Asia is a continent of street food—you’d be greeted by endless street food stalls wherever you go. To spend a few coins on hawkers and savour the street food, is a quintessential part of Asian life. Here, we list three street food scenes in Asia you should try on your next orienteering trip!
1. Thailand
If you have a Thai friend and you’re visiting Bangkok, chances are that your friend would be asking you, “have you tried the street food?” Street food is indeed omnipresent in cities throughout Thailand—from street vendors, to the bustling night markets, to the characteristic floating markets on boats—these places are all well frequented by Thais and tourists alike.
Noodles like Pad Thai are frequent items at street vendors. Coconut-based snacks, Malay roti, and fried insects (if you dare!) are other items that you can often buy from hawkers.
2. Indonesia
The vast and multicultural archipelago country of Indonesia has a vibrant street food scene, a mix of Indonesian, Chinese and Dutch influences. Street stalls on wheels, whereby the hawker can paddle around and sell, are a common sight, providing affordable nourishment to the people.
Like in Thailand, here you’ll find main dishes like fried noodles (mi goreng) and chicken congee (bubur ayam), as well as snacks like pancakes and drinks like palm wine (tuak).
3. Hong Kong
Street hawkers in Hong Kong are, unfortunately, not as many as the aforementioned two countries as the government here considers these as nuisance on street cleanliness and therefore stopped issuing licenses decades ago. Hawkers now mainly sell in fixed shops along the street, or in stalls inside shopping malls. You can still find individual mobile stalls on the street.
Street food in Hong Kong is part of city’s identity. Fish balls, egg waffles and fried chestnuts are a few examples of the many tasty snacks you can buy from roadside shops.