Some people eat to live, and other live to eat. No matter which one of them you are, your life goes side by side with eating. Now coming down to travel, it is an opportunity to take a break from every day bread and butter and have some lip smacking dishes. Michelin Star restaurants might come with high recommendations, but street food remains to be the game sweeper. People love stopping by these stalls and having a taste of life in home style. If you want to really taste the cuisine of a country without fillers, its Street food. So foodie travelers here are where your mecca is.
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok beats them all, and it has to, with such huge variations of choices and abundance of stalls throughout the city. You will find plenty of Pad Thai, roasted ducks, noodles, tom yum soup, shrimps, Thai stew and fresh seafood. Barbecued sea food is another popularity of Bangkok. In Bangkok it is recommended to eat in busy food stalls, it will be fresh. Avoid going on Monday to eat street food as it is the cleanliness day across Bangkok and fewer food stalls will be found opened.
Some of the popular spots in in Bangkok where you can find plenty of street food stalls would be Victory Monument, Chinatown, Ratchawat Market, Charoen Krung, Wang Lang Market, Nang Loeng and Bang Khun Non.
Marrakesh, Morocco
Marrakesh is stopover you wouldn’t want to miss. Right from Hookas to Tangines, snail soup to fruit juices, and spices to flavoured meat. However the snail soups are some of the favorite here with many flavors and easily accessible in Main Square and Jemaa El-Fnaa. This city has long held its secret to relishing food. Main Square looks like it was built for food lovers.
It might not sound very fun but the orange juice of Marrakesh is widely popular, the reason being Morocco is home to some of the best orange production. This tangy juice is just perfect to beat the heat of Morocco. Another must try street food of Morocco is B’stilla which is ideally made from pigeon meat but now a days you will also find chicken or fish fillings.
Singapore
Singapore nowadays might sound finance, but people it has been seat to great food scene since ages. With varieties from Chinese, Malay, Indian, it will rock you with Hainan Chicken, dumplings, noodles, pork soup, crabs and what not. We have all heard about the Singapore styled chicken rice in fancy restaurants, but it is here you will find them at throwaway prices. The best part about the street food experience in Singapore is that it is organized.
Some of the popular street food dishes of Singapore are Char Kway Teow which is flat rice noodles, Bak Chor Mee which is minced pork noodles, Wanton Mee which is preparation made of minced pork with prawns, Orh Luak which is an oyster omlette.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is not just about exotic beaches, but home to tantalizing food too. The best part is that Hawaii being a melting pot of cultures, the street food here draws culinary references from United States, Asia, and Latin America. Foods like Poke with Tuna swimming in, Acai Bowls, Katsu, Shave Ice, Garlic Shrimps, will sure appease you. Getting high quality and affordable food in Honolulu is a real thing.
Some of the popular street foods of Honolulu are Spam Musubi which is a combination of Rice, spam and nori, it is also enjoyed pan fried in shoyu. Malasadas is another popular street food which is Portuguese inspired hot doughnut which is also deep fried and then sparkled with sugar. Sashimi is a sushi inspired dish where fresh fish pieces are cut and placed on top of rice to be enjoyed.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is another Asian cum French gem. It’s just that south Asian countries rock when it comes to street food. This city is more than beef broth and French bread. Having pho close to bustling street is most common sight. Soups, meats have their own recipe here. The ardent fans of noodles, rice dishes and quick snacks will find Ho Chi Minh City a paradise.
Banh canh cua is a popular street food dish of Ho Chi Minh City which is made with thick rice noodles and crab broth as its base with crab meat. It is added with spices and herbs to add aroma and rich flavor. Goi cuon is a Vietnamese roll with rice paper wraps and fillings consisting of pork, shrimp, lettuce, vermicelli noodles. Banh khot and Pha lau are some other popular street foods.
Mexico City, Mexico
If Mexico City reminds you of only Tacos and Tortillas, we insist you read this and then visit. It has churros, mouth-watering grilled meat, roasted elotes, fried corn masa huaraches, and cornmeal cakes tlacoyos. Food scene in Mexico is diverse till extreme east covering Sushi. A strange thing about Mexico city is that many restaurants are still considered as street food outlets because they started as street food stalls and grew big.
In Mexico city open air tianguis are best places to try street food. You will find them in almost every neighborhood but they are opened on specific days of the week. Mercado Medellin, Mercado Roma, Mercado de Coyoacan, Mercado de San Juan, Mercado La Merced are some of the popular markets of Mexico City where you will find plenty of street food options.
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul is the city that gave us Shawarma or also popularly known as Doner Kebab, which we usually can’t resist to. It is also popular for seafood lovers while serving some of the best balikekmek sandwiches. Meat stuffed in Turkish-style lahmacun pizzas is another delight. This city is true surprise with food stalls in almost every corner of the city.
Tantuni is one of the most popular street food of Istanbul which is made by stir fried beef, lamb or chicken to be wrapped in a Lavash with tomatoes, parsley, and onions. Being closer to the coastline, Istanbul is also popular for stuffed Mussels. This dish is prepared with mussels stuffed with rice, black pepper, onion, pine nuts and is cooked with steam. Turkish ice cream is another delight you must have here.
New Orleans, United States
New Orleans is the American Delight that doesn’t fails to amaze the foodies. Some say their Gas Station plates are better than Michelin Stars. Food like Po Boys, Boudin, Andouille, Pho, Ya – Ka – Mein, Soft shell crab, Turtle soup, Fried Chicken, Beignets are not to be missed. With a high population of immigrants in New Orleans the food is greatly inspired from many different cultures.
Yaka Mein is one of the most popular street food of New Orleans which is a meaty noodle soup and locals also call it Old sober. It is a blend of American and Asian culinary traditions. Po Boys which has gained lots of popularity is the New Orleans version of French bread. Another culinary delight of New Orleans is the boiled Crawfish.
Los Angeles, United States
Los Angeles is another great place for street food and is becoming powerhouse of Food trucks. If you thought that Los Angeles is only competent of producing films, then you were wrong as it can also appease some of the biggest foodies around. Be it from fried chicken waffles to tacos to grilled cheese sandwiches, to hot dogs and kebabs. It offers a great foodie scene.
Some of the popular street foods in Los Angeles include the Barbecued Tacos, Fish Tacos that generally use shrimp as the filling. Coupled with tomato salsa these can be delicious meals to have. Gourmet burger is another specialty of Los Angeles. Fried chicken is another popular street food, and in Los Angeles you will find plenty of stalls serving Nashville styled hot chicken.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul is another booming street food city with ever rising food carts in vicinity. Snacks like dukbokki, sundae, and soju rice liquor are popular delights of the city. Other must eats are Pajeon the Korean pancake, Kimchi, Gimbap, and Dumplings. The best place in Seoul for street food is Myeongdong, and boy we must tell you that you are going to get spolied by the food there.
Tteokbokki is one of the most popular street food in Seoul. It is a small cylindrical rice cake which is garnished with spicy sauce. Eumok is another popular street food in Seoul which is a Korean Fish cake. It is prepared using less fatty fishes like Cuttle fish. Bindaetteok is another street food popularly available in Gwangjang Market. It is a pancake prepared with beans, meat and vegetables.
Portland, United States
Portland must be an extra dose of America while you haven’t still emerged from LA and NYC. But this city is a true adaptor of classic street food scene. Foods must try include, foie gras burger, steak frites, lobster rolls,octopus balls,burritos,wood-fired pizza, and lots more. The city is bustling with hundreds of food carts and new ones everyday, because of the easy regulation.
The best thing about Portland Street food scene is that here food carts are found in groups which are locally called as pods. It makes it easy for the consumers to taste a variety at the same time and same place. Some of the popular places in Portland where you will find these pods are Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland State University, Third Avenue, and Midtown Beer Garden.
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is not only home to most number of Michelin Stars restaurants, but also have great street food scene, be it raw or be it cooked. But to truly enjoy, you have to get over with Sushi, have plenty of them and move to Oysters, Dango, Okonomiyaki, Ikayaki, Tamagoyaki. The best thing about Tokyo street food scene is that you will find fresh options and many times see the food being cooked right in front of you.
Some of the popular places in Tokyo to find street food are Ameyoko in Ueno, Yanaka Ginza, Harajuku, or Tsukiji fish market. Takoyaki is one of the popular street food here which is a dough ball with filling of octopus. They are also called as Octopus Dumplings. Yakitori is another popular street food of Tokyo which is a skewered meat and grilled to perfection.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin gives tough competition to both dollars and street food cities. This one is flooded with food trucks, stalls, and vendors. The best thing about Street food scene in Berlin is that you will find food from all cultures around the world. There is a lot of diversity when it comes to Food scene in Berlin. Foods you must try are Wiener schnitzel, Mustafas Gemüsedöner, Käsespätzle, and Rodizio.
Some of the popular street food places in Berlin are Sunday flea market in Mauerpark, Sunday market of Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg, Thursday food market of Markthalle Neun, Thai Bridge in the Park am Gleisdreieck, Wednesday market in Gleisdreieckpark. Some of the popular foods of these markets are Berlin Beef Balls, carrot cake, Big Stuff Smoked BBQ pulled pork, among many.
Its food’o’clock!
