StreetFoods
6 Reasons To Eat Street Food by Christian Eilers
Eating street food is one of the cheapest and best ways to immerse yourself in another culture while you are traveling. In our increasingly mysophobic culture in North America and other first world countries, we only see more and more reasons why eating something off the street is as bad as, well, eating something off the street. Many vacationers stay away, as the small gathering of people surrounding a street vendor seems to exude everything that their vacation is intended to keep them away from: crowds of lower-class people, cheap food, dirt and disease, lawless behavior, and stress. You’re on vacation; why should you exert energy fighting through a crowd of people, up to a cart where they probably cannot understand you, to get food that in 5 hours will leave you hugging the toilet? It’s not worth it.
Here’s why it’s worth it:
1. Price - You cannot eat much more economically than when you eat street food. Sure, maybe you could go to the market and buy all the same ingredients and do it yourself, but do that when you are not traveling. Street food is always cheaper than eating the same thing in a restaurant, which is great for backpackers and others who are on a strict budget. In Southeast Asia, you can often grab your entire dinner for about $1 USD.
2. Culture - You are eating what much of the local population eats. The Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that 2.5 billion people get at least one meal from a street stall every day. That’s almost half of the world’s population! This street food is the real deal, not a modified version that you would find at a restaurant back home; this is what real people eat every day.
3. Cleanliness/Safety - Ok, so I cannot argue that eating street food will be safer than eating comparable foods in the restaurants; that’s a bit of a stretch. However, here are a few points to perhaps ease your mind. First, the ingredients that street vendors use tend to be very
Eating street food is one of the cheapest and best ways to immerse yourself in another culture while you are traveling. In our increasingly mysophobic culture in North America and other first world countries, we only see more and more reasons why eating something off the street is as bad as, well, eating something off the street. Many vacationers stay away, as the small gathering of people surrounding a street vendor seems to exude everything that their vacation is intended to keep them away from: crowds of lower-class people, cheap food, dirt and disease, lawless behavior, and stress. You’re on vacation; why should you exert energy fighting through a crowd of people, up to a cart where they probably cannot understand you, to get food that in 5 hours will leave you hugging the toilet? It’s not worth it.
Here’s why it’s worth it:
1. Price - You cannot eat much more economically than when you eat street food. Sure, maybe you could go to the market and buy all the same ingredients and do it yourself, but do that when you are not traveling. Street food is always cheaper than eating the same thing in a restaurant, which is great for backpackers and others who are on a strict budget. In Southeast Asia, you can often grab your entire dinner for about $1 USD.
2. Culture - You are eating what much of the local population eats. The Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that 2.5 billion people get at least one meal from a street stall every day. That’s almost half of the world’s population! This street food is the real deal, not a modified version that you would find at a restaurant back home; this is what real people eat every day.
3. Cleanliness/Safety - Ok, so I cannot argue that eating street food will be safer than eating comparable foods in the restaurants; that’s a bit of a stretch. However, here are a few points to perhaps ease your mind. First, the ingredients that street vendors use tend to be very