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Describe a kind of foreign food you like and you have had: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What the dish is?
  • Where you tried it?
  • What ingredients or taste you enjoyed?
  • And explain why you like it.
Show all 182 answers

Cue 1:What the dish is?

  • Begin by naming the foreign dish you enjoy and give a brief description of it.
  • Mention any unique features of the dish that make it stand out.

Example

One foreign dish that I absolutely love is sushi. It's a traditional Japanese dish that consists of vinegared rice paired with various ingredients, including seafood, vegetables, and sometimes tropical fruits.

Cue 2:Where you tried it?

  • Describe the location where you first tried this dish, whether it was a restaurant, a friend's house, or during a trip.
  • Share any memorable experiences related to that place.

Example

I first tried sushi at a popular Japanese restaurant in my city called 'Sushi House'. I went there with my friends to celebrate my birthday, and the ambiance was vibrant and welcoming, which made the experience even more enjoyable.

Cue 3:What ingredients or taste you enjoyed?

  • Talk about the specific ingredients that you liked in the dish.
  • Describe the flavors and textures that made the dish appealing to you.

Example

What I enjoyed most about sushi were the fresh ingredients, especially the salmon and avocado. The combination of the soft, sticky rice with the creamy avocado and the rich flavor of the salmon created a delightful taste that was both refreshing and satisfying.

Cue 4:And explain why you like it.

  • Explain your personal connection to the dish and why it holds significance for you.
  • Mention any cultural aspects or health benefits that contribute to your preference.

Example

I like sushi not only for its delicious taste but also because it represents a healthy eating option. It’s light yet filling, and I appreciate the artistry involved in making it. Additionally, trying sushi has opened my eyes to Japanese culture, which I find fascinating.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, sushi is more than just a meal for me; it’s an experience that combines flavor, culture, and health. I look forward to trying different varieties of sushi in the future and exploring more of what Japanese cuisine has to offer.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Being Too Vague

    Candidates often provide unclear or general answers without specific details about the dish. This can make the response less engaging and informative.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the dish, such as its name, ingredients, and unique flavors to create a vivid picture.

    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Some candidates fail to address all the cues provided, which can lead to incomplete answers and lower scores.

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    Tip

    Make sure to cover all the cues: what the dish is, where you tried it, what you enjoyed, and why you like it.

    Lack of Personal Connection

    Responses that lack personal anecdotes or feelings can seem flat and uninteresting, making it hard for the examiner to connect.

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    Tip

    Share a personal story or memory related to the dish to make your answer more relatable and engaging.

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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

    Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

    Answer

    I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.
    Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

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    Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

    Answer

    The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.
    Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

    Answer

    As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.
    Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

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    Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

    Answer

    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
    Describe a book you recently read
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

    Answer

    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 7

    For my 18th birthday, I decided to try out a new restaurant which I had heard things about. What immediately caught my attention was the theme. It was basically on a car culture which I absolutely love. As I stepped into the restaurant, I knew I had made the right choice. The tables were shaped like car hoods and I saw a unique section where they displayed two of the most classic cars. I can vividly remember one of them was a 1969 Cadillac and I was already blown away before the food even arrived. Then I ordered an Italian dish from a restaurant which was called Risotto al Funghi. It was a creamy mixed risotto that was cooked with herbs and parmesan. I had never tasted like it before. The flavors were rich, mouthwateringly good. So I am usually picky when choosing up the cuisines that I haven't tried but this one has completely won me over. And it was so delectable that I savored off every bite and I even recommended it to my friend and she said it is the best advice I have ever given her.

    Band 7

    Recently I have discovered a new Burmese dish which is called Khao Sui. I really feel comfort in every bite of the dish. The thing which soothes me most is the coconut milk being used in the dish. It's kind of a ramen wherein you have a coconut milk broth with noodles and vegetables. They give you condiments on the side wherein you have fried onions, peanuts, chilli sauce and fried noodles. You according to your taste can put any amount and whatever condiment you like to add in your dish.

    Band 7

    The foreign dish that I have tried and I would really recommend fellow travellers to try as well would be mango sticky rice. This is a dish local to the country of Thailand, just look in the southern Asian part of the continent. The dish consists of primarily mango, rice and coconut, these are the three key ingredients. The reason why I tried this dish was because I was hankering for something sweet. This is a dish that is very commonly found in most of the stalls around Thailand. I tried this dish in my last trip to Thailand in December 2024, which was last year. When I took the first bite of the dish, I was bewildered because I was expecting the dish to be not to be sweet at all, however the dish had a subtle sweetness and had a subtle hint of coconut without being too overpowering. I was mesmerized by the flavours blending really well and the best part is that it's quite affordable, so without breaking the bank or without costing an arm and a leg, you can try this dish. It's even easy to replicate this dish at your homes as when I came back from the trip, I did give it a try by cooking this dish for my family and when they had their first bites they said that this dish reminded them of their time in Thailand as well. So this is a dish that every tourist must try when they visit this country, the country of elephants.

    Band 7

    The dish that I really found interesting was the Nasi Lemak I tried last year in my trip to Mumbai. I visited a Malaysian restaurant where I ate authentic Malaysian Nasi Lemak and it was fantabulous. The blend of spices and the aroma it had really gave an umami punch and it was quite a new experience for my palate. It did not cause any sort of palate exhaustion that many spice intense food would cause. But rather it was like really really enjoyable and comforting rather than just a bunch of spices thrown together. It had a smooth blend of soft and sticky rice along with a tender chicken and a beautiful sweet and spicy sauce. Talking about which I really think that it's quite an interesting dish because it has crispy chicken which is tender from inside, a sticky rice bowl and a sauce that blends in so well that it soothes your palate and the aroma it has is truly unbelievable.

    Band 7

    I really like Arrabbiata pasta that is an Italian dish that I tried. I had this dish at a shop called Little Italy located in Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. I really loved the flavor. It was very tasty and it had bold flavors but it wasn't completely cheesy or too bland which usually Italian food tastes like. What I really loved about this dish is the fact that the flavor of tomato, oregano and cheese worked really well together and cheese did not off-put the flavor of oregano and the herbs such as oregano and thyme really brought out and highlighted the tomato. It really worked because the pasta was able to absorb all of the flavor instead of just rejecting it or having it on top. So the sauce component really worked well. The pasta was very interesting because it was in the shape of a butterfly. It's called as Farfalla pasta and I really enjoyed having it. Pasta has different kinds of shapes which I adore a lot and it was very tasty.

    Band 7

    One kind of foreign food I really enjoy is Japanese Sushi. It's a traditional dish from Japan that mainly consists of vinegared rice, raw or cooked seafood and sometimes vegetables, all rolled in swelled seaweed or served in small bite-sized portions. The first time I tried sushi was at a Japanese restaurant in Machite and I was a bit nervous because I had never eaten raw fish before but to my surprise, it tasted fresh, light and very flavorful. Now, I especially enjoy salmon nigiri and tuna rolls. I also love how sushi is usually served with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger which add extra layers of taste. What I like most about sushi is that it's healthy, beautifully presented and doesn't feel too heavy. It's also very different from the food I usually eat which makes it feel special and exciting. Whenever I want to try something refreshing and different, sushi is my go-to foreign food. Thank you!

    Band 7

    I love tasting new food and in doing so I discovered an amazing dish, Sushi, here in from the country of Japan. I knew the moment this dish touched my tongue that I would never be able to stop myself from engaging in this delicacy in the future. Sushi is made of rice that is rolled with raw fish and some vegetables or fruits like avocado in the middle, which is a more modern approach I would say, and this is enjoyed with a sauce known as Wasabi, which is a very spicy sauce made from the roots of a certain plant, of the Wasabi plant as far as I can recollect. Sushi is very bland I would say, but has this amazing delicious umami flavor that just bounces off your tongue and goes right to your heart. This dish has surprised me. I tried it the first time at a Sushi corner in Bangalore and since then I've never been able to get myself to stop eating Sushi whenever I had the opportunity. A lot of people hate Sushi because it's raw fish, which is understandable. I'm not a big fan of seafood either, but something about the meat in that delicacy gets me uncontrollably drooling for more. So if there's one food that I would eat for the rest of my life, it would be Sushi.

    Band 7

    Now I have diehard cravings for a good slice of Neapolitan pizza, especially one from the streets of Rome. Roman pizzas just taste so good to me that I just go in a state of bliss when I have even a single bite of those pizzas. I tried them in the valleys of Zermatt in Switzerland, surprisingly in Switzerland and not in Italy. But I would also love to have it on bustling cities of Rome or Milan. The ingredients which caught my eye out of all of them were mainly the semolina flour used in making the dough because usually pizzas are made with refined wheat flour which is not very good for health. While semolina flour, let's just say it's gluten free and does not disrupt your digestive system, I enjoyed it taste a lot. I just felt like living there and having a slice of pizza every single day for the rest of my life. The taste of these sauces was just so mind-blowing and fantabulous that it has stayed on my tongue for so long. I liked it specifically because I am in love with Italian food or just love it.

    Band 7

    Being an Indian, a foreign dish that I really enjoyed having and which I think was really delicious is tacos. So the first time I tried tacos was at a fast food restaurant called Chipotle in Ohio in the US. So tacos are my favorite foreign dish as they are spicy and tangy and full of flavors. They consist of a variety of ingredients like brown beans, black beans, rice, various types of sauces and sautéed and thinly sliced veggies along with the rich avocado. So all this together forms a really protein rich, spicy and fulfilling meal. I had this dish when I was pretty young. I was about 8 years old when I tried tacos for the first time in my life. We had stopped in a rest stop when we were traveling to a different city and that's where we came across Chipotle.

    Band 7

    Actually, one kind of foreign food I really enjoy is sushi, a popular Japanese dish. I first tried it at a Japanese restaurant in my city, which serves a variety of ethnic dishes. Sushi is made with vinegared rice and often includes raw or cooked seafood, vegetables and seaweed. What I enjoyed most was the freshness of the ingredients and the unique combinations of flavors, especially the soft texture of the fish, the slight sweetness of the rice and the saltiness of the soy sauce. I also like dipping in a wasabi for a bit of spice. I like sushi because it's healthy, light and different from the usual food I eat. It also introduced me to a new culture and made me curious to try more international cuisines.
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