In my travels around the world — 125 countries and counting — I have eaten a lot of street food. Reader Rusty asked me in a recent comment if I ever got sick.
Off the top of my head, I’ve eaten street food in–
- Afghanistan
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- Brunei
- Burma
- Cambodia
- China
- Colombia
- Fiji
- Georgia
- Germany
- India
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Peru
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
I am probably missing some countries from the list above, but I am happy to report that I have never been sickened by street food. Quite a game of Russian roulette or much ado about nothing?
Here’s three reasons why I am happy to eat street food–
- You see the kitchen – when the food is cooked right in front of you, you immediately have an indication whether it is good or not. Good street food will look and smell fresh before you ever put it in your mouth. The more crowded the street stall or the more specialized the item, the more likely it is to be fine.
- It is cheap – where else can you get such a bargain on breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I’ve had more street food dinners under $2 than over and if you’re still hungry seconds are only a minute away.
- It is tasty – smart locals have caught on that tourists like to get an “authentic” experience by eating street food, but that hasn’t changed the fact that street food often tastes fresher and better than in a restaurant
Here’s a handful of street food stalls I have eaten at around the world:
I have suffered from “food” poisoning once in my life while traveling, and it was not from street food. I was in Egypt and made the mistake of drinking from the water cooler in the gym of Ramses Hilton in Cairo.
Oy.
That was a rough few days that followed.
The following year, I was bold dumb enough in India to use the tap water in a three-star hotel in Agra to brush my teeth. That didn’t phase me. But after Egypt and perhaps dodging a bullet in India, my policy now is to drink only bottled water.
But — I look forward to street food whenever I can get it…
Have you tried street food at night markets in Taiwan? Best street food in the world.
I have not. Was in Taipei, but sorry to admit I had dinner there at the Grand Hyatt Club…
I second that street food at a night market in Taiwan is phenomenal.
Biggest problem is eating raw food and drinking local water. I only drink bottle of water and make sure the seal is not tampered and NEVER have any beverage with ice in countries that I know water may not be safe. Also, depending on the country I avoid eating salads and raw vegetables. I also eat fruits I can peel it.
Those are good tips.
I love street food but am cautious about it which probably stops me from eating more of it. I’ve had some stomach bugs over the years traveling but I can only recall getting very sick one time and luckily it lasted just over a day. We were traveling around Namibia and I had a delicious zebra steak. No problems etc… I’m pretty sure it was the following evening, we’re at a German restaurant in Swapokmund. I had to try the zebra carpacccio. The following day wasn’t pleasant!
Where did you eat street food in Georgia? Been several times and haven’t seen street food other than an iced coffee stand.
Right outside the train station in Tbilisi.
I don’t have it pictured, but I wrote about my trip there here–
http://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2013/12/02/pictures-one-day-in-tbilisi-georgia/
The skewers in Xian you have, meat might come from rat/possum/or anything invented by the locals. LOL http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22467484
Lovely…
I love to eat the street food for the same reasons you state. Loved the street food in Xi’an near the clock tower. Booths seemed to go on for a mile or more.
Also loved stopping at the side of the road in Sri Lanka eating freshly cut and salted Mangos.
But, Bangkok is hard to beat for taste.
I’ve gotten food poisoning three times while traveling — never from street food. Once was most likely from the breakfast buffet at the Westin in PVR, once from salmon on a Qantas flight, and the final time from a restaurant on Las Ramblas (a lesson to avoid that tourist trap of course but I was staying at Le Meridien there). Haven’t gotten food poisoning during my travels though in 9 years.
And I’ve eaten street food all over the world from Bangkok to Beijing to Mumbai, Vietnam and Cambodia, etc.
Oh salmon on a plane!!! 🙂 Once I made a huge mistake to order a “Japanese dinner” on a NW business class flight to Tokyo. By the time I got to Kuala Lumpur I thought I was going to die. After two days in a hotel bed with a doctor visiting me couple times, several drugs via IV and 6lbs lighter I flew back to the US on CX first class and all I could have was mineral water and pieces of bread. 🙁
Indeed street food can be safer than restaurants, and at the very least you can more easily see for yourself how things are handled and prepared…and it’s often fresher. I’ve only had food poisoning a few times but every instance has been here in the U.S. and never from any of the fifteen or so countries I’ve visited.
An excellent book by the way is “How To Shit Around the World” by Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s a serious book about not only the science behind gastrointestinal issues but how to best stay healthy while traveling and – as the title implies – how to deal with the many, sometimes alien, facilities for relieving oneself found around the planet.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Shit-Around-World-Traveling/dp/1932361324
I’m not a particular fan of street food. Not that I’m squeamish or anything, but in the places I go where street food is prevalent (mostly India), even regular restaurants are dirt cheap as long as you avoid touristy areas or Western hotels. I guess I’d rather just pay $5 for a nice, relaxing meal in a sit-down restaurant as opposed to $2 for something off the street.
That being said, I did used to eat street food occasionally when I was stationed in Hyderabad. Especially at the office, where the famous Tibbs Frankie yielded a delicious dinner for 100 rupees. I’d have an issue maybe once a year in the 7 years I went back and forth. And that probably had more to do with me being more adventurous than I should have been with other things – taking ice with drinks, eating fresh fruit, etc.
Why do you suppose the water cooler in Egypt caused problems? Was it not purified water?
Correct. I remember even noticing when I drank it that it did not taste like bottled water and when I asked someone they said they just use the same bottle and refill it from the sink!
When you visited Zimbabwe what kind of food did you order and how do you rate the meal out of 10
http://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2017/01/27/secret-victoria-falls-zimbabwe/