My foodie travel bucket list…

While I’ve been lucky enough to see a fair few countries around the world so far, there are still plenty more that I’m keen to visit. So, when I was told about the blogger competition that Transun are running, which gives bloggers the opportunity to win a trip to see the Northern Lights, I thought it was the perfect excuse to come up with my foodie travel bucket list.

If you’re a blogger and are keen to enter, it’s simple: simply write a blog post about your top three bucket list travel destinations and explain why they’ve made your list, tweet a link to your post to @Transun using the hashtag #TransunLights, and check out the t&cs here. The competition closes at 11.59pm on Thursday, April 30th, after which date a lucky winner will be chosen…

So, without further ado (and excluding countries that I’ve already visited), here are my three bucket list travel destinations, each (as you’d expect) with a bit of a foodie slant…

1. Tokyo

I’m slightly addicted to Japanese food – and Tokyo seems like the perfect place to enjoy it. From budget street food options to Michelin-starred dining (the city has 12 three star restaurants, 53 with two stars and 161 with one star), Tokyo has it all. I’d definitely want to pay a visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market – the world’s busiest and largest fish market – with its early morning tuna auctions, and I’d follow this with some of the freshest sushi in the city at nearby Sushi Dai. Sushi for breakfast definitely appeals.

I’d want to sample the street food too. Dishes such as takoyaki (essentially balls of batter filled with chunks of octopus) and taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles filled with red bean paste) are just two of the city’s most common dishes…but I’d have to remember to stand still on the pavement and eat, as apparently it’s considered rude to eat while walking in Japan.

As for culture…well there are plenty of museums for food lovers to enjoy too. There’s a cup noodle museum and a ramen museum in nearby Yokohama, which are pretty intriguing. And back in Tokyo itself, I love the look of Kappabashi Street, a haven for foodies which sells all things food-related bar the food itself: think dishes, knives, utensils and even plastic food that you’ll see displayed in restaurant windows. I think I’d need a few weeks in the city for the food alone, let alone anything else…

2. Copenhagen

OK, so my main reason for wanting to visit Copenhagen is simple: Noma, the best restaurant in the world. I’m keen to discover the creations of René Redzepi and head chef Daniel Giusti for myself: the current menu at the two Michelin star restaurant sits at 17 courses of original and sometimes very experimental food. The menu is Nordic, but by no means the classic Nordic options that you’ll find on menus elsewhere. All curing, pickling and smoking is done in house, and you’ll be able to sample true Scandi delicacies such as musk ox from Greenland and seaweed from Iceland. This place is definitely on my bucket list.

Elsewhere in Copenhagen, there’s plenty of other great food to try. I’d probably want to visit during the city’s Copenhagen Dining Week in the winter or Copenhagen Cooking in the summer, during which a number of restaurants offer discounted meals and visitors can enjoy a range of different events – both sound right up my street.

I’d also want to visit Copenhagen’s Torvehallerne Market, with over 60 different stalls selling meat, fish, vegetables, Danish delicacies and more, as well as heading to Copenhagen Street Food on Paper Island: a dedicated street food market that opened in April 2014 and now features over 25 different food stalls and trucks serving food from across the globe. And when it comes to local food, I’d be sampling plenty of specialities such as Danish open faced sandwiches, frikadeller (meatballs) and plenty of fish and seafood.

3. San Francisco

To be completely honest, I’m one of those people to whom travelling to English-speaking countries doesn’t always appeal…languages were my forte at school and at university, and I love to learn at least a few sentences before I travel to anywhere new.

When it comes to San Fran, though, I’d make an exception, as everyone I know who’s been has told me just how great the city is in terms of its foodie credentials.

There’s the legendary Tartine Bakery in the Mission District, which is also home to a huge number of taquerias and is where the Mission burrito (as you’d guess from the name) was created. I’m keen to check out the San Fran street food scene too – the Soma StrEatfood Park and Off the Grid seem to be the places to be. If that’s not enough, there’s also the annual San Francisco Street Food Festival to enjoy in August.

There are daily farmers’ markets, and you can visit the original Ghirardelli chocolate store or the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. The Ferry Building Marketplace is crammed full of food and drink offerings, North Beach is home to Little Italy, and you can take trips out to the Napa Valley for a spot of wine tasting. What’s not to love…?

These are the three top experiences on my foodie bucket list…what are yours…?