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Describe an unusual meal that you had: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When did you eat it
  • Where did you eat it?
  • With whom you had the meal?
  • Why do you think it was unusual?
Show all 18 answers

Cue 1:When did you eat it?

  • Mention the specific time or occasion when you had the meal, such as a festival or a special event.
  • Explain any significance of that time, like it being a memorable day or a celebration.

Example

I had this unusual meal during Diwali last year. It was a festive occasion, and my family always tries to make it special with unique dishes.

Cue 2:Where did you eat it?

  • Describe the location where you had the meal, whether it was at home, a restaurant, or a friend's place.
  • Include details about the ambiance or setting that made it memorable.

Example

We had the meal at my aunt's house, which was beautifully decorated with lights and flowers. The atmosphere was vibrant, filled with laughter and joy.

Cue 3:With whom you had the meal?

  • Mention the people you shared the meal with, such as family, friends, or colleagues.
  • Highlight any special relationships or dynamics that made the meal enjoyable.

Example

I shared this meal with my cousins and my grandparents. It was heartwarming to see everyone together, sharing stories and enjoying each other's company.

Cue 4:Why do you think it was unusual?

  • Explain what made the meal different from your usual dining experiences, such as unique ingredients or cooking methods.
  • Share your feelings about trying something new and how it added to the experience.

Example

The meal was unusual because my aunt prepared a fusion dish combining traditional Indian flavors with Italian pasta. It was a delightful surprise, and I loved how the spices blended with the pasta, creating a unique taste.

Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, this unusual meal not only satisfied my taste buds but also created lasting memories with my family. It reminded me of the joy of experimenting with food and the importance of sharing special moments with loved ones.

    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: Rushing Through Your Answer

    Candidates often rush their responses, leading to incomplete answers. This can make it hard for the examiner to follow your story and understand the details.

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    Tip

    Take a moment to organize your thoughts before speaking. Aim to cover each cue clearly and provide enough detail for a full picture.

    2: Neglecting Personal Experience

    Some candidates fail to connect the meal to their personal experience, making their answer less engaging. Sharing personal stories makes your response more relatable.

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    Tip

    Include personal feelings or anecdotes about the meal. Explain how it made you feel or why it stood out to you.

    Ignoring Cultural Context

    Candidates often overlook the cultural significance of the meal, which can be crucial in explaining why it was unusual. This can lead to a lack of depth in your answer.

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    Tip

    Discuss any cultural aspects related to the meal, such as traditions or ingredients that are unique. This adds richness to your response.

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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

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    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
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    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 6-7

    I, in my childhood period, I got a special biryani and which is cooked by my mother and she was a special, she was, she have some special character in the cooking skill and it was held, it was cooked in the, in my home and also she was, the food given by me as well as she served the food with love. I think that is so special for me and also for my family members. Moreover, she is also always special for me. I think that is because the meal so much special for me and later he prepared some more biryanis in chicken, beef, pork etc. but actually I don't get that first taste in following biryanis.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I recently got engaged and you know my fiancé wanted to take me to a fancy restaurant and that's when we visited a Japanese restaurant. So we had an opportunity to try, you know, most of the starters and meats. So yes, it was not just me and him. We combined, you know, it with his and my family. It was good in the beginning. But one thing which I found most unusual was the sushi and this time it's some people's most favourite thing to eat. For me, I really felt it weird because it's all raw. Uncooked meat and some ingredients in it. Not just that, there was a soup with dumplings in it. So even that had kind of raw meat and I don't know, some items in it which was added. It tasted okay but I usually don't like such kind of dishes. I'm some kind of person who usually likes spicy, tangy food. So that was pretty hard to, you know, begin with.

    Band 6-7

    So, dating back to last summer, I had a version of Indian Pasta at my maternal uncle's house. It is named as Shingle and it is made from three flours. It is made of Ragi flour, Jowar flour and Wheat flour. It is super healthy and it is rolled into circles, put into a yellow gravy which is made of basically turmeric and basic Indian spices. I found it unusual because I never thought India would also have its version of Pasta. But it absolutely tasted very beautiful but it was healthy at the same time which made me realize that this is something I can have for my life. I had it with my cousins for very first time and we all were sitting and enjoying it. But the taste it brought to us was very homely and it was something very unique because I usually have different types of Pasta and which was very resonating to us because this generation loves eating Pasta and it was yellow colored Pasta which is totally different from Italian Pastas we usually eat. It was little bit spicy and little bit sour. It had pinch of Ghee added to it which is made from dairy products which is basically butter in India and then plated, topped up with some coriander leaves so that's an unusual meal that I had recently.

    Band 6

    We had a chance to have a trip to Andaman and Nicobar Islands back in 2017, monsoon time. We had got a chance to travel during the monsoon time and it was a family trip with my father, mother, me and my brother. We had an unusual meal during the trip while we were travelling to Havlock Islands. We had this unusual meal. I had got a chance to travel to Andaman and Nicobar Islands back in 2017 on a monsoon time. We had planned for a family trip. We were having a family trip with my father, mother, me and my brother. We had also got a chance to visit Havlock Islands which were very far from Andaman and Nicobar and we had to take a ferry to travel there. While reaching the Havlock Islands, we reached there by noon and they asked us to have our meals and they were only providing us the meals. While I was looking at the thali, they called the plate thali, there were wide varieties of fish which I was not familiar with. There was a peculiar dish made with banana flour which was having an unusual taste. For me it was a good taste but for my mother, she is usually a vegetarian, so for her it was a bit of a bad taste. She vomited after eating that. But for me it was a very excellent dish that I had tried till date. They made it with fish and banana flour and with a lot of spices in it which were hand picked from the nature itself. They had their spices grown in the backyard and they took it for making this dish. It was very tasty and it was very spicy for me but I enjoyed having it with my brother. That was a very good experience with an unusual food.

    Band 6

    I am someone who usually doesn't experience a lot when it comes to my meals. One day, while I was having a conversation with one of my very old school friends, she asked me to try Korean food with her. While I was first reluctant towards the idea, she coerced me into having the said food, saying that it would be delicious and that I would like it.

    Band 6

    It wasn't the worst, thankfully. So, this was during me and my boyfriend's second year anniversary. We have this little tradition where we both order each other meals that we want the best right now. So, I really wanted a strawberry shortcake and some pasta, so that's what I got him. And I guess he was craving something really sour because he got me a lime dosa. I was shocked to say the least when I saw the package because it had a lime green tint and I couldn't not eat it because he was staring at the camera eagerly waiting for my reaction. So, I was just like, it's fine, I'll just take a bite, and if it's truly awful, I will just not eat it. And I tried it, it was sour, they did not hold back on the lemon factor, and it did not complement the dosa well, it tasted spoiled, so no, I had no other choice but to throw it away. It was quite a memorable anniversary.

    Band 6

    The unusual meal that I had was actually the last morning because usually I have my breakfast at 9 o'clock but today because of some problem I did it at 12 o'clock which is not so usual. I had it with my parents because they were also hungry and they didn't have any food. Same like me, we all were busy in our stuff but when we had that food it was so much filling and it was so much comforting because it was with my family and the food was also delicious because it was made by my own mother and mostly I would like the food that is brought from outside but sometimes I prefer my mother's hand home cooked meal also because it's yummy and it's very tasty.

    Band 6

    I will tell you about an instance when I had an unusual meal when I recently visited to Karnataka. This was unusual because I had several types of dosas but this one was somewhat different. When I visited this restaurant, the person near the billing counter, he told me you should try cheese dosa from our restaurant. It's a famous dish from our restaurant so you should definitely try it. I was with my friends and even they got curious to know more about this dish and forced me to order it. Usually, whenever I have tasted dosa, it will be paper dosa, masala dosa or mysore dosa which are very popular in South India. But this cheese dosa felt me like I'm having pizza along with the dosa and the cake and the cherry on the cake that it was not even spicy. That was the most unusual reason why I had it.

    Band 6

    So, I ordered an ifta box last Sunday and I shared it with my friends, a group of four we shared it, it costed around 600 Indian rupees, the box contains a biryani, spring roll, cut fruits, dry fruits and then a juice of our choice, the taste was very good, there is no compensation in taste but the quantity was very less and after eating, we found a mosquito in the biryani and it was like, we were like what, it was very unusual, the restaurants rating was very good and the taste was also very nice but it was very unexpected and it was an unpleasant dining.

    Band 5-6

    An unusual meal that I had was when I visited the country Japan. So I went along with my family for a vacation and usually the food in Japan they are mostly steamed items, they very rarely consumed oily or fried items. It is a healthier option but in contrast my home country food they are always rich in spices and has a lot of tasty foods but even though taste does not matter and health is the most important thing to focus on, since I have always had tastier and spice rich food all of my life, the Japanese type of food was really unusual and different for me. I could hardly eat once a day. It was a good experience to taste new kind of food but I couldn't consume it more than once a day but the country also had other alternatives of fast food and having Thai foods but still having their kind of food was really different.
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