Welcome! I created All About the Num Num with one simple goal: to share the places I've found that serve food that actually tastes good.
I am just a regular person, not a chef or a professional foodie, just someone who loves to travel and whose joy in life is to eat. I am often asked by friends for lists of restaurants for them to try when they are travelling so I would create different documents or send them a long list on WhatsApp and it got a bit tedious so I decided the best thing to do is put them all on a site I can share with everyone.
I do not get paid to try restaurants or to endorse any. This was really born out of a need to help friends eat well while travelling.
When I was young I saw The Party (1968), directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers. In the film, Sellers plays a clumsy actor named Hrundi V. Bakshi who gets accidentally invited to a lavish Hollywood party. While at the party, Bakshi wanders around a large mansion in LA where the party is being held and finds a proportionately large bird cage.
Inside the cage is a big parrot, so he looks around, finds a dish of bird food with the words “Birdie Num Num” on it, and proceeds to feed the bird while saying “Birdie Num Num” over and over again. What he doesn't realise is that he's switched on the mansion's intercom, and the entire party can hear him booming through the loudspeakers. I’ve always found this funny and it’s what came to mind when I was arriving at a name for my Instagram account and this site.
Why a cat? Simple: I love cats and cats are discerning eaters. Just like me, if they don’t like their food, and typically it might be for random or very specific reasons, they simply won’t eat.
I've realised that the most hyped restaurant in a city, the one that's all over Instagram, or famous for being the latest, most innovative hotspot, isn't always the one that delivers the best meal.
Whether it's a hole-in-the-wall, a market stall or a cosy local bistro, if it's on this site it's because the food is tasty and worth your time.
I enjoy restaurants where the food is honestly good and the ingredients are of excellent quality. Food needs to be cooked the right way, so not overly cooked pasta or meats for example. Dishes need to be flavourful and simple.
You'll notice that every photo on this site was taken by me. I'm certainly not a professional photographer, but I wanted to keep everything real — these are snapshots of meals I actually ate and enjoyed.
Occasionally you'll find a cat holding a camera instead. That means the photos are on their way or I was in such a rush to eat I forgot to take photos.
295 restaurants 49 cities 22 countries
Have a look by city, or browse everything at once.
Consider this your no-nonsense guide to dining well, city by city. Just good food, shared honestly.
Thank you for stopping by. If you have feedback, a correction, or somewhere you think I should try, email me at hello@allaboutthenumnum.com.
