I love soup. Such a great meal, worth more than just a role as a starter. Delicious, nutritious and cheap. An irresistible combination. In recent times in the UK, soup has become posh with various up-market brands selling interesting combinations of soups from around the world. These designer soups can be quite outstanding.

However, my favourite soup has to be French onion soup. I remember first having some forty years ago in small restaurants near the Halles market in the centre of Paris. Although it was on the tourist agenda, the restaurants were cheap and cheerful, mainly intended for the market workers, often putting in long hours through the cold nights. The combination of the tangy onion soup with the toasted bread croutons and the grilled cheese was heavenly.

Of course things have changed a lot since then. The market has moved out of the centre of Paris. The restaurants are still there but have gone way up-market, particularly their prices. Even I have changed as I can no longer tolerate cooked cheese. But the soup still tastes great.

Which makes it all the more surprising that it hasn’t made this list of the top ten soups of the world.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/travel-tips-and-articles/76865?affil=twit

It seems to me that the author has gone for obscurity over quality. A case in point is the Belgian soup, which has always been chicken-based on the many occasions I have seen it in Belgian restaurants. However, I would be quite happy to eat my way through this list. Soup is great.