We have long been accustomed to hot dogs and shawarma, which you can buy in one of the stalls right in the middle of any city in our country and have a snack on the go. But when you travel, what can you eat and satisfy your hunger in a foreign country? Here is a list of the best street food in the world.
Mohinga of Myanmar
What it is. This noodle soup is an example of the earthy flavors of its country’s cuisine. It is a Fish broth with rice or pea flour and the traditional combination of shallots, crispy banana heart, thin rice noodles, and chopped coriander.
Origins:Mohingu is made with almost exclusively local ingredients, which underscores its origins. Most Southeast Asian noodle dishes have their roots in China.
Where to try it. Mohinga is sold in almost every town in Myanmar, usually from moving carts and baskets, or open restaurants like our hot dog stands.
Mohinga peddlers and vendors mostly work in the mornings. It’s easy to order, and the only ingredient you can choose from is the so-called kyaw, crispy lentil patties and vegetables deep-fried in a deep fryer. Freshwater fish flakes (traditionally snakeheads) float in a thick, rich broth. A yellow or orange hue is given by the addition of turmeric and a slight herbal flavor by the lemongrass stalk.
Ban Mi from Vietnam
Few people know that the best sandwich in the world can be found not in Rome, Copenhagen, or even New York, but on the streets of Vietnam. It begins with a light baguette toasted over charcoal. Followed by a layer of mayonnaise and a drizzle of pâté, the fresh shell is filled with meat, crispy pickled vegetables and fresh herbs. Then it’s all poured over with a few drops of soy sauce and sprinkled with hot spices.
Origins:Banh mi is an early example of fusion cuisine, showing a clear connection with the French who ruled Vietnam in the early 20th century. The rest of the ingredients, including xa xiu, roast pork, better known as char siu , have Chinese roots, but the herbs and spices clearly come from southeast Asia.
Where to try it? Banh mi is considered a prime example of street food, because sandwiches are sold almost exclusively from stalls and kiosks on the streets of any city. They are sold “to go” and wrapped in paper, and the customer is offered a choice of ingredients. Pâté? Meatballs or roast pork? Chili? Mayonnaise? It’s a collection of the best traditions of Southeast Asian national cuisine in a Western package.
Daulat ki chaat from Delhi, India
This sweet, delicious treat is as light as air and as ethereal as moonlight. The sweetened whipped milk is garnished with saffron, which gives it a delicious orange-white color. To this is sometimes added a layer of edible silver sheets called varq . Although it is more than creating the illusion of foam, it has a very unique flavor. It is a very popular street food in winter in Old Delhi.
Origins:It is very possible that the Mughal emperors were the first to enjoy this amazing treat.
The first bite gives a hint of butter, then the tongue detects the subtle flavor of saffron, followed by pistachios, unrefined sugar, and dried condensed milk, with which to sprinkle the top of the dish. The initial impression soon dissipates, leaving behind a hint of creaminess and thick sweetness.
It is some kind of miracle, in stark contrast to the bustling bustle of the bazaar in which it can usually be found. Because daulat ki chaat can settle at high temperatures, it is only made during the colder months of the year.
Daulat ki chaat from Delhi, India
Pad ka prao may not win immediate universal acclaim, but it is a meat roast with spices and herbs, a favorite of many Thais as a quick snack. Ka prao means sacred basil, an essential ingredient of the dish. Its leaves are roasted with minced pork, chicken, or seafood, as well as minced garlic, chili peppers, and sometimes beans. The dish is topped with fish sauce and sprinkled with a pinch of sugar. This is served with rice and usually topped with a fried egg.
Origin: This dish did not enter Thai cuisine long ago, although holy basil has been used here for centuries. For a long time it was a sacred plant of the Hindus.
Unlike other Thai street food, pad ka prao is not only available from street vendors. You can usually find it in so-called raan ahaan taam sang , trays where food is cooked to order, as well as in special stalls and restaurants where a variety of dishes are prepared and can be recognized by a tray of raw food. Pad ka prao is always served with a small platter of finely chopped chilies in fish sauce and sometimes a lime squeeze on top.
Burekas from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Crispy but moist, rich in flavor but slightly spicy, burekas are a prime example of Balkan street food.Puff pastry is rolled out and flavored minced meat, spinach, or cheese and herbs are placed on top, then rolled into rolls, greased with butter or olive oil and baked until golden crust.
Origin: Burekas come from Turkey, where they are called börek, from the Turkish word burmak – to twist.
Burekas can be eaten cold or hot, but it’s best if it’s just out of the oven. The dough is nicely flaky and crumbly on the outside, but the inside is incredibly tender, having the consistency of a perfectly cooked dough.
In Bosnia, they are baked in large spirals on round baking trays. The baker will cut it up with a pizza cutter and wrap it in special paper especially for you.
Sfinge from Morocco
As croissants are to the French, so are sphinxes to the Moroccans. They are amazingly spongy fried rings of unsweetened yeast dough, with no added milk or butter. They are eaten in the morning and afternoon.
Origin: They are said to have been brought here by Arabs in the 18th century. Fingers were originally found in the bazaar, on trays that sold fried lamb heads, a traditional breakfast.
Amidst the stunning and breathtaking mess of Morocco’s labyrinthine streets, spinjas are the perfect way to lift your spirits. They are always served fresh and one must be sure to witness the cooking process. The preparation itself can be quite complicated. But eating them is a pleasure. If they are sprinklered or sprinkled with something sweet, sfingi becomes a light confection that is always scarce.
Woki-Toki from South Africa
Woki toki are chicken feet (walkies ) and heads (talkies ). These are all boiled to make it easier to remove any cut pieces, then coated in seasonings and cooked to taste.
Origins:In apartheid times, wealthy farmers ate the fleshier parts of the chicken and the leftovers, such as heads and feet, were given to laborers and poor city dwellers.
Village markets are always crowded with sights, sounds, and smells. Some woki toki are simply boiled with salt and spices and later fried. Connoisseurs advise first scraping the skin and meat off the toes of the chicken legs with your teeth. Everything else can be chewed. The head is eaten completely, but without the beak.
Tamale from Mexico
These steaming things wrapped in cornmeal tortillas are exceptional delicacies, whether they are a deliciously sweet, spicy or tender version of this dish. The most common tamales are made with pork or chicken, salsa or mole sauce, and poblano peppers and cheese. All this is wrapped in cornmeal tortillas or banana leaves and steamed until soft and tempting.
Origins:Today you can find tamales everywhere in central and southern America, and it was once a staple dish of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas.
Wide steel containers emitting jets of steam can be found on almost every corner of any city. This is the best quick snack for even the most meticulous foodie. The filling is sliced and combined with the steamed dough, creating an amazing flavor experience.
Red Red from Ghana
This hot, sweet and spicy red-read dish combines beans with roasted vegetable bananas and zomi (red palm oil). The key to the dish is one of the red ingredients: zombie has a rich, tangy nut flavor. Onions and red chili peppers are fried in this oil and added to the Chinese vigna beans, with zomi and gari (fermented and dried cassava powder) added on top. Vegetable bananas (koko , they are also red), cut into pieces, salted and deep-fried, and then added to the beans.
Origins:Red-read is loved by all, but it is most loved by the Ewe people of eastern Ghana and Togo. The beans are an inexpensive source of protein, making red-read the national cheap meal of Ghana.
The red-read’s natural habitat is street eateries and stalls. If you linger outside any establishment in Ghana, you may hear “Welcome!” – the traditional invitation to share a meal. The red-read is usually served hot while the oil on the bananas is still sizzling, and sometimes on banana leaves. The beans are soft and salty, and the bananas are soft and sweet, with a crispy edge.
Currywurst from Germany
No, curry fried sausage is not a simple American-style hot dog. These juicy sausages, sliced in circles and dipped in a spicy tomato sauce, are simply capable of bringing you into nirvana. Some spice up the sauce with Indian spices, while others prefer to use just the spiciness of the chili. They can be accompanied by chips, white or whole-grain bread.
Origins:In 1949, when Berlin lay in ruins, a woman named Gerta Hover, owner of a local eatery with which British soldiers were sharing imported spices, got her hands on curry seasoning. She mixed it with tomato sauce and smeared the mixture on a sausage.
The night was long and hard. Weaving home, a beacon of red neon lights could be seen. The lines are long and noisy, but not aggressive. You approach, mumble your order, and head for a bright red table that says Coca-Cola. On a cardboard plate are two sausages, sliced in circles and thickly doused with a delicately spicy tomato sauce. You will go home happy, and then you will definitely come back to check if they are that good, but this time sober…
Every country has its traditional dishes, and of course the street food that the locals eat every day! Traditional street food is different for every nation and when we go on a trip, we most often go to one of the fancy restaurants in the country, but the true iconic food for the people is on the streets!
Currywurst from Germany
A real Jamaican dish, eaten by everyone here. The recipe for chicken is kept strictly secret, but the chicken on the bone begins with a marinade, allspice, thyme, ginger, and green onions. The meat is left overnight to soak in all the spices and then roasted.
Chile Crab, Singapore
Singapore’s most substantial dish, chili crab can be found in numerous street food congregation centers all over the country. The recipe for this dish was created by Sher Yam Tien, who began serving spicy crustaceans from a street cart in the 1950s. In this recipe, the crabs are fried whole in a sweet and sour tomato sauce, an egg and, of course, chili peppers.
Arepas, Colombia
These round corn tortillas are a ubiquitous food in Colombia, even though there are many different delicacies in the country. Arepas are much thicker than flat maize tortillas, and they are usually fried or baked before being covered in cheese. It is a popular breakfast in Bogotá in particular.
Areola, Philippines
A cup of colorful Areola is the best way to cool off on a hot Filipino summer day. It is an attractive dessert made of different ingredients such as: red beans, coconut, syrup and fruit, usually topped with ice cream, condensed milk and fine ice.
Rabbit in Bread, South Africa
This South African appetizer is a local favorite. The dish consists of a quarter, or half, of gutted bread filled with rabbit in curry. As you might assume, this dish originated in India, but it is now Durban’s most famous street food, where rabbit can be replaced with chicken, or lamb.
Dumplings, Poland
Dumplings, and pies, can be found all over Eastern Europe, but Krakow hosts a festival dedicated to dumplings. They are made of simple dough: flour, eggs, water and salt, and the filling can be different: meat, cheese, cabbage, potatoes. First, they boil them and then they fry them in oil for a while!
BBQ Pork, USA
Barbecue is a serious business in the United States. When you see the word barbecue, it seems like it’s grilled meat, but no, it’s a burger with chopped pork in sauce and coleslaw, all in a bun. It’s a great weekend lunch.
Ban Me, Vietnam
No list of street food would be complete without Banh Mi, a legacy of French colonial rule in Vietnam. The key ingredient is a thinner, fresher Vietnamese-style baguette (made from rice and wheat flour) that is usually filled with a fresh and colorful mix of coriander, pickled carrots, Japanese radishes, and pork brisket.
Tea with balls, Taiwan
Balls, pearls, or boba tea originated in Taichung in the 1980s. These days, the dish ranges from classic milk tea, often tapped with condensed milk, to a fruity addition of mango, and passion fruit. The bubbles themselves in the tea are a ball of tapioca you can swallow through a large straw.
Poutine, Canada
Here’s a dish called Poutine, originally from Canada. In Canada, it has been a very popular street food since 1957. This unusual dish was created by chef Fernand Lachens. The original name Poutine, literally translates as “mess”, this dish is made of French fries and cottage cheese, with meat sauce.
Simit, Turkey
In addition to kebabs, Turkey is very fond of bagels called simit. Delicious simit are sold from street carts all over the country and are often eaten for breakfast on the go. Molded into a large ring, covered with sesame seeds, they are lighter than bagels and go well with a cup of Turkish tea.
Xiao Long Bao, China
Bamboo baskets filled with this traditional northern Chinese dumpling soup can be found everywhere in the streets and restaurants of Shanghai. You have to know how to eat them without getting scalded. The dumplings themselves are made of dense dough, with smoked pork in the center. Eat the dumpling and wash it down with boiling broth.
Gelato, Italy
There’s nothing better than eating balls of creamy gelato and strolling through evening Rome. Italians take their gelato seriously, and gelato is different in that it is less greasy and a little softer; classic flavors include pistachio and stracciatella (creamy chocolate chip ice cream).
Tostadas, Mexico
Unlike tacos, which are soft, flat rice tortillas, tostadas are usually shaped into a small, flat disc that is deep-fried. The toppings usually range from classic combinations like refried beans, guacamole, salsa and cheese, to lighter versions of seafood like shrimp. Be prepared to get dirty eating this street food! If you want to check out the best Mexican street food, go to the separate selection.
Basco, Indonesia
During President Obama’s visit to Indonesia, he was treated to meatball soup, Basco. While the president visited this traditional dish at a formal dinner, street vendors were the best place to try this delicacy. Ground beef balls, in a broth with noodles, egg and shallots.
Kimbap, South Korea
This dish has gained wide popularity in many countries around the world. So, this is the so-called Korean sushi. Rolls are spun with different fillings: crab, eggs, beef, carrots, then it is placed in a roll of rice and seaweed sheet. In South Korea, you can buy this traditional dish at kiosks everywhere.
Bhel Puri, India
India has a huge variety of street food all over the country, from aloo tikki in the north to vada in the south. Mumbai is the place to try bhel puri, which includes rice, fried noodles, or vermicelli, and vegetables drizzled in tamarind sauce. Also try dishes where peanuts and pomegranate seeds are added. You can also read about traditional Indian cuisine at LifeGlobe.
Falafel, Egypt
You will find falafel throughout the Middle East. In Egypt, falafel is made from richer beans and is known as takamiya. It is almost always sold in a pita with pickled vegetables, lettuce, and tahini sauce.
Churros, Spain
It is not only a street dish, it is the national dish of Spain. The churros come in rings and sticks and are sprinkled with brown sugar. It is usually served with hot chocolate, in which you can dip the churros. Churros are sweet and crispy deep-fried dough sticks. They are especially popular as a breakfast snack in Madrid.
Ceviche, Peru
Ceviche is considered the national dish of Peru, and its popularity is also growing worldwide. The sea component is a very fresh raw fish that is marinated in lime juice, salt and chili pepper. Try the sea bass ceviche with sugar corn. As a follow-up, you can also read about street vendors in different parts of the world.
When we travel to different countries, we definitely try the national cuisine, because it is as much a cultural symbol and one of the business cards to attract tourists. Each country has its own characteristics and food culture. Talking about fast food, we first of all imagine McDonald’s, with its hamburgers and cheeseburgers, but each country has its own national fast food, i.e. dishes that are quickly cooked, quickly eaten and quickly satiated.
- England Fish and Chips – Fish and chips are like a grown-up version of chicken nuggets and fries. One of the most popular fast food meals in England, fish and chips are perfect for people who are hungry but don’t have the patience or time to wait for a restaurant to cook.
- Japan-Takoyaki – Takoyaki is fried balls of dough filled with octopus and topped with fish flakes and sauce. This dish is very popular throughout Japan, but is most common in the city of Osaka, where it originated.
- Mexico Tacos – Tacos are one of the best forms of fast food because unlike a regular cheeseburger, you can choose your own toppings for tacos, and the choice of toppings is huge, from ground meat and vegetables, to seafood and fish. This is a really tasty dish, which in Mexico you can buy in a street stall or in an expensive restaurant.
- Thailand-Satai – Meat on a Stick is the Thai version of fast food. The dish consists of meat strung on a string with a bamboo handle and roasted over an open fire, the dish is usually topped with peanut sauce.
- Israel-Falafel – Pita sandwiches are the most common fast food in Israel and many other countries in the Middle East, but the falafel sandwich is probably the most popular. Falafel is made from a spicy puree made from beans, mostly chickpeas, which are rolled into balls and deep-fried.
- Vietnamese Pho – It may seem strange that soup could be considered fast food, but in Vietnam, pho is a popular fast food. The streets are filled with vendors selling food, and popular among them are makeshift booths around which people sit and stand, hobbling this delicious soup with noodles, pieces of meat, or fried fish.
- Argentina Empanadas – Most Latin American countries have their own version of empanadas. These are deep-fried patties made from wheat flour dough and animal fat, with various toppings.
- Germany-Doner Kebab – Although this is the national dish of Turkish cuisine, it is very popular in Germany. It is a flatbread or pita in which grilled meat, vegetables, and yogurt sauce are wrapped. It is a street food, which is eaten without the use of cutlery. In our country, such a dish is also popular under the name Shawarma.
- India-Samosa – Indian street food is the most varied and offers a huge variety of dishes. It is almost impossible to single out one of them because the common products differ from region to region. However, one dish common not only in different regions of India but also in South Asia and parts of Africa is samosas, which are made from fried dough usually stuffed with a mixture of seasoned potatoes, peas, and onions.
- Chinese Jiaozi – Chinese food is very tasty and probably one of the most common all over the world – hot noodles, fried duck, chicken and mushrooms with oyster sauce, dim sum. Jiaozi is very popular among the Chinese themselves, it is such triangular-shaped dumplings with various fillings of mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fruit. But the traditional one is the meat filled with Beijing cabbage. It is served with a sauce of garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce.
Many people like to travel, but in order to save money and expand the baggage of culinary knowledge, they prefer to snack on street food. In addition, there is not always time to sit in a restaurant on the road, because usually everyone is in a hurry, there is still a lot to see, and time is short. Almost every country in the world offers tasty and cheap food. So street food is the best choice no matter what your soul is asking for – hot dog, rice, meat, pastries – it’s all on the list offered.
If you are looking for a new experience when you travel, we recommend trying a variety of street food from around the world, and you should also check out the Canadian casinos, where there are various restaurants and cafes. They offer a wide variety, featuring top-notch food from around the world. You can find Top Casino Websites offering French, Italian, Chinese and even Indian cuisine. And if you’re looking for something more exotic, you can find online casinos with African, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian cuisine. No matter what your taste buds crave, you’re sure to find it at an online casino. So why not spend your next vacation at an online casino? It’s the perfect way to sample the world’s best food.
1. Taco and Tostadas, México
Those who come to Mexico should try tacos and tostados. Tacos are soft maize tortillas, while tostadas are small, fried, crispy tortillas made of maize and wheat. Various fillings are wrapped in these tortillas: beans, guacamole (avocado and tomato puree with spices and chili peppers), sauce and cheese, and seafood, such as shrimp. All toppings are shredded, as tacos and tostadas are eaten with your hands. The dish costs $1 to $2.
2. Souvlaki and Pita, Greece
Souvlaki is a dish of grilled meat and vegetables that is cooked right in front of your eyes. It can also be served in a pita in round or oval shape. This is the most delicious combination, especially for the hungry tourist traveling in Greece. You can order pork, beef and chicken and even swordfish meat. You can also choose tzatziki sauce, onions, lettuce, etc. The dish costs $6.
The delicious and healthy French baguette is sold and served everywhere in France. The long, crusty loaf of white bread is cut in half and you can put anything in it. The French especially like to add cream cheese or pâté, jam and butter for breakfast.
4. Simit and Kokorec in Turkey
In Turkey, a huge variety of delicacies and sweets are offered to passersby and tourists on the street. Traditional street foods include simit and kokorec, spit-roasted lamb. Simit, a bagel with sesame or poppy seeds, is mostly eaten for breakfast. Kokorech is a dish of lamb or goat meat, its liver, lungs and heart, with the addition of lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper and cooked on a spit. Then the meat is wrapped so it can be held comfortably. It is served both in a baguette and on a plate.
5. Karriwurst, Germany
When traveling in Germany, one must try the currywurst. This is a fried pork sausage that is served whole or cut into pieces. Tomato sauce, curry or curried ketchup is added. This dish is popular with children and is served with fried potatoes or a bun. It is estimated that about 800 million currywurst is eaten by Germans a year, and only 70 million in Berlin itself.
6. Hot Dog in New York City
New York City is known for its hot dogs. The hot dog is fried, roasted, or baked and served in a bun with spices, ketchup, onions, herbs, mustard, and chili. The dish is associated with American baseball, and there are different recipes: with beans and pork, with chops, roasted, etc. There are a lot of choices.
7. Nasi goreng. Indonesia
Nasi goreng, fried rice, is a must-try when traveling in Indonesia. The dish is made from half-cooked rice that is fried in oil with onions, garlic, soy sauce, and chili peppers. If desired, it is served with eggs, chicken or shrimp. In 2011, the dish was ranked second out of 50 in the ranking of delicious food from CNN. For $2, you can try the national Indonesian dish, which is served on a paper or metal plate.
8. Shish kebab, Morocco
While a typical kebab consists of meat and fries, the Moroccan dish is something different. Shish kebab is traditionally made with lamb meat, but beef, chicken and pork, and fish are also used. The meat is cooked on a skewer and served with rice and pita or in a sandwich. This makes the dish different from the European one. Kebabs are made according to different recipes, but the Moroccan one for $5 is a must try.
9. Bhel Puri, India
Lambousa – fried patties
This dish is better known as samosa or samsa. These are fried or baked patties with different fillings: potatoes with spices, onions, peas, lentils, lamb meat, beef, chicken. This is a very popular dish in Asia, and there are different recipes for it. Samsa has also become popular in Europe, but it is better to try the original dish in Kenya. And, of course, it is better to eat pirozhki, even if calorie-dense, than dare to taste
Forget about restaurants while traveling! Street chefs are real magicians.
With a simple arsenal of a frying pan, grill, and deep fryer on a cart, they perform miracles, cooking in minutes from local products such delicious dishes that then you remember for a long time, coming back from far and not so far away travels.
And forever the taste of Istanbul is now encapsulated in a juicy falafel, Saigon in Banh Mi – a classic Vietnamese sandwich of roast pork with pickled vegetables in a French baguette, and Tuscany in a mind-blowing appetizer of tripe. Sadly, some travelers leave Singapore, for example, without trying satay – kebabs on wooden sticks of chicken, fish, seafood or pork.
To deny yourself street food for fear of poisoning while traveling is to deprive yourself of a part of the vivid experience. There is no need to be afraid of something new, but just in case, do not forget to put a pack of Maalox in your suitcase and feel free to try the food on the streets.
Banh mi
Despite its colonial French appearance, because of its baguette-like bread, banh mi is a street food of Vietnamese invention from start to finish.
Peel back the newspaper wrapper and take an immediate bite: bread (the light rice flour makes it exceptionally crispy), warm slices of tender roast pork, crispy pickles, sweet and spicy pickled carrots, daikon (Japanese radish), cilantro, a thick layer of Vietnamese mayonnaise and hot sauce.
The best 30-cent sandwich you’ll ever eat on the street.
Tacos
Feel like a caballero! Tacos, or maize tortillas, were most likely invented by wandering Mexican cowboys who appreciated quick and on-the-go food. The connoisseurs will tell you their favorite taco places, and they won’t be restaurants at all, but streets! At night, when tourists have usually already gone home, street cooks are just beginning to heat their pans. Don’t rush back to your room, but order some al pastor tacos and watch one of the chefs deftly cut off pieces of spit-cooked pork, wrap them in a double layer of thin maize tortillas and pour over a sour-salty pineapple salsa. A few bites and you’ll feel sorry for the poor sleeping gringos. The food on the streets is the tastiest thing you can eat on a trip.
Tripe sandwiches
Florentines adore their traditional rustic cuisine and adore street food. A brilliant example of how Tuscan ingenuity can turn even humble ingredients into a work of art is the national treasure, the rumen sandwich. Even if you’re not a big fan of cow’s stomach, visiting Florence you simply must try it. The Florentines stew their rumen with garlic and spices until it’s very tender, then wrap it in a crispy roll and dress it with chili or salsa made from capers, parsley, and anchovies.
Green papaya salad
Grinded green papaya salad is a sweet song, a quartet of flavors, the quintessence of Thai cuisine: salty, sweet, sour, spicy and spicy at the same time. The recipe for this salad: crispy potatoes, unripe papaya, peanuts, dried shrimp in fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice. All of this is packed in a handy bag so you can eat on the go. The delicacy can be found everywhere in Bangkok, but especially outstanding copies of this food are made on the lively Phaholyothin Soi.
Currywurst
There are as many kinds of sausage in Germany as there are cheeses in France, for example. So naturally, the favorite street food of Germans is associated with this particular dish. But it is not New York hot dogs. The juicy sausage, chopped in slices, seasoned with ketchup, curry and paprika according to legend was invented by one awkward girl who accidentally dropped containers of the listed ingredients and appreciated the resulting taste. Traditional on the one hand and cosmopolitan on the other, this street food reflects modern Berlin, ideal for long nights out with beer. In some places, the sausages are doused with a special sauce. A pint of Warsteiner never hurts in this case.
Any Asian food you can imagine
What else is eaten on the streets in Asian countries? Singapore is an Asian melting pot populated by Chinese, Indonesians, Chinese and Malays, a dream culinary team that makes Singapore’s street food unlike anything else and the best in the world. And the safest, so to speak. All the chefs here work in “itinerant centers” – small open-air establishments where sterility is controlled by the government and where strict health regulations are enforced. At the Old Airport Road Food Centre you will find both traditional Indian dishes – fish heads simmered in curry – and Hainan chicken with rice, onions and ginger. Matter Road Seafood’s barbecue stand specializes in the famous chili crab, Toa Payoh Rojak – just rojak (literally: mixture) – a salad of pineapples, cucumbers and other fruits and vegetables seasoned with an invigorating syrup of shrimp and Indian dates. The abundance of local dishes inspires many foodies.
Frites
An American classic in Belgium. But French fries in Brussels are not a simple accompaniment to a hamburger. French fries flavored with mayonnaise (served in a hand-wrapped paper envelope) are the main dish that can be ordered at small kiosks around the city. It was actually invented in Belgium, not in France, as many people think, and not even in America, as most are sure. The best places use a special kind of potato, the Bintje. They are fried twice in pure peanut butter or beef fat (horse fat, fortunately for us, is no longer used). The result isn’t long in coming – a portion of incredibly airy, fresh and surprisingly tender slices, crowned with mayonnaise, tartar sauce, pineapple ketchup or any of the ten other sauces on offer. It’s unlikely you’ll ever want McDonalds fries after this.
Bhel puri
It only seems that in a country with five religions and sixteen official languages, there should be just as many delicious snacks. In fact, in the crazy multimillion-dollar city of Mumbai, one version of street food is preferred: bhel puri, a seemingly messy “salad” of boiled rice, small fried noodles, potatoes, red onions, and cilantro. Just before serving, bhel puri is flavored with a spicy tamarind (Indian date) chutney.
Arepas
Colombia is the only country in Latin America where rice is used more often than any other cereal. But there is one dish of coarse grain that Colombians have a special awe for and it is called arepa. Imagine cornmeal bread rolled thinly like a pancake, stuffed with egg or cheese and toasted to a brown crispy crust. It is a real treat for a Colombian to feel the warm, flowing butter on his chin with every bite of arepas.
Jerk pork and jerk chicken
This dish was invented in the 17th century by runaway slaves and originally consisted of wild pork marinated in simple spices and grilled over a wooden grill. Today the marinade consists of cloves, nutmeg, thyme and chili peppers, and pork is increasingly replaced by chicken, and the grill is not wooden but metal. Dozens of roadside stands grill jerk pork or jerk chicken with a spicy, crispy crust and juicy, tender meat inside.
What else is eaten on the streets in different countries?
- Balik ekmeğe in Istanbul;
- Falafel in Tel Aviv;
- Roasted chestnuts in Paris;
- Herring in Amsterdam.