Don’t be surprised, the best countries for street food are not Italy or France. This is a post for adventurous foodies that don’t like to waste their precious traveling time sitting in a fancy restaurant, that looks just like the one in their hometown. The best countries for street food can be found in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Sorry, Europe!
Let’s begin with defining the “Street Food”
It is not necessarily sold on the street. It could be an indoor restaurant, as long as it’s got cheap food for the local people. Also, “Street Food” doesn’t need to be very traditional food, that locals have been eating for hundreds or thousands of years in a specific region. In many countries in the world, people have adopted meals or nutrition habits from other countries. They did a little twist on it and made it part of their own culture…. and that is perfectly fine! Here’s the countdown:
10. Senegal
TDI: 1-2 What's this?
Other then the cultural experience of eating from the same pot with the strangers, this is also a true dining experience, because fish stew’s in Senegal are super tasty! Not sure what herbs they use, but it’s very flavorful. No need to mention the fish is truly organic!
Other then the traditional food, there is a big trend in Senegal, especially in Dakar: Fast Food! I am not talking about McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, etc… It’s regular street vendors selling the local interpretation of fast food… Sandwich with eggs and potatoes, sandwich with lentil and pasta… by default it is a little bit heavy on starch, but it’s more economical that way. Is Dakar fast food better than the western-style fast-food chains? Of course! Whatever they put inside a bun, is not gonna be GMO and it won’t smell like medicine!
9. Mexico
TDI: 2-3 What's this?
There’s really no need to talk about the Mexican food. It is famous all over the world, and it has an enormous influence on the US and Latin American food culture! As much as the country has been developing over the decades, the culture of Street Food is still very prevalent.
Even when I was in a very touristy and westernized gringo town of Playa del Carmen, I just had to walk four blocks away from the shore (5 minutes), in order to find a fun street market with $2 quesadillas! (By the way, I never stayed in Playa del Carmen, it was only a transit stop. As a nomad, I felt I had to that:)
8. Kenya
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Other than eating cheap and fatty cow meat on the dusty and noisy street corners, there’s plenty of variety. Meat or fish stew with rice or white corn porridge is an African classic, and in Kenya, they certainly know how to make it tasty. There’s also plenty of Indian influence, as well. Chapati (Indian pita bread) became part of Kenyan culture and they make it delicious. You can also find fried Indian-style snacks on the streets, like Samosa.
7. Cote Ivoire
TDI: 1 What's this?
Just like in Senegal, in Cote Ivoire, you can also enjoy the flavorful Fish stew over rice. There is Fast Food as well, but a lot different then Senegalese. It’s more European. The vendors offer a variety of toppings like ham, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, avocado, or peppers for the patrons to choose what they would like in baguette-style bread. Sounds very westernized, except the ingredients are a lot more natural.
Also, Cote Ivoire offers something I like to describe as “Premium Street Food.” Let me explain… Instead of eating a fish stew for $2, that has been pre-cooked and was sitting in the pot for a few hours, you can also find vendors that cook from scratch once you order. Price is a little higher… $5. You don’t pay for the service. You still eat on the street, but you pay a bit more for the quality: a large plate of freshly grilled chicken or fish with a side of roasted potatoes, salad, and vegetables. It’s indeed a high-quality restaurant-style meal!
6. Philippines
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From the exotic food, other than the crocodile meat, I had a chance to enjoy raw worms. I know, it sounds gross, but they were marinated, and that’s what makes a huge difference. Honestly, they tasted similar to oysters.
Other than the exotic food, locals make all kinds of stews: Beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, fish, accompanied by a variety of exotic herbs and vegetables. The unique thing is, vendors, don’t sell them on the street. Instead, at the porches of their homes. That experience has changed my life and I wrote about it in my Philippines story.
5. El Salvador
TDI: 2-3 What's this?
In Central America, you can find pretty much all the good stuff, that is typically labeled as Mexican food: Tacos, rice and beans, pork, thick-sliced white cheese, cabbage, avocado, pico de Gallo, salsa, etc… but in El Salvador, on top of all that, you can also find Pupusa – a taco stuffed with cheese! It doesn’t sound like a revolution, but it actually is.. for two simple reasons: First: it is incredibly delicious! Second, you can’t get Pupusa anywhere else! Well, if you make an effort, you can find them in parts of Honduras and Nicaragua, close to the Salvadorian border.
4. Sao Tome I Principe
TDI: 2 What's this?
Not many people have heard of this paradise Island country, located in the African Atlantic coast. Sao Tome is super rich with tropical rain forests. The main industry is agriculture. The result of those two facts is the abundance of fresh, high-quality produce. The most famous chef in the country is “Mother Nature.” They don’t really have authentic cuisine, and it’s better that way. The fish, egg, avocado, breadfruit, or tomato is so flavourful, that additions like marinades, chutneys, and sauces would just ruin the meal. You can check out the photos of this green paradise in my Sao Tome post.
3. Madagascar
TDI: 1-2 What's this?
If I need to describe the Malagasy cuisine with only one word, that would be “variety”… In so many ways! First, the variety of influences. Madagascar was originally inhabited by both Africans and Asians. Eventually, they became a French colony. So the culture and its cuisine have influence from all three continents.
The second is the variety of different products offered by a single vendor, just like on the picture above. In Madagascar, you won’t find a stand with two or three different things. Your head would start spinning from the selection!
The third would be the variety of ingredients the meal is made out of… Madagascar is famous for its unique flora and fauna that can not be found anywhere else, outside of the island. So for food preparation, they use a lot of exotic vegetables, herbs, and spices we are not familiar with.
2. Peru
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Everything I ate during my one month stay in Peru was very delicious. Two things stand out is the Hamburger I had in Cusco made from alpaca meat and cheese. You can read about it in my Story from traveling Peru.
Second is the ceviche! I had it in the other countries, but the Peruvian version, also the original one, with clam juice, camote potatoes, and white corn, is a game-changer! I don’t have a picture of it, but on this link, it looks the closest to the version I have enjoyed on the street markets of Lima and Cuzco.
1. India
TDI: 1-2 What's this?
Original, exotic, authentic, spiritual… Yes, spiritual! While traveling India, sometimes I would get a snack on the street, that looked very simple and cheap… Then I would taste it, and find out it’s actually an exotic delicacy! Even when I had free food in a Temple (yes, free food for everyone), it was still very tasty.
Very soon I came up with a conclusion there are no bullshit meals in this country. If it’s a meal, it will be done right and it will be tasty, no matter how cheap the ingredients are, and no matter how poor the environment is. Some people say: In India, no matter how poor you are, you eat like a king! There is a spiritual background behind it. In the Hindu religion, eating is a sacred ritual, and cooking is a religious ceremony. In many households, the kitchen is considered to be a temple. When a Hindu people cook, they do it with a positive spirit. I believe that is one of the secrets why in India such simple meals taste so good.
Second would be the spices. Any simple meal would probably contain ten to twenty different herbs and spices. The key is not only the proportions, and combinations, but also which spices need to be cooked longer and which shorter.
There is a huge difference in the north and south of the country. South is more vegetarian. As a matter of fact, there is a huge difference from state to state! Three of us carnivore travelers have spent one month in the south and enjoyed the food so much we didn’t miss meat at all!
Famous Anthony Bourdain loved Indian food, as well as Gordon Ramsey. In this BBC documentary, a food critic was explaining Gordon, if he wants to eat well in India, he needs to eat on the street, not in the fancy restaurants. Ironically she is a reputable critic that recommends fancy restaurants for a living!
Check out my Story from Traveling India, or photo galleries from Hampi and Tamil Nadu.