Trip.Expert Local's food: 15 must-try while you are in Israel

Another fun and exciting way to travel the city is exploring the delicacies it offers. Tel Aviv has a strong sparkling, bold and sassy culinary scene which makes it even easier to fall for this wonderful city. Famous for its mouth-watering fresh food and its wide variety of dishes, here are some must-try that will stimulate your appetite and gives you a toothsome sense of the city.

Hummus You can't visit Israel and avoid hummus, it's everywhere! Made of chickpea, hummus is the ultimate spread to try. The creamy spread can be bought at any grocery store but is best on restaurants with spices, olive oil, and fresh-baked taboon bread.

Tahini Tahini or tahina as it called by the locals, is another well-loved spread in Israel. Made of sesame seeds, tahini goes perfectly with bread and can also serve as wonderful additives to any meal.

Falafel Crispy, delicious, inexpensive, highly available, and perfect for vegetarians too, falafel is probably the most common street food in the Middle East and Israel is no exception. Usually, falafel is made of a deep-fried mixture of chickpea blend with tasty spices and serves inside a pita (flatbread) together with additives as tahini, salad, fries, pickles, sauerkraut, and more. It is also a great option for a light warm meal for the budget traveler, but one way or another, do not miss it!

Salad The fact that Israel is a small country also means that the distance from the field to your plate is very short. That makes the vegetables in Israel incredibly appetizing, fresh, and colorful and the salad to another must-try. Besides the obvious advantage of healthy food, the ingredients can easily be bought at the grocery store or market and be made at your lodging if you have the option to do so.

Shakshouka The classic shakshouka has rich tomato sauce with onion, hot peppers, garlic, and eggs above. The additives can be very varied and so is the level of spiciness, therefore we recommended inform your waiter about your preferences in advance. The shakshouka is very tasty, usually eaten with bread, and is another fantastic warm meal option for budget travelers and vegetarians.

Taboon bread Taboon bread mostly refers to pita Iraqit (Iraqi pita), it is a flat crispy bread that can be eaten as-is or with spreads. It is also an integral part of what the locals called lafa, which is taboon bread with meat, hummus, tahini, and other additives.

Challah The bread Jews usually eat during Sabbath and holidays. Can be bought at any supermarket on Fridays but at some places already on Thursdays. There are different kinds of Challah but all of them are super tasty. Bourekas Another beloved pastry that can be found at any bakery. Usually made of filo dough or puff pastry and filled with potatoes or cheese, but not only. To make sure people will not confuse, the potatoes bourekas have a shape of a square and the cheese is triangular.

Kanafeh A sweet Middle-Eastern pastry many Israelis absolutely adore. The Kanafeh is made of Kadaif noodles, a shredded dough that gives the kanafeh its famous crispness, it is filled with cheese and covered with sugar syrup. The orange-golden dessert is highly praised and will give you, literally, one of your trip sweetest moments.

Baklava Baklava is the kanafeh little sister, a very sweet Middle-Eastern pastry made of filo dough, filled with a mix of chopped walnuts, pecans, pistachios and almonds and covered with sweet syrup. Just ask for baklava with tea aside and you will enjoy one of the smoothing desserts you will ever try.

Halva When you think of sweets, you usually don't imagine sesame tahini, but this is what the basic halva made of together with sugar syrup. The amount of halva flavors is numerous, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, coconut, cherry, and even whiskey. Tell the seller your favorite flavors and ask for a little teste, they will be more than willing to help you find the halva that will charm you.

Dried Fruit Israel is blessed with such testy fruits, therefore, it is not surprising that the markets are filled with an impressive amount of dried fruit. The strong colors, flavor, and aroma will not leave you indifferent. Sambusak Sambusak is a savory pastry made of fried dough that wraps varied stuffing. The regular Sambusak filled with chickpeas and onions but there are sambusaks with cheese, meat, potatoes, spinach, and even mushrooms sambusaks. It is a simple pastry, yet delicacy and seems like there is never enough of it.

Bamba Based on corn and peanut butter, this yellow snack that can be found at any grocery store is among the most popular in Israel. Loved especially by children but also by many adults who grew up on this snack, Bamba is absolutely addictive.

Bissli Salty, spicy and crispy, Bissli is a popular snack made of wheat flour and is marketed in a variety of flavors. Try the classic Bissli in Grill flavor or if you want it more piquant, then Barbecue flavor will be great too.

Beteavon (Bon appetite)!