Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In Southeast Asia, street food is the most popular form of eating. “Street food” refers to little outdoor
food stalls that line the streets of Asia, where residents eat snacks, have dinner, and buy prepared meals. I
love nothing more than heading to the local market, sitting down, and grabbing a delicious plate of fried rice,
pad Thai, noodle soup, or stir-fried noodles. Walking through the markets grabbing skewers of BBQ meats,
fresh fruit shakes, and spring rolls makes Southeast Asia one of the funnest and most delicious regions of
the world.
Many travelers are worried that street food isn't safe, but I assure you it is. If it made people sick, people
wouldn't eat at these stalls in such large numbers. Your risk of food sickness is no greater than in a restaur-
ant, and probably even less. After all, food at the stalls is cooked fresh in front of you and used every night.
It doesn't sit around. And there are no cabinets for rats or bugs to get into. I eat street food wherever I can
and prefer street stalls to sit-down restaurants.
On average, these meals cost no more than $1.50 USD. You find these stalls throughout Southeast Asia,
lining major streets and at the markets. In Thailand, you even find markets dedicated to street food. There's
the famous Thong Lor food market in Bangkok and the big night market at Chiang Mai Gate in the northern
city of Chiang Mai. It seems that on the corner of every street in Vietnam is a
pho
(noodle soup) seller. In
Singapore, you'll find street food (or “hawker stands” as they are called there) to be around $3 for a meal.
Singapore also has cheap Chinese and Indian food in Chinatown and Little India respectively, where you
can get meals from $5 USD.
Even if you go into small local restaurants, the price does not increase that much. What is $1.50 USD
at a street stall is only $3-5 USD at a local restaurant. If you went into a restaurant in Thailand, you'd pay
around $4 USD for a pad Thai that would have cost $1 USD on the street. In Cambodia, street food, which
isn't as abundant as I would like it to be, is around $1 USD, while restaurants charge around $3 USD for a
local dish like Amok (coconut milk dish) or Luc Lac (pepper gravy beef).
Western meals, including burgers, bad pizza, and sandwiches, cost around $5 USD for cheaply made
food. This is going to be the most expensive part of your food budget in this region. If you want something
that actually tastes like it does back home, you're looking at spending at least $10 USD for your meal. In
the mood for a really nice bowl of pasta? About $8 USD. Want a deliciously made steak? At least $20 USD.
In short, even though the food is cheaper than back home, it is expensive by local standards, and eating a lot
of Western food will diminish your ability to save in this region.
There is a lot of high-end food in Southeast Asia, especially in very touristy and expat-filled places like
Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Bali. I've had some of the best sushi of my life in Thailand and
amazing Italian food in Bali. Some of the best BBQ ribs I've had were in a small beach town in Cambodia.
But while the food is delicious, the price is only a little cheaper than what you would pay back home, and in
some cases, it's even more. Splurge and try these tasty meals, but do so sparingly.
If you want to save money on food in Southeast Asia, simply buy local dishes (did you really come here
to eat a shitty hamburger?) and you won't spend more than $6-8 USD a day.
As Stuart McDonald from travelfish.org, the best reference website on Asia, puts it, “Budget hotels and
guesthouses in Thailand will often charge $3-5 USD for an American Breakfast at their café or restaurant.
You'll get a steaming bowl of noodles and a good local coffee for a third of that on the street.”
