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Street-food chef grilling skewers and plating tacos at an outdoor night stall

Top 12 Street-Food Dishes Worth Flying For

The best dining rooms often have no walls. Pull up a plastic stool, follow the smoke or the slurp chorus, and let these twelve dishes justify a long-haul flight on taste alone.

1. Tacos al Pastor — Mexico City, Mexico

Al pastor tacos on corn tortillas

Pork shaved from a trompo spit, kissed with pineapple, cilantro and salsa verde.
Where: El Huequito, Centro Histórico
Going rate: 18 MXN (≈ 1 USD)

2. Phở Bò — Hanoi, Vietnam

Bowl of pho bo in Hanoi

Broth simmered overnight, rice noodles, paper-thin beef, armfuls of herbs.
Where: Phở Gia Truyền, 49 Bát Đàn
Cost: 50 000 VND (≈ 2 USD)

3. Pad Thai Kung — Bangkok, Thailand

Pad Thai with prawns

Wok-seared rice noodles, tamarind tang, shrimp still popping.
Where: Thipsamai, Maha Chai Rd.
Cost: 90 THB (≈ 2.40 USD) plus free orange-juice refill

4. Jianbing — Beijing, China

Jianbing with egg and sauce

Crepe, egg, scallions, crispy wonton sheet, chilli bean smear — fold & go.
Where: Bicycle carts outside Dongzhimen subway before 09:00
Cost: 8 RMB (≈ 1.10 USD). Dish history

5. Vada Pav — Mumbai, India

Vada pav with chutney

Spiced potato fritter in a fluffy bun, lashed with garlic chutney.
Where: Ashok Vada Pav, Dadar
Cost: 25 INR (≈ 0.30 USD)

6. Roti Canai — George Town, Malaysia

Roti canai with dhal

Flaky flatbread flipped like pizza dough, served with curry dhal.
Where: Transfer Road roti alley
Cost: 1.80 MYR (≈ 0.40 USD) per roti

7. Jerk Chicken — Port Antonio, Jamaica

Jerk chicken over charcoal

Pimento-wood smoke, Scotch-bonnet fire, thyme perfume.
Where: Boston Jerk Centre road shacks
Cost: 1 200 JMD (≈ 7 USD) for a quarter bird plus festivals

8. Balık Ekmek — Istanbul, Türkiye

Balık ekmek fish sandwich

Griddled mackerel fillet squashed in bread with onions and sumac.
Where: Boats moored under Galata Bridge
Cost: 120 TRY (≈ 3.60 USD) — Bosphorus gull soundtrack included

9. Burek — Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Burek spiral pastry

Spiral phyllo pie stuffed with minced beef, served with yogurt to pour.
Where: Buregdžinica Bosna, Baščaršija
Cost: 3.5 BAM (≈ 1.90 USD) per quarter-kilogram slice

10. Currywurst — Berlin, Germany

Currywurst with fries

Sausage diced, doused in curry-ketchup, dusted with paprika.
Where: Konnopke’s Imbiss, Prenzlauer Berg
Cost: €3.20, add €2 for fries

11. Hotteok — Seoul, South Korea

Hotteok pancake

Molten brown-sugar–filled pancake, crisped on an oily griddle.
Where: Stall 32, Namdaemun Market
Cost: 1 500 KRW (≈ 1.15 USD). Mind the caramel lava.

12. Arepa de Huevo — Cartagena, Colombia

Arepa de huevo

Corn cake flash-fried, slit, stuffed with a whole egg, fried again.
Where: Las Oblitas cart, Plaza San Diego
Cost: 4 500 COP (≈ 1.10 USD)


Mileage may vary: Exchange rates fluctuate, but flavour math rarely lies.

Related reads on travelleri.com:
• Looking for a sit-down splurge? Try Eight Michelin-Star Meals Under 30 USD.
• Pair street-food hunts with jaw-dropping scenery from Five Places So Photogenic They Look Fake.

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