Seeing as I’m the Street Food Guy I felt it about time I defined street food. Street food is ready to eat food or drinks, generally served outside on streets (see what I did there), or indeed public places.
It tends to be served from a food booth, truck, or portable structure that tends to brought out of a nighttime (although this is not always the case).
In theory at least street food is usually served quickly (fast food), although again this depends massively on what you are ordering.
Of course, rules regarding what constitutes street food are fluid, and up to interpretation. Street food in China for example is often cooked inside, but consumed on the street (such as kou rou), obviously with beer.
Street food is also HUGE business feeding and estimated 2.5 billion people every single day.
Standards, much like anything vary greatly in the world of street food. Traditionally it is cheaper than fixed venue cuisine (little to no rent), and whilst it is considered “no frills” by some, standards can be excellent. Macau and Hong Kong for example have Michelin stared street food vendors.
Historically street food is no new invention, with there being references going back to Ancient Greece, where vendors would sell fish on the streets. Even fish and chips (I am an Englishman after all) started as street grub.
Fast food, of the franchise variety falls under a different category, but i like it, so therefore I write about it in my blog!
In my personal opinion there is no better way to learn about a place, or country than by getting down and dirty with the street food scene. It is here you get the sites, sounds, smells and indeed people that make travelling so special.
To me at least, travel and street food go hand in hand.
And where is the best street food in the world? There’s a lot of great stuff out there, such as China, Macao, and even the Solomon Islands, but for me at least, nothing compares to the street food of Vietnam. Although there’s still a lot of the planet I’m yet to tread, so who knows? My heart may we’ll be pulled elsewhere.
It’s rather fun being The Street Food Guy!
