World's Best Street Food

Photo Source: Lonely Planet/Amazon


Lonely Planet has a new book coming out next month titled, The World's Best Street Food.  It isn't the last word in street foods, but sounds like it would be a good starting place.  One interesting aspect is that if you want to recreate some of these flavors at home, there are recipes in the book.  But I have a feeling that someone that has devoted years to making one signature item (which many street food vendors do) will be more successful than you.


One of the real joys of travel is trying new things, and food is one of them.  Food is also one of the best ways to learn more about a culutre and street food is the easiest and cheapest way to do that.  Some of the best things I have eaten have been street food, but there are a few rules you want to follow.

1. Lines are good.  Locals know who is serving the good stuff, so a busy line is always a great indicator of potentially tasty street food.
2. If it doesn't look fresh, don't eat it.  This rule is a good way to avoid having any gastrointestinal issues during your travels.  
3. Heat is your friend.  Not spicy, but temperature.  Heat kills bacteria, so eating things that are near boiling helps with rule #2.   I have been to many places and try to avoid things where bacteria is likely to grow because something could be spoiling.  
4. Ask a local that has to eat out a lot based on their occupation.  Police officers and taxi drivers fit the bill.  They are usually on the go and are used to people asking them questions so they will probably have a reliable answer.  I don't find concierges at hotels to always be helpful when looking for great street food.
5. Don't let language barriers get in your way.  Charades works fine as long as you know to avoid certain gestures that would give the wrong impression.   
6. Be adventurous! You might never get the chance to try that item again.

Having documented my love for street food before, I'm definitely looking forward to this book.







Here is a listing of the foods in the book along with country of origin.  I have also listed the ones I have tried (doesn't mean I have necessarily mean I have been to all of these countries, just that I have tried a version of that food somewhere).  The only I probably don't like is baklava (don't really have much of a sweet tooth).  Which ones have you tried?

	Food	Country	Y/N
1	Açaí na tigela	Brazil	Y
2	Acarajé	Brazil
3	Arancino	Italy	Y
4	Baklava	Turkey	Y
5	Balik Ekmek	Turkey	Y
6	Bamboo Rice	Taiwan
7	Banh Mi	Vietnam	Y
8	Baozi	China	Y
9	Beavertails	Canada	Y
10	Bhelpuri	India
11	Bliny	Russia	Y
12	Bo Bia	Vietnam	Y
13	Börek	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Y
14	Breakfast Burrito	USA	Y
15	Brik	Tunisia
16	Bsarra	Morocco	Y
17	Bun Cha	Vietnam
18	Cevapcici	Croatia
19	Ceviche de Corvina	Peru
20	Chimney Cake	Hungary
21	Chivito al Pan	Uruguay
22	Chole Batura	India
23	Choripán	Argentina	Y
24	Churro	Spain	Y
25	Cicchetti	Italy
26	Coctel de Camaron	Mexico
27	Conch	Bahamas	Y
28	Cornish Pasty	England	Y
29	Crepe	France	Y
30	Currywurst	Germany
31	Daulat ki Chaat	India
32	Douhua	China, Singapore, & Taiwan	Y
33	Egg Waffles	Hong Kong	Y
34	Elote	Mexico
35	Felafel	Israel	Y
36	Fuul Mudammas	Egypt
37	Gelato	Italy	Y
38	Gordita	Mexico
39	Gözleme	Turkey
40	Gyros	Greece	Y
41	Hainanese Chicken Rice	Malaysia & Singapore	Y
42	Hollandse Nieuwe Haring	The Netherlands
43	Hopper	Sri Lanka
44	Hot Dog	USA	Y
45	Hotteok	South Korea
46	Ice Kacang	Malaysia
47	Jalebi	India
48	Jerked Pork	Jamaica & Caribbean Islands
49	Juane	Peru
50	Kati Roll	India
51	Khao Soi	Thailand
52	Klewele	Ghana
53	Knish	USA
54	Kuaytiaw	Thailand
55	Kushari	Egypt
56	Lángos	Hungary
57	Maine Lobster Roll	USA	Y
58	Mangue Verte	Senegal
59	Man'oushe	Lebanon
60	Martabak Manis	Indonesia
61	Masala Chai	India
62	Masala Dosa	India
63	Meat Pie	Australia
64	Mithaa Paan	India
65	Mohinga	Myanmar (Burma)
66	Murtabak	Malaysia & Singapore
67	Otak-Otak	Indonesia, Malaysia, & Singapore
68	Oyster Cake	Hong Kong	Y
69	Pane, Panelle e Crocché	Italy
70	Pastel de nata	Portugal	Y
71	Pastizzi	Malta
72	Peso Pizza	Cuba
73	Phat Kaphrao	Thailand
74	Phat Thai	Thailand
75	Pho	Vietnam	Y
76	Pierogi	Poland	Y
77	Pizza al Taglio	Italy	Y
78	Poisson Cru	French Polynesia	Y
79	Poutine	Canada
80	Pretzel	USA	Y
81	Pupusa	El Salvador	Y
82	Red Red	Ghana
83	Roasted Chestnuts	Europe	Y
84	Sabih	Israel
85	Salteña	Bolivia
86	Samosa	India	Y
87	Samsa	Central Asia
88	Sarawak Laksa	Malaysia
89	Sfenji	Morocco	Y
90	Sfiha	Lebanon
91	Som Tam	Thailand
92	Sopaipilla	Chile
93	Spring Roll	China	Y
94	Stinky Tofu	Taiwan
95	Taco	Mexico	Y
96	Takoyaki	Japan	Y
97	Tamale	Mexico	Y
98	Walkie-Talkies	South Africa
99	Yang Rou Chuan	China	Y
100	Zapiekanka	Poland