General Foodie Advice if you’re Travelling to East Asia

Katie Chung
4 days ago
2 min read

Foodie advice for exploring East Asia’s best dishes, with must-try foods, insider tips, and tricks for a flavour-packed, unforgettable trip.

East Asia is a dream destination for many, thanks to its rich culture and remarkable cuisine. For travellers who may feel overwhelmed by the vast array of choices—or the occasional language barrier—this guide highlights dishes worth trying and offers practical advice to make the journey easier. Read on to plan an itinerary filled with flavour, culture, and memorable dining experiences.

Local flavors

Whether you’re traveling to Korea, Japan, or China, countries in East Asia have dishes that are unique and may push you out of your comfort zone. Here are a few that we recommend you try (and the flavor profiles that accompany them)!

Korea

Fermented kimchi: Spicy, tangy, sour, and umami-rich
Live octopus (sannakji): Chewy, slippery, with an ocean flavor

Japan

Natto (fermented soybeans): Earthy, bitter, and nutty
Raw horse meat (basashi): Slightly sweet and tender

China

Century eggs: Creamy, sulfuric, and umami
Stinky tofu: Fermented and salty

We encourage you to try some challenging dishes that push you out of your comfort zone!

Food apps

Local food apps are often much better than Google Maps or TripAdvisor, and here are our recommendations:

Japan

Tabelog: Japan’s top restaurant review and ranking platform!
Gurunavi: Look here for menus, coupons, and reviews.

Korea

MangoPlate: With high quality food photography, this is a great restaurant discovery app.
Naver Maps: Look here for real-time transit directions and to find any Korean addresses.
Papago (translation app): This is a translation app developed by Naver, optimized for Korean-English translations.

China

Dianping (Meituan): Look here for reviews, to make bookings, and to find discounts!
Pleco (translation app): This is a Chinese-English dictionary and learning app!

These will ensure that you can look for high local ratings—they know best!

Eating etiquette

Here are some eating etiquette rules to follow:

Don’t stick your chopsticks upright in rice
Slurping is okay in certain countries, as it shows that you appreciate the food and think it’s delicious!
Look into tipping culture in the countries before visiting, so that you know if you should leave a tip!
Lastly: pay attention to body language and stay open to learning more about what each culture has to offer—which you can learn a lot of through food.