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?

18 unique answers with expert feedback

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.

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.

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.

Tip

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

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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 5-6

I remember the day when I was going for an interview round in Powai and I was very much hungry so I decided to take a stop at one place to have a meal so there was this restaurant named moon and Sun which is a Korean restaurant and

Band 5-6

Lastly, in the last Sunday, I ate an unusual meal at Haldiram with my friends. It was really very unusual because I am a gym freak, I like to go to the gym, I like to take care of myself, my physical body, my athletism and all. But I ate Chole Bhature at Haldiram last week, last week, the day was Sunday, with my friends. All we do is like, we all are people who are very enthusiastic related to their workout and their protein intake, but we didn't cheat meal, which is very unusual for us, for all of us, I heard, I don't believe I heard, it was unusual because we all are gym freaks, we like to take care of our fitness, we have maintained our physique from like, we have maintained our physique from last so many years, so eating Chole Bhature at Haldiram was very unusual. Eating Chole Bhature at Haldiram last Sunday was very unusual for all of us, although we enjoyed eating Chole Bhature after so long. Last Sunday at Haldiram, Last Sunday at Haldiram, with my friends, I had an unusual meal and that was Chole Bhature. We, it was unusual because me and my friends are freaks, we are freaks for our fitness, we go to gym, we work out, we work out a lot on our body and maintaining our muscles from like last so many years, we have been working out together and we don't ever try to eat anything out, anything bad that is not good for our health, but lastly, on the last Sunday, we ate Chole Bhature, although we enjoyed our meal, we really liked our meal because we were eating that after so long, everyday we used to eat proteins and vegetables like broccolis, cucumber, which is good for our body, which could give us protein and fibers, but last Sunday, we changed our plan, we decided to go to Haldiram and eat Chole Bhature because sometimes it is good, to eat sometime out is good, you can give happiness to your soul and after that Chole Bhature, we again went to burn all the calories that we had gained after eating that because it is a very oily meal, so this was my experience, it was a good experience, although it was an unusual meal, but I really loved that unusual meal, thank you.

Band 5-6

Well, the last time I had an unusual meal was like in the last summer, when I went on a trip to Kashmir and I was with my two friends and we were like sightseeing there and then I happened to saw a little girl in the snow who had been freezing. And I went to her and asked, are you alone? And she said, sorry, and he said, yes, he's alone and his house is nearby. So I offered him one of my jacket and as a thankful gesture, the kid asked me to accompany him to his house. So we went with him and his mother, she was such a kind and loving lady and she asked us to have a meal with them. So we refused to eat them at first, then they just asking us so many times and we went to eat and they gave us some dish. And I don't know at first how it was made and when we ate, it just actually tasted good, but it's also a weird taste, like I haven't eaten anything like that for a while. And then I asked, when I was going to leave the house, I asked her how that meal was made and it was made out of, she said it was made out of like chicken and with a little of apple, you know, and that's where, that's, then I know how the weird taste comes from.

Band 5-6

carrot like that, people will like sambar more. Most of the time I avoid sambar to eat, sambar rice to eat, but my family will cook mostly twice a week sambar meal for me. I like lady finger sambar and drumstick sambar, but in summer time I don't like sambar rice that much. In winter time it feels good to eat sambar rice. After the sambar rice, I prefer to have some curd rice also because it gives cooling to our body. Most of the time in my home, dinner will be curd rice, like old rice with curd. It gives plenty of taste and enough food for a night time dinner. I used to cook only rice. My father was old, he didn't allow to go kitchen at all. He used to cook only tea, coffee or keeping rice on stove. Keeping on rice on stove is also starts from, I used to keep rice on stove.

Band 5-6

okay a few days ago I had a meal which I feel that it was unusual so I had this meal with my cousin so we went to a local restaurant shop and we got to know that that meal was not that much appropriate but we had it so we thought that okay it is a good meal we should have it that meal was pizza I thought that pizza is a type of cuisine that we can eat but that doesn't get any sort of ingredients we should eat a balanced diet that the nutrients that will give us energy in a very good way I know that nutrients are particularly made up of different sort of carbohydrates proteins fats and minerals so we think we should completely rely on these this sort of balanced diet that we should take the unusual meal that I had was pizza so I don't think so that pizza has that much of balance I thought they contain that accurate amount of proportion that we should eat that's it I would say that we should have a balanced diet that particular unusual meal that was pizza was not that much energetic so I would feel that we should have a balanced diet which would contain all type of like amount of nutrients or like suppose we have a lot of five it should contain fibers etc so that's it thank you

Band 5-6

After coming from my studies, me and my friends had just decided to get gathered at one place to have some nice food. It was after a long time when we all were meeting so we just decided to meet at a specific, at a common place that was facing east. I guess it was the month of May when we had visited there. Actually I just hate eating noodles so I was not gonna eat it but one of my friend had just suggested that it has the best noodles in the town. So after just eating that noodles it had just made my mind changed about that dish. I had just some vows about that thing from my mouth. It was just so delicious that it just changed my whole thinking about that one thing. I was pleased to my friend to have me suggested for that thing.

Band 5

The amusement that happened when I was in ninth standard in school was that my friend, he had a girlfriend and we were walking in the park and I saw that there was a goat in the park. I said, I hope to God that I am not the last one to go to the park. He said, it is not a goat, it is a cow. It is a cow.

Band <5

गुड़ मौनिंग सर, थान्क्यू सर, गिम्यू अपरचनाटी, आप मैंसे हैं। मैं सचीन प्रजापती सर, मैं घाटको परामा भाईनाग के लिए हुआ हूँ। मैं कामप्रैटर का बैचलेए रिक्रिक कर रहे हूँ, मुंबल यूनिर्विस्ति, 2000 सर, यादि. मैं कोटक मेहंडर पैंक के 2 वियरड को पणग कर रहा हूँ, जोप पांग के लिए हूँ। मैं कोटक मेहंडर पांग के 2 वियरड के लिए यादि. मैं कोटक मेहंडर पैंक के लिए हूँ।

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