It's over four years since we were in Tunisia but we never had a minute's bother. We ate mostly at the hotel (half board) but also ate in restaurants, cafes and beach bars. When we did the three day Sahara trip we ate in a variety of out-of-the-way places. Never once had a problem. We'd read all the stuff about not eating salad and not having ice cubes in drinks but we kinda forgot and ate the salad and sucked the ice cubes without ill effect.

Maybe we just have exceptionally resistant constitutions!

touch wood we have always been the same no ill effects from food or ice in drinks which ever country we have ben too, it will be our first time to Tunisia later this year , and really looking forward to sampling some traditional foods even tho we are staying half board .

what is a typical tunisian meal , and i know its a personal choice to recommend restaurants , we are staying in PEK and have nothing to to compare with

For many years now I've eaten in hotels, cafés, roadside stalls and private homes in Tunisia and never had a problem. Most hotels cater for the international market so the food may be rather bland however. The best kebabs I've ever had were from a roadside stall in Sfax, where a couple of sheep were tied up, another was being skinned and the kababs were from one they had prepared earlier. In that situation you just have to suspend your British susceptibilities. Tunisians are very partial to harissa, a hot chillie paste, and you will often find a dish of this served in restaurants in which to dip your bread. The bread by the way is delicious.

We never had any problems and we ate in our hotel in PEK and also in several restaurants down at the marina which were lovely and also in a few different places when out and about.
I love Couscous so I was in heaven and I also discovered something called a 'brik' which was really nice, followed by fresh Dates & Figs for dessert (hence the Thibarine I guess aslemma).

harissa, a hot chillie paste

that's what happens to your face when you eat that stuff, wow it's HOT & horrible don't go near it

Even the young children seem to like harissa and I'm beginning to get a taste for it too. I now have to brng it back for Tunisian friends who've moved to the UK and are suffering withdrawal symptoms. The brik is lovely, a sort of thin flaky pastry 'envelope' filled with meat/egg/tuna or whatever and fried.

Mmmmm sounds great to me , i hope you both realise that i am writing all these things down
so that i can try them , even tho we are half board we dont always stay in hotel to eat

And so you should Llindy! You may also like to have a look at some of the recommendations on the link below:
http://www.nomarmiteintunisia.co.uk/eatingout.htm
I always go half board, but quite often miss meals at the hotel as I'm out and about.

Llindy

One of the nicest meals (don't know the name of it) I have ever had was lamb, cooked in a sealed clay pot which then gets broken open at your table, this was amazing, I don't think the H&S police would allow that here in the UK

well done aslemma one brik http://www.nomarmiteintunisia.co.uk/atunisiandinnerparty.htm

I have been to Tunisia sixteen times now and never had an upset stomach, i have stayed in 3 different hotels and always eaten a wide variety of foods including plenty of salads and fruits, I also use ice in my drinks and brush my teeth with tap water. As well as eating in the hotels i have tried many local places and had traditional home cooked food (nicest cous cous ever). As you say geovil people tend to forget about the alcohol they have consumed, heat and other factors and just blame the food if they are ill.

Kiltman was the lamb in a pot thing you are talking about from the Jasmine Tunisian resturant in the Abou Sofiane by any chance? If it was it's called 'Lamb in a pot' lol my aunt had it a couple of years ago and loved it.

Llindy if you are going to try the harrisa the best thing is to mix it with a little olive oil so it's not just as hot, It's lovely with a bit olive oil, mayonaise and tuna and then dip your bread into each....Mmmmm. I usually end up bringing some back home with me from the supermarket in PEK.
Trying Brik is a must as well......delicious
You should also try the lovlely caramelised nuts they sell round the marina, kinda addictive though!! I buy the bigger bags from the supermarket though as I now have to bring two carrier bags home with me for people in work everytime I go to Tunisia!

Leanna xx

We're a friendly lot on there Kiltman, as we are on here. Agree with Leanna about the nuts - very addictive.

Kiltman was the lamb in a pot thing you are talking about from the Jasmine Tunisian resturant in the Abou Sofiane by any chance? If it was it's called 'Lamb in a pot' lol my aunt had it a couple of years ago and loved it.

Yes it was, had that and the brik both in the Al A Carte Jasmine at the hotel and out at a restaurant in PEK and for both items the hotels was far nicer.

Brik gets my vote, also merguez which is a small, slightly spicy lamb sausage. The icecream is good too. Lots of good patisserie and cakes although personally I find them very sweet. Warm soft boiled eggs with salt and cumin - delicous. Good fish too.

Hi Llindy,
When in PEK, try the "Mediterranean Restaurant" upstairs in the marina. We went for our silver wedding anniversary night with our son and his girlfriend. Absoulutely fab steaks !!!! Can't wait to go back (19 Aug ). Even though we are half board, on a couple of days we do lunch in the hotel instead of evening meal, and head down to the Marina for dinner. Lovely atmosphere, and the staff in the restaurant couldn't have been nicer. ENJOY.................. Love Elsa. x x x

Brik gets my vote, also merguez which is a small, slightly spicy lamb sausage.

lol I don't know about slightly spicy but the ones served in our hotel would sometimes nearly blow your head off......Have to say I do love a big plate of them though!!

On my 2nd or 3rd time in Tunisia I headed out to a resturant (novou marina in PEK) with some Tunisian friends and they couldn't believe I just ordered chicken and didn't like olives or fish and assured me they would have me eating like a Tunisian in no time........How right they were now I will now try anything when I'm on holiday and love olives, will eat any fish (even the ones cooked with head and tail still on), squid, octopus, dates and usually all things Tunisian (except the beef in some sort of blackish greenish sauce that looks a bit like cow poop not sure what it's called).

All this talk of food is making me hungry lol

The only things I really don't like are figs, dates and olives, all of which are staples of the Tunisian diet unfortunately. I always say "shwire, shwire" (just a little) when trying new things in a Tunisian home, but I don't think they understand that concept and just pile my plate up.

except the beef in some sort of blackish greenish sauce that looks a bit like cow poop not sure what it's called

. The sauce is made from henna and the name escapes me...

dorra - cant find this post about ' beef in cow poop' where is it? aslemma - i cant wait to try the harrisa, i asked before if there is an indian restaurant in PEK because i love spicy food,i usually have a vindaloo so i dont think it will be too hot for me!!

Hi bushbaby, Some of us actually did reply to your original post some time ago but you may have missed it. There doesn't seem to be one in PEK, but apart from the one which Jenny mentioned, there is another one in Sousse just past the Tour Khalef hotel. I can't remember the name of it but I'll ask a friend over the weekend. I've been there with her and her Tunisian husband but they're living in the UK with their new baby at present. Incidentally when are you going out there?

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=132053

Hi bushbabay

dorra - cant find this post about ' beef in cow poop' where is it?

You will find it about five replies above in this same post

hope this helps

leanna xx

PS. as you like spicy food make sure you try the merguez (spicy sausage) also there is a very nice grilled salad called mechoui (not sure of the correct spelling) which is also really spicy and good as a starter or light meal.