I was aboard a TGV on my way from Paris to Frankfurt to visit a friend. The weather was rainy and cold. Not long after the train crossed the German border, two guys came up and sat on the 2 seats next to me. They both pulled out a cold sandwich from a sack and started eating. I thought to myself "How can they eat that when it's so cold outside?" Then it all of a sudden dawned upon me that in many cold northern European countries they tend to eat cold food during their meals. When I visited a friend in Denmark, for dinner we would buy rye bread, cheese, ham, and cold meat spreads to put on the bread. Nothing hot was involved. And March in Denmark was still very very cold! In Germany too, everywhere I see people eat cold sandwiches, the only hot item they seem to have were sausages. And during the winter months of France, the boulangeries at lunch time always has a long line of people waiting to buy sandwiches. Sandwiches that have been put in the fridge. Oh and add a cold drink to that please!
Are Americans the only ones to ask for our bread to be toasted? So that it's nice and hot? So that the cheese and butter can melt nicely on top?
All I want on a cold, windy and rainy day like today is a big bowl of hot noodles and soup, or even better hot pot! Or just something to spice up my coldness here in Paris!!!
Which brings me to my next ironic observation. People in hot countries tend to eat hot food. Even on hot mornings in Taiwan, you can still see people at noodles stands slurping up a bowl of hot noodle soup. At other breakfast stops, food are still cooked warm, such as egg pancakes, hot sandwiches, etc. so we rarely eat anything cold for breakfast, with the exception of maybe soymilk (even that comes hot!) Spicy hot pot is a favorite during the summer, I don't know why, but maybe we like to sweat even more so than we already do in the hot and humid conditions of Taiwan.
When I visited Cambodia for a few days, hot rice noodles in soup was the typical breakfast staple. Same thing in Malaysia, even their afternoon snacks involved a hot bun and hot tea. And no, AC was not available, duh!
I mean are people in cold countries so adpated to the cold weather that they 're more cold-blooded (literally) than the rest? Anyways, all I know is that the last thing I want to eat on a day like today when it's wet, cold, and humid is something less than 90 degrees!
Oh and of course these are some generalizations, and does not apply to every country or region.
bon appetit!
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