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The Mercado Municipal has become a tourist trap these days, and even people who live in São Paulo find it extremely expensive. Mercado da Lapa is a much more authentic and affordable experience, specially when it comes to Brazilian quality ingredients

http://www.mercadaodalapa.com.br/.

I go to the Mercado Municipal for the pepper stand, and for the spices. Also, it is the one place I can buy regulated alligator (jacaré) and boar meat. But that is about it. If I want exotic fruit, I rather head over to the oriental neighborhood, Liberdade, which is walking distance.

there is great pizza all over São Paulo, and everyone has a favorite!

its not xmas if there is no chocolate panetone. Or any panetone at all. They make them in all sizes (from 100g to 2kg) and flavors now.

With icecream, pure, drowned in cider or guarana, its a real diet villan, trully irresistable.

As a Brazilian with an American papa I learned from a very tender age to love local coffee... in XXL doses. Even my journalism teachers are flabergasted by to 500ml mug I carry to class. I mean, I know americans drink a lot of coffee, but it's mixed with other things.

Also, in the south of Brazil we have a huge array of crumble cakes and coffee cakes for breakfast, along with papaya, melon and watermelon. The bread is different, reminding of german dough, spread with thick fresh milkcream called Nata. Oh, what torture it is to lactose intolerant me. I love Nata. @squid pro quo, in the south they make a very thick jam with banana , apples or figs and molasses called Muss. But then again the south was colonized by Germans, Dutch, Italian and Polish.

@Katie Potato, lunch is at noon, and is the most important meal in Brazil. The same spread seen for breakfast can be found for an afternoon snack in the south, called cafe da tarde. Love it.

Pao de queijo, or cheese bread, is a popular alternative to the french rolls. Paninis made with this dough have grown in popularity over the past 10 years.

When I can, I'll have fruit for breakfast. Otherwise, I just indulge at a joint in college where they serve the best (and super cheap) carrot cake, with a runny brigadeiro topping.

hmmm... i just never remember to spit the seeds. I end up swallowing them all...I eat my watermelon with a fork out of the wedge, or make small pointy wedges to eat neatly. My mother never let us eat it in the house as kids because my brothers would bathe in the juice, basically. Irk!

green mangos make awesome salads. And down here in Brazil, we just peel them and suck them in the messiest way possible.

hum... as a Brazilian, it shamed me that I had never attempted to make these... of course I avoided it not because it's difficult, but because of the potential damage to my waist line.

It is common to use unsweetened cocoa for a more adult version of the treat. Made with Nesquick (which in Brazil is a strawberry flavored powder), these are called Bicho de Pé, and with coconut, Beijinho.

My mother always adds 1 can of milk cream to the mix, for a creamier result... Made this way, its an AWESOME cake filling or topping, and perfect to eat with a spoon.

About the cook until unsticks part of the recipe, I also thought it vague until I made them for the first time. Its pretty obvious when you're making them: Basically, after scrapping off the walls of the pot for some time, the mix starts to cling more to the spoon than to the pan. It also becomes heavier and thick, much like porridge.

There are plenty of different gourmet versions to sell here, rolled in different toppings or sold in little clear plastic cups with a tiny spoon (called Brigadeiro de Colher). This can even be made in a microwave. The sky is the limit!

have you gotten tested? I had gastritis for years, and after finally getting rid of it, thought it was coming back. It wasn't. I'm developed a milk allergy, not a lactose intolerance. And i adore cheese. In all its forms. My breakfast used to be yogurt, my salads all had dairy, my pasta was rich in milk cream. I have since started experimenting with tofu and soy based cream. I miss lattes the most... but soy milk makes me sick too.

If you can't have dairy, asian is the way to go, imho!

the movies ain't the movies for me without gummy bears and jelly beans. With the price the movie theaters charge for a ticket in Brazil, i don't feel bad at all sneaking stuff in. I like taking in sour candy as well, and chocolates. Chocolate covered raisins are also nice, as are the colored mentos and chewing gum... see, even though i bring massive amounts of candy it barely makes it to the middle of the movie... And although i don't really like popcorn, i have a soft spot for the pink prepopped stuff... I just never find it.

The one thing i buy from concession stands are ice tea. Lots!

oh... and chicken hearts and giblets. :D

I must admit I'm guilty of loving jell-o. The low calorie variety too... I sometimes make my own agar-agar bites, trying to replicate the ones I buy at a Japanese candy store... I just never try to serve it to anyone. Feels wrong.

As for bad experiences, my mother is a decent cook, and although she makes the worst eggplant and okra ever (took me years living out of the house to discover how delicious such things are) and my fathers barbecue is awful (he's American. Sorry, but it will never compare to the Brazilian stuff), holidays hold memories of great eating. My ex's family were great cooks, and she would take over the barbecue when she visited mine and my SO's mother, albeit disliking me and not allowing me near her house, sometimes sends over some great cakes.

Wait... my mother is guilty of my teen years birthday cakes. They were ok and I remember them dearly, but also were very very lazy. Ok, she had four kids, worked and finished high school when i was 14. But still... Store bought sponge cake, layered with boxed pudding and canned figs. Gotta hand it to her for making the best mango ice cream in the world, though.

The worst experience I've had was not connected to flavor. I stopped eating red meat and pork between 13 and 23. To this day, anything pork that has not been processed (like sausages or cold-cuts) makes me sick. Very sick. So when I went to visit my ex's cousins on a Sunday for a barbecue, I expected to find at least a salad to nibble on. Nothing. Just pork and beer. The smell was great, and I was hungry. It tasted good too... It almost killed me. Way to lose 14 kg in 10 days.

love: fresh brewed coffee, bread, cookies in the oven, french toast and curry.

argh!: fridge smell... you know what i'm talking about! And beans being cooked in a pressure cooker. Makes my stomach turn.

konnyaku!