The most iconic street food experiences to remember for a lifetime

Some of the most memorable foodie moments abroad come from simple stalls, rather than high-end restaurants. ’s writers share their best street food experiences.

I don't speak much Bahasa Indonesia, but despite any linguistic limitations, I've always eaten very well in Sumatra. Nasi Padang, West Sumatra's culinary export is hugely popular across Indonesia's archipelago of more than 14,000 islands – and increasingly also in Malaysia and Singapore – but the DIY dining style is best experienced in the traditional heartland of the Minangkabau people.

At simple street food stalls and flasher sit-down restaurants in Padang, it's not uncommon for a table-covering array of around 30 small dishes to be offered. Rice and vegetables are usually complimentary, and you'll only be charged for what you choose from the dizzying chilli-laced spread.

Beef rendang is the Padang dish that's known internationally, but other local favourites include telur balado (eggs with spicy sambal), and sotong hitam (squid with lemongrass and tamarind).

Simply point to choose your favourite dishes and wash it all down with juice from a fresh coconut.

It’s almost a rite of passage if you’re travelling South India. A hot, buttery masala dosa eaten at one of the many roadside eateries that dot every corner of Karnataka.

Think of it as a savoury crispy crepe filled with spiced potato and served with a variety of lentil dips (sambar) and coconut & mint chutney. The crepe is made with fermented rice and urad dal (a lentil) batter so great for the vegans and gluten-free.

Food historians have argued over the origins of dosa for many decades, with some claiming it originated in the 1st Century AD in the ancient Tamil country, while others claim it is from the town of Udupi in Karnataka.

Legend has it that a rebellious Brahmin cook tried to ferment some rice in an attempt to make alcohol, which was strictly forbidden in Hindu society . When he failed, he fried the batter instead and the dosa was born. The Sanskrit word “dosha” can be translated to mean “evil” or “sin”, which is exactly how you’ll feel after consuming a perfectly made dosa, fried in lashings of ghee.

While masala dosa is my personal favourite, today you’ll find many different kinds including cheese dosa, onion dosa, butter chicken dosa and pizza dosa (shudder!)

Pair it with a piping hot masala chai or traditional South Indian filter coffee and you’ll crave it every day that follows.

It’s pork marinated in wine, garlic and spices and then slapped inside a crusty bread roll, but my day-long hunt for this humble Portuguese snack made it all the more worth it.

I arrived prepared in Lisbon with the city’s so-called best destinations for bifana pinned onto a map. After downing a couple of pasteis de nata custard tarts for breakfast it would be an easy walk through the narrow streets to the next meal spot.

The owners of the restaurant which had the late Anthony Bourdain’s seal of approval were having a break for two weeks. Another renowned hole-in-the-wall down in Alfama had the same idea, shutting up shop for the tourist season.

Deflated and sweaty, it was back by the central metro station that I finally had my bifana fix. Looking for something, anything, to line my stomach before 24 hours of air travel, I stumbled into a tourist cafe. Everyone at the counter was standing eating pork rolls.

I ordered, applied a squirt of yellow mustard, and was in and out with my package in minutes. Meat and bread has never tasted so sweet.

You can’t visit Japan and not try takoyaki, the little fried balls filled with chunks of octopus and topped with a tangy brown sauce, a squiggle of mayonnaise, and some dancing bonito flakes.

These days the snack can be found all over the country, but it originated in Osaka, Japan’s culinary hotspot - there’s even a special phrase used to describe locals’ obsession with food, “kuidaore”, which roughly translates as “eating yourself bankrupt”. But fortunately, takoyaki won’t break the bank - a standard order of eight balls will cost less than 1000 yen (NZ$11.50).

The city’s neon-lit Dotonbori district is undoubtedly the most atmospheric place to eat it - there are several stalls to choose from, and you can use the length of the lines as an indicator of the best spots.

The balls are typically served in a cardboard boat with a skewer, ready for eating, but you’ll want to proceed with caution - as tempting as it is to pop one straight in your mouth, they’ll be piping hot. Poke a hole to let some steam escape, and then go ahead and enjoy. -

One of my favourite places for street food in the world is Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumpur. I don't know if it's the smells, the lights, the brightly coloured plastic tables, the delicious sizzling sights or the humming excitement of this famous street but it's one of my happiest places.

There are all kinds of meat and seafood on skewers being cooked over coals, fruit vendors selling freshly squeezed juices, juicy roast duck and chicken with that perfectly crispy skin, freshly pulled noodles in big brothy bowls, barbecue pork, the flame of woks stir-frying meat and veggies with spicy aromas, creamy curries and my favourite type of desserts in the world that always involve thick slabs of mango and more sweet coconut cream than should be legal.

The street food is so good in Singapore that even the financially blessed characters of Crazy Rich Asians spent time there - as Nick Young, played by Henry Golding, points out - some have even earned Michelin stars.

On a too-short three days there a few years ago, I joined the lengthy queue for one of them - Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle in the maze-like Chinatown Food Complex. The wait was worth it - crispy on the outside and sweetly succulent in the centre, my substantial disposable plateful of soya sauce chicken was made even more of a taste sensation with the addition of steamed nuts and juicy char siew.

It’s hard to go wrong at any of the city-state’s famous hawker centres if you pick a stall with a queue. Other dishes to look out for include char kway teow - a deliciously calorific mix of noodles, fishcake, egg, sausage and bean sprouts stir-fried in lard - and the Singaporean version of hokkien mee - a medley of noodles, prawns, pork, squid, egg and veggies with sambal and lime for a zesty kick.

It was a blisteringly hot day in the Californian city and I’d only just arrived from a long flight from New York. I was already a bit grumbly and my increasingly active stomach was only adding to my malaise. I was meeting up with a friend, a local who knew where to go and what to do, and by golly he knew what he was doing because he brought me to what I can only call ‘food truck nirvana’.

It was down one of those back alleys that tourists really shouldn’t tread, but here on this bright summer’s day, an even brighter array of food trucks were parked, each offering a veritable gourmet trip around the world.

A heavy dose of Mexican fare sat alongside Philippine, Vietnamese and Thai, all jostling for those dollars. I devoured simple tacos and jumped headlong into adobo - sticky, vibrant chicken. Can I remember the street name? Not a chance. Can I remember that pulled pork bun? You bet!

Fresh from a crisp NZ winter, I was sunburnt after the first 15 minutes of wandering the port town of Halifax in New England. I’d been on a cruise and had no shortage of food onboard. But still, I wanted more. I wanted poutine, the famous chips-and-gravy Canadian culinary export.

It wasn’t hard to find - Smoke’s Poutinerie is one of Canada’s most iconic franchises, serving up the hot chips doused in gravy and melting cheese curd. Having walked around 16,000 steps over the city, I devoured the dish, the density of it refuelling my body down to every last leg muscle, giving me enough strength to walk back to the ship and burn off just enough energy to get ready for dinner.