping is sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage. Toppings for a pretzel could include salt, obviously, along with a yellow mustard, which is very good.

Segment 3: Bakeries and Deserts around town

Annie: Craving a sweet treat? Then you have come to the right place! In our last segment we will be talking about where you are able to satisfy those cravings. There are many different options for sweet treats in New York as well as many different cultures in New York. We will be talking about some of our favorites

Shiv talks about:
Serendipity - Upper East side - Frozen hot chocolate - iconic - Serendipity has a very whimsical atmosphere and calming environment. Some of their food options are French Toast, Fried Chicken Sandwich, and a variety of sandwiches and burritos. Did you know that Selena Gomez has ownership of this restaurant!?
"Tous les jours"- can be found throughout the state of New York, from Flushing, Brooklyn, Korea town. There are many spots of "Tous les jours" around town. Serves fresh baked goods, coffee, pastries, and cakes. Their menu is a fusion of French techniques and Asian flavors and ingredients. They are best known for their quality and their flavor choices.
"Saint Ambroise"- many locations where this is found. Found in many hotels and there are also larger restaurants under the same company name of "Saint Ambroise" - egg and avocado dishes, a variety of "panini" and Italian ingredients, with sides like bacon and roasted potatoes.They also offer different wines, coffee, and pastries.

Ending

Cece: As you can see, New York is a very vibrant place when it comes to food and definitely one of our favorites! *Pause* Thank you so much for listening to “Food Away from Home” today and

All: We will see you guys next week!

Music Credits:

Intro - Cruise control - Patrick Patrikios
Outro - Invisible - Anno Domini Beats
Transitions - Stalling - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena

Connect with us on Social Media

@theHVSPN

The Beginning of Food Away From Home (World Tour)

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This podcast will be about food from around the world and traveling to different countries throughout the world. We will talk about different countries that we have been to. Then, we will talk about the ratings of the foods, restaurants, and scenarios of “What If” would also be incorporated into our podcast, to see the different scenarios that could happen if things changed in different countries. We are mostly going to talk about different foods globally.

We can describe the food that we have eaten and experienced in foreign countries, or nearby places. When describing the food, we can talk about rating the food, and the ratings of the places that we can get the food from. The “What If” scenarios could consist of things like, “What if Italy’s most known food wasn’t pasta or pizza, but it was mac and cheese and burgers? Would that change the overall tourism in the country, or the health of its citizens?”. So, this could also be an idea to make the podcast have an additional twist to it.