What People Eat for Lunch Around the World
When workers and children around the world sit down to eat lunch, many open a lunchbox and dig in with chopsticks, forks and knives, a spoon, or their hands. Others reach for quick and easy meals on the go.
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While lunchtime has traditionally been a leisurely affair in many parts of the world, more and more people are not sitting down for a lengthy midday meal on a regular basis. Instead, many have turned to fast food and instant lunches, though there are still pockets of the world where eating a home-cooked meal, whether packed and eaten at work or consumed at home, is still a time-honored tradition.
The Daily Meal has eaten its fair share of lunches at restaurants, storefronts, train stations, airports, and homes around the world.
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From elaborate edible art carefully placed in colorful, plastic bento boxes in Japan to a comforting bowl of fiery ema datshi in Bhutan to crispy fish and chips in the U.K., these lunches from around the world are sure to inspire noontime lunch cravings.
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Check out these lunches from around the world (along with recipes to inspire your next packed lunch) and then tell us in the comments section what you like to pack for lunch. Re-pin your favorite packed lunches on The Daily Meal's Travel Pinterest board.
Bocadillo de Tortilla de Patata (Spain) (pictured above)
Cafés and tapas bars across Spain serve bocadillos, or sandwiches served on crusty and airy Spanish bread that is similar to a French baguette. There are many varieties of bocadillos, including bocadillo de tortilla de patata and bocadillo de jamón. The tortilla de patata features a thick egg omelette stuffed with potatoes that is fried in olive oil, and the bocadillo de jamón is stuffed with serrano ham and manchego cheese, a firm cheese made from sheep's milk.
Bento Box (Japan)
While bento box lunches are often seen on menus at Japanese restaurants worldwide, traditional bento boxes are served in disposable, compartmentalized boxes or in plastic or lacquer square or rectangular containers. Some are wrapped in cloth, which acts not only as a bag but also as a placemat. While Japanese restaurants in the U.S. have bento lunches that can include white rice, teriyaki meat, and sushi, or tempura, vegetables, a California roll, soup, and salad served in a compartmentalized tray, traditional bento boxes served at restaurants and train stations in Japan are simple, small lunches featuring white rice, meat or fish like broiled salmon, and one or more pickled vegetables.
Bento boxes are also often prepared at home, and making one's own bento is a high art in Japan. Some bento boxes have stackable compartments and feature cartoon characters like Hello Kitty. Elaborately made bento boxes, in which the food is arranged to look like Japanese cartoon characters, are known as kyaraben, and many parents in Japan spend hours creating edible art for their children or themselves to enjoy at lunchtime.
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Cemita (Mexico)
Hailing from Puebla, Mexico, the cemita is a sandwich stacked high with layers of avocado, meat, panela (a white, smooth, bland cheese), pickled onions, and salsa, all sandwiched between a fluffy sesame-seed egg roll. The meat inside cemitas varies from beef milanesa (pounded, breaded, and fried beef) to pickled pig skin or carnitas. Street vendors, markets, and restaurants serve the popular sandwich.
Broodje (Netherlands)
Broodje are sandwiches, which have been a mainstay at lunch in the Netherlands. There's even an annual contest for the Tastiest Sandwich of the Year. In a country that consumes copious amounts of bread, sandwiches in a multitude of flavors are readily available at supermarkets, fast-food joints, and street stalls. The broodje kroket is a simple, deep-fried meat croquette sandwiched between two slices of bread, while the broodje bal is the Dutch version of a meatball sandwich. There's also the uitsmijter, an open-faced sandwich with ham, cheese, and two sunny-side up eggs, but variations on this meat, cheese, and egg combination exist, and are often served at lunch but also at breakfast and as a late-night snack.
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Dosirak (Korea)
Dosirak are packed lunches served in plastic or wooden containers with or without compartments. Though dosirak are usually homemade, some restaurants serve them, appealing to those feeling nostalgic for their youth. Dosirak contain hot or cold meals like meat, vegetables, rice, and other side items like gochujang (a fermented, red chile condiment), dried seaweed, and egg, which are crammed together and sometimes shaken prior to eating to equally distribute the contents.
Click here to see What the Rest of the World Eats for Lunch
-Lauren Mack, The Daily Meal
