A World of Fat

'So,' you might be wondering, 'how do all the nations of the world get enough fat in their diet?' Lucky for you, if there's one question my world trip gave me some authority to answer, it's that one.

TAIWAN
While the Taiwanese diet struck me as generally fairly healthy, the Asian/Western bakeries made sure the citizens of Taipei kept their arteries firm with treats like sausage danish bread and pastry cake.

FRANCE
Well, that's an easy one. I hadn't been in Paris an hour and I'd already had a pain au chocolat, but fat finds its way into the French diet in so many delicious ways. Aside from the obvious pastries and foie gras...

...you could eat a plate of cheese...

...or team your confit of duck with soggy chips and oil salad...

...or fry up some extra-fatty lamb chops and serve on an enormous bed of chips for good measure.

UNITED KINGDOM

The big seller in London, as far as I could tell, was fried chicken. I must admit there was one night, on my way home from dinner, when I was still feeling just a little peckish. On the walk from Shepherd's Bush Station to my B&B, I would pass at least six fried chicken stores, all with windows full of tempting pictures of glistening wings and drumsticks. The cumulative effect wears you down to the point where you just have to walk in to one of them and order something. They seemed to think I was a bit odd ordering just two pieces (without chips or gravy or any other fat supplement) but, to me, those two pieces were more than just pieces of fried chicken. There was no-one to tell me I couldn't or shouldn't have them. I didn't need them; I wanted them. Their fat was my freedom. 

Disgraceful, I know. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Some really superlative fat-work here. For a visitor, finding inexpensive healthy places to eat was not all that easy. 

It's much easier to get a burger...

...or pepperoni pizza...

...but you can go to Denny's and consume your weekly intake of fat in one meal. I wasn't game to try any of these, but I was impressed by the photos.

A cat good get pretty fat living off those leftovers...