Here's Exactly How To Eat Like A Local Around The World

"Travelers often think that Thai people use chopsticks for everything," The Food Traveler's Handbook author and Legal Nomads blogger Jodi Ettenberg tells BuzzFeed Life. "If you see chopsticks at a street stall, it just means that they're serving soup. For noodle dishes and most rice dishes, you use a fork and a spoon, and for Isaan (northern Thai food, like sticky rice and somtum papaya salad), you use your hands."

"Nam Tok Moo is a beautiful warm salad with slices of pork, toasted rice powder, fish sauce, chillies, onions and more," says Ettenberg. "It's absolutely delicious with a basket of sticky rice to mop up the last drops."

"Bread won't be served with oil and balsamic vinegar (unless the restaurant caters to Americans)," says Walton. "Also, bread is not to be eaten with pasta. It's used to 'fare la scarpetta' or 'make a little shoe', to clean the plate of sauce."

"Pasta is served before meat and vegetables, so you may receive your food before your companion if they only ordered meat dishes," Walton says. "Another pro tip: Cheese is never added to a pasta dish that includes fish."

Especially if you're eating a bowl of rice. "This is because it's the way people memorialize the dead, putting incense straight into bowls," says Ettenberg. "The same goes for passing food with your chopsticks to someone else." After cremation, remains can be passed in this way between members of the family.

"In India—and many countries of the Middle East—it's inappropriate to use your left hand for eating, especially when many meals include using bread to mop up your food," Ettenberg says. "The left hand in those countries is often associated with bathroom activities."

"It's a crab and tomato broth soup with pork and crab meatballs, steamed crab paste, tofu, noodles, and so much more," says Ettenberg.

"This hot dish involves baked eggs, tomatoes, and vegetables—and it tends to be a weekend treat," BuzzFeed UK lifestyle staff writer (who taught English and worked as an au pair in Turkey) Chelsey Pippin says. "And you always have Turkish cay tea with breakfast—coffee is less traditional in the morning."

"Salep is made from orchids and—since Turkey does not export their orchids—the drink is literally only available in the country," Pippin says. "It's very sweet, thick, and kind of like a cloudier hot chocolate."

"A French breakfast includes a pastry, a tartine (half of a baguette, slipt lengthwise with butter and jam), with orange juice and coffee," travel expert and Wonderfilled magazine editor-in-chief Kelley Engelbrecht tells BuzzFeed Life.

"Liqueurs differ from region to region in France," Engelbrecht says. "In La Rochelle—where I lived—the typical digestif is cognac." Try the local drink to get a taste of history.

"Quilos are popular buffet restaurants where you pay for the weight of your plate," says BuzzFeed staff writer and Brazilian native, Clarissa Passos.

"Pastel de feira is a deep-fried dough that's filled with cheese, vegetables, meat and many other flavors," says Passos. "You can buy them at most farmer's street markets."