Give me Food off the StreETS!
One of the best parts of my travels is walking the streets looking for tasty treats! Fruit candied in hard sugar and skewered on sticks like glistening jewels, roasted corn on the cob, and skewers of any meat or insect you can think of in China. Warm, smoky roasted chestnuts, sweet apple tea, and gooey warm cheese bread in Istanbul. Fried doughnuts and momos (dumplings) stuffed with vegetables or buffalo in Kathmandu. Tea served in a plastic bag with a straw, pad thai in skillets larger than industrial stoves, seasoned corn kernels in cups, pineapples and mangoes bursting with sweetness and flavor.
My first taste of real street food was a decade ago when I spent a semester abroad in China. As a pescatarian. While the streets of Beijing teemed with vendors selling chuan, skewers of roasted beef, pork, chicken, lamb, scorpion, and other exotic meat kebabs, I devoured warm perfectly spice na'an, nearly broke a tooth cracking into a skewer of candied strawberries, orange slices, and mini apples, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob roasted over open coals, vegetable dumplings, and what we named Egg McMao - a crepe with an egg scrambled on top, a salty, crispy cracker layer, spices, and folded up into quarters that was a tasty to-go breakfast on the way to class. I never wanted to ask what the crispy layer was and years later, I learned it was pork rind!
Top L-R: Fresh orange juice in Istanbul, roasted chestnuts in Istanbul, Fried doughnuts in Kathmandu, Pad thai and egg rolls in Bangkok, Bugs of all sorts in a Thai street fair, The biggest fry pan of pad thai ever in Thailand, Fresh pineapple and mango in Vietnam, Roasted chestnuts in Southeast Asia.
Traveling the country from Beijing to Shanghai to Xian to Guilin to Urumqi the food changed from the saucy servings in Beijing to the spiciest food I've ever had in the northwest to the exotic food of the southeast where the saying is "eat everything that has wings but a plane and everything with legs but a table. While most American's spend their 21st birthdays in some bar with an evening they may or may not remember, mine was spent in mountains terraced with rice paddies in Guilin surrounded by villagers. With a group of friends we went walking to find a place to eat and found a restaurant that was a few outdoor tables next to the small creek outside of a small farm house. We ordered dishes to be shared amongst all of us family style as is the tradition in China, pumpkin soup, whole chickens, our favorite egg and tomato dish, dumplings, roasted pork, some tofu dishes, hot tea, and plenty of lukewarm bottles of Tsingtao and PBR tallboys.
My love affair with street food and local food was piqued and all of my travels and adventure since have included indulgences in local flavors and what the streets have to offer.