World’s strangest movie theater snacks

[Friday The 13th]

Forget popcorn — try these authentic treats from around the globe

Kick back at an open-air screening or in a movie theater Bajan-style by ordering the local answer to nachos: some salty deep-fried fish balls made from fresh-caught flying fish. And forget a drink — in Barbados, it’s washed down with a bottle of the local tipple, thirst-quenching Banks beer.

Art collector Odetta Medich left her home country of Lithuania to live in Sydney, but she still remembers fondly the unusual snacks and beverages she enjoyed at the movies in the onetime Soviet territory—especially a traditional beerlike drink called kvas.

“We used to buy it outside the cinema from a lady dressed in a white doctor’s coat, serving it from a large rusting cylinder drum with a little tap at the side,” she recalls.

Americans may not drink much beer at the movies like the Lithuanians—at least, legally—but snacking is, undeniably, a central part of cinema-going in the United States, as well as abroad.

And while popcorn may be popular in movie theaters worldwide, there are still traditionalist holdouts in every country, where unusual local treats are still offered at the concession counter.

“You have to order something to eat—it’s a required part of the movie experience,” says Charles Runnette, editorial director of entertainment hub Movieline.com (and occasional T+L contributor).

For travelers, a trip to a subtitled movie in a foreign land is a great way to soak up some culture—and get a taste of what the locals like to munch on while taking in the country’s latest action, comedy, or chick flick. Palates vary widely across the globe, so movie snacking is bound to be an adventure.

In Japan, for example, a country that practically invented quirky comestibles, the movie snacks of choice are baked fish skeletons coated with soy and sugar. South Koreans adore fishy snacks as well, but they also go mad for roasted chestnuts. And in Moscow, VIP theater patrons indulge in—what else—beluga caviar.