Food: Tips

5 Reasons Why You Should Eat Street Food on Holiday

Guest post by Bel around the World… 

Travel to Cambridge - Sibling Diaries.png

This week, read a guest post on our favourite topic: FOOD, by a fellow traveller, Isabel, from Bel around the World.

About Isabel: Isabel draws energy from being outdoors. 23 and from Singapore, she believes there is nothing more fulfilling than being unplugged. An explorer at heart, the world is her playground. She chronicles her student travel adventures and budget tips on her blog. Follow her blog for more stories.

Over to her… 

Travellers often flock to the stalls around the world that offer up delectable portions of street food. You may be wondering why it’s so popular – here are five reasons why you should be doing the same when on holiday.

5971491387_c490d2837a_b

Image Source

1. There’s a massive variety

One of the most impressive things about street food, no matter where you are, is the sheer variety of dishes on offer. Head to Vietnam, for example, and you’ll be able to sample everything from the renowned pho to the baguette-like banh mi (labelled by The Guardian as one of the best street foods in the world), both as delectable as the other. And street food sometimes offers up a challenge for the more adventurous traveller. One of Cambodia’s most prized meals is fried tarantula, with the huge spiders being served on skewers. Those who have tasted it have likened the taste of the legs to chicken, with the gooey abdomen being the most difficult part to consume. Yummy.

2. Street food is always affordable

When travelling, it’s likely you’ll be sticking to a tight budget. That’s why street food makes for the best option when it comes to eating – you’ll never be spending more than a couple of units of whatever your native currency is. Even the biggest and the best portions won’t be out of your price range. A bowl of pad thai in Thailand is never going to exceed $4 USD, and you’ll be guaranteed a fresh, nutritious and delicious dish without breaking the bank. Restaurants sometimes charge you much more than necessary for food that may not be as good, so sticking to a quick and easy meal from a street stall is the best bet for the traveller on a budget.

15877674756_78d1c85016_b

Image Source

3. It’s prepared fresh

There’s no denying that you could spend hours each day watching chefs prepare their dishes fresh on the street. There’s hardly any risk of dealing with the dreaded Delhi belly when eating street food, as you’ll be able to watch it being prepared right in front of you, no matter where you are.

In fact, the act of cooking street food makes up for a large part of its appeal. There’s something fascinating about seeing how chefs from across the world prepare their dishes and how some of the most interesting foods are made from scratch – head to Jamaica to watch the considerably fragrant cooking of jerk chicken, with the scent filling the streets.

4. It’s a way to experience the culture

If you’re looking for ways to understand and appreciate the culture of your destination, street food is a great way in. Food is undeniably important within many cultures. Take Japan, for example, where sushi is perhaps the most iconic and instantly recognizable thing on offer.

And there are some cultural customs in relation to consuming food that you’ll be expected to understand and follow. In Thailand, for example, you shouldn’t throw your leftovers away. It’s said to upset the God of Rice, a female deity who watches over the country and ensures nobody is going hungry or without food.

3220179906_b7a64be6e1_b

Image Source

5. The best dishes come from the street

It seems safe to say that the best food you’ll eat whilst travelling will be street food. You can find nearly anything prepared fresh, and meals won’t leave you out of pocket – whether it’s a curry upon the bustling streets of Delhi or some traditional Thai satay, rest assured you’ll be blown away by the quality of street food all over the world.

Have you got a favourite street food dish? Let us know in the comments below!

🙂 Lyf&Spice fam, we hope you enjoyed reading his post as much as we enjoyed publishing it.

L&S Banner 2017

Check out our travel & food posts on Instagram.

Eat – Travel – Enjoy

71 thoughts on “5 Reasons Why You Should Eat Street Food on Holiday”

  19. Really enjoyed this street food post! I could totally relate to all five points as I’ve just spent one month in KL and one month in Bali. Always fascinated by the way street food is prepared and agree most of this time it is super fresh!
    Kristie – you.theworld.wandering

    Like

  20. I very much want to second the advice about street food being fresh, especially if you’re in a part of the world where “dodgy belly” is rife. Street food, and especially vegetarian street food, always works wonders for me and I rarely get ill thank god.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. When traveling abroad my husband and I always look forward to trying delicious street food. We look for the longest line formed by locals. And we also make sure that the person serving the food is not handling the money. Experiencing new types of food is part of the adventure of traveling.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Yay!! I do agree with the points to eat street food while travel. Most of the delicious and affordable snack is just at the street food stalls while travelling around and I just love it ❤

    Like

  29. While travelling in Thailand, used to see an idol of a woman around which fresh flowers were put every day in the front of almost all shops.Is that the ‘rice goddess’?
    I never imagined tarantulas were edible,as they are poisonous.How are they de-poisoned?

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Street food is the best way to really get to know the local culture. I think I would scream if I tried the tarantula in Cambodia, and I’m also vegetarian now, so it would be harder to find street food without meat. The fun part of traveling is always looking for the unknown.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. I couldn’t agree less with all this points, I’m fact, No 5 got me, ‘the best dishes come from the street.’ I can argue this all day with my friends who think otherwise. Whenever I travel with my friends, I switch off my phone and explore the street for the ‘best,’ I can’t imagine a tour without street food, it’s just not complete.

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Street food are so yummy. We enjoyed street food in Malaysia and Bangkok when we visited. Agree that the food was prepared fresh and not expensive. The best food is where the vendors sell them to the locals.

    Liked by 1 person

  40. I agree that good food come in the street. I remember tasting an authentic pho and pad thai in Vietnam and Thailand respectively both in the normal food stall in the streets. Also in Singapore, I love the ice cream sandwich also being sold in the streets.

    Liked by 1 person

  46. I have to admit it isn’t often I’ve thought of eating street food but I bet it can really be delicious, all the different types offered. I will have to keep it in mind next time I’m travelling.

    Liked by 1 person

  48. Totally agree that street food is the best! I”m pretty lucky in that I hardly ever get food poisoning, but I’ve known plenty of people who have gotten sick from eating street food. One tip I’ve heard (which makes a lot of sense) is to eat at conventional hours and at stalls with long queues – that way, you know that the food you’re getting hasn’t been lying out for hours.

    Liked by 1 person

  50. I love getting street food/visiting with street carts! I don’t exactly have a favorite per say, but the best gyro I’ve ever had was from a street cart! I’ve also had a delicious salted caramel crepe from one while on my honeymoon years ago that I still dream about.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s