I love street food and the whole experience of trying new foods, the colours, smells, the tastes, the people. Anthony Bourdain is a street food advocate and was quoted saying “I believe street food is salivation to human race“. I certainly agree with street food making a journey more interesting and full of exiting experiences. These following 10 street foods are my favourites from my travels so far.
1. Hot Dog – New York
Undoubtedly, New Yorkers love their hot dogs – just look on every street corner and you’ll find a stall selling them in New York. You just can’t go wrong with one and i’d say are my favourite quick lunch food. I love the Tsunami Dog at Crif Dogs. I just wish they sold hot dogs like this here in the UK like they do in New york!
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| Two Gray’s dogs (Ralph Hockens‘s flickr). |
For further reading on New York hot dogs and where to get the best ones from, I recommend you have a read of the 10 best hot dogs in New York by Gothamist
2. Sausage -Vienna
You can’t say you’ve been to Vienna having not tried Vienna sausage. It is served with a long, thin frankfurter on a bun and topped with condiments such as sauerkraut and mustard. You can easily find them in swchwedenplatz square that is populated by Viennese sausage carts including the one from the famous opera singer whose sausage cart serves gourmet sausages.
3. Shawarma – Istanbul
Shawarma is a pocket friendly fast food meal found all over the Middle East. Chicken, lamb, or any other meat are stacked with a fat layer, put on a vertical spit and are grilled for hours. Once ready, vendors shave slices from the tender meat and pile them with condiments like cucumber, chopped onions, and humus. The best markets for shawarma are Stiklal Caddesi and Baliki Pazari.
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4. Tacos – Los Cabos, Mexico
This is a popular utensil free dish in Mexico which has so many varieties including fish, tacos al pasta, carne asada (marinated pork cooked on a vertical spit and is mostly served with pineapple). There are also tacos cabezas (beef head cheek) and tacos de lengua (beef tongue). You can find any type of tacos on every street corner of Los Cabos.
5. Vada Pav – Mumbai, India
This is a spicy deep fried potato that is sandwiched between a bread roll – Pav refers to unsweetened bread or bun. It is also known as Indian Burger.
6. Belgian Waffle – Brussels
I love waffles for breakfast as i’ve never really been a cereal person. No single type of waffle is identified as a ‘Belgian Waffle’ within Belgium itself where there are a number of different varieties, including the Brussels waffle, the Liège waffle and the stroopwafel. A Belgian waffle traditionally uses yeast instead of baking powder, although contemporary Belgian waffles are often made with baking powder.
7. Corn in a cup – Malaysia
Just as the word sounds, these are corn nib-lets in a small cup and are very delicious, fresh in taste, buttery, crisp and so sweet. You may mock the name first but the moment you taste them you’ll be eating your own words.
8. Currywurt – Germany
This is a chopped pork sausage that is liberally doused in a ketchup-curry sauce and then dusted with curry powder. Go whole hog with a side order of mayonnaise and fries
9. Seafood Tostada (tortilla) -Mexico
Tostada is the Spanish word for toasted. In Mexico, tostada usually refers to a flat or bowl-shaped (like a bread bowl) tortilla that is deep fried. It may also refer to any dish using a tostada as a base. It can be consumed alone, or used a base for other foods. Corn tortillas are usually used for tostadas, although tostadas made of wheat flour may occasionally be found. My favourite tostada is fresh squid and a crab complemented by citrusy salsa and avocado, delicious!
10. Fried Tarantulas – Cambodia
Seriously? Yes seriously! The market of Skuon in Cambodia is well known for consuming a wide variety of insects. Fried spiders – tarantulas in fact – are meant to taste pretty good from what I hear. I wasn’t brave enough or hungry enough to try one of these fried spiders so i’ll take peoples word on that. Maybe next time!
