One of the best ways to experience a place’s unique culture is by tasting the local cuisine. For example, try to resist the aroma of freshly cracked durian on almost every street corner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or the aroma of porchetta sandwiches in Florence, Italy. In addition to being quite tasty, street food is also a very cheap and exciting way to eat while traveling.
Street food used to be a simple snack offered to hungry tourists or locals going about their daily lives on the side of the road, on a stall, or even in a food court, but in recent years it has developed into much more than that.
Apart from history, language, and arts, street food has lately been praised as the essence of travel and as a vital component of culture. Of course, everyone who has traveled knows how fantastic street food is, but where should you go to sample the best street cuisine on earth?
To excite your taste buds, here is a list of the world’s top 10 street food cities in no particular order.
Tokyo, Japan
The street food industry in Tokyo, Japan, has a lot to live up to after earning the coveted title of having the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the entire globe.
And it does! Small shops sell Tamagoyaki; a traditional Japanese omelet served on a stick. Perhaps market stalls selling Ningo Yaki, tiny little custard or chocolate-filled biscuits in the shape of little lanterns or Hello Kitty faces that can be found far below the neon-lit skyscrapers.
If you find yourself in Harajuku, you must try the neighborhood’s famous crepes! These hand-held sweets, unique to this location, can be topped with everything from ice cream to fruit to cake pieces!
Dishes to try; Takoyaki, baby octopus stuffed with quail egg, wagyu skewers, and namagashi.
Cartagena, Colombia
Numerous food carts spread out around the city sell items like ceviche with cocktail sauce, arepas loaded with eggs and beef, fresh fruit juices, patacon con todo (a plantain covered with meat and cheese), and even hot micheladas.
For the ultimate experience, get a late-night arepa de huevo and michelada while admiring local dancers and entertainers inside Cartagena’s historic walls.
Dishes to try; Ceviche, arepa de huevo, michelada, patacon con todo.
Marrakech, Morocco
When you walk through the smoke of freshly cooked meats and smell the spices of the slow-cooked tangia being cooked in clay pots, your taste buds will thank you forever!
The secret is to navigate past the crowds of people and follow the long lines of locals who will always know where the most fabulous food stalls are, and don’t be afraid to explore a few side alleyways as well!
Anyone looking to sample the cuisine in Marrakech should go to sites like Jemma el Fna, which is noted for its food stalls.
Dishes to try; Snail soup, pastille, msemen, sfinge, merguez sausage, and briouat.
Taipei, Taiwan
If night markets aren’t your thing (though they should be in Taiwan), there are several carts and sellers open throughout the day in the young area of Ximending that serves Taiwanese fried chicken, pineapple cake, beef noodle soup, and grilled lobster tails.
The ultimate umami experience is offered at the stalls selling items like stinky tofu, beef skewers, radish cakes, scallion pancakes, and fried oysters, among others. The cuisine available in Taipei’s night markets is unmatched anywhere else in the globe.
Dishes to try; Radish cake, stinky tofu, youtiao, soy milk, and pork pepper bun.
Florence, Italy
Lampredotto, a sandwich with trippa (the lining of a cow’s stomach) inside and a salsa verde on top, is a typical food in Florence. When visiting Italy, one might not think of street food, but Florence has many options for quick meals because of its many “chioschi” or roadside shops.
One of the city’s best meals may be at a little sandwich store named All’Antico Vinaio. There are sandwiches with meat on them, including one with porchetta and homemade onion and potato creams, as well as one with mortadella and pistachio cream.
Dishes to try; Gelato, porchetta sandwich, and lampredotto.
Bangkok, Thailand
Across the city, there are food carts selling street fare. They operate on a rotating schedule, with some serving breakfast in the morning, others only serving lunch and dinner to employees, and then, of course, some that open as the sun goes down and stay up all night.
Bangkok is known for its street food; my first recollection of the city from more than 20 years ago is of sitting on the street on Khao San Road after a long, exhausting flight and stuffing my face with countless inexpensive plates of Pad Thai!
Dishes to try; Khao soi, pad thai, sai oua, laab khua, and tom luad moo.
Mumbai, India
Mumbai’s street food scene heavily draws inspiration from the unique regions, from the spicy north to the tastier influences of the south, which has its take on the traditional dish that makes this backpacker hotspot a street food mecca. As a result, most of India can legitimately claim to be a food paradise.
Dishes to try; Panipuri, vada pav, bhelpuri, pav bhaji, masala chai, and Kathi rolls.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is practically lined with durian options, and there are businesses dedicated to selling everything from durian gum to dried durian to plain old durian. But unfortunately, various nations once forbade the use of durian on public transportation.
Some said it smelled like rotten onions, and others said it tasted like sweaty gym socks, but the genuine surprise was that despite its foul smell, it seemed to taste sweet and have a cheesecake-like texture.
Dishes to try; Satay, namasi lemeka, char kuey teow, pork noodles, and bak kut teh.
Seoul, South Korea
Some of the most memorable dishes you will ever consume are Korean fried chicken topped with cheese, bibimbap at Gyeongdong market, and “911” chicken in Hongdae. I once ate a waffle filled with Nutella and strawberries, a bacon egg, a cheese “cupcake,” and even a carton of cheese fries.
Dishes to try; 911 chicken, fried chicken, bibimbap, and waffles.
Conclusion
If you have been planning to go on a food travel expedition, any one of the above cities offers you an unforgettable street food culinary experience. So pack your bags and hop on the next flight towards these tempting delicacies.
