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Top ten cheap local fast food items worldwide
Food is usually a major cost on the road, a significant component of any careful travel budget. Very good, inexpensive food is on offer in most of the world's destinations, no matter how expensive average meals may be. Here are ten delicious fast food items from ten different destinations around the world.1. Burritos, San Francisco. San Franciscans are passionate about their burritos. It's easy to inadvertently inspire an argument through an offhand if opinionated claim about your personal burrito likes and dislkes. Try a riceless burrito at La Tacquería (2889 Mission Street) or drizzle your burrito from Tacquería Cancún (2228 Mission, among other locations) with distinctive green salsa. For $6, you'll be sated for hours.
2. Currywurst, Berlin. Currywurst is an extraordinarily popular German fast food, a sliced pork sausage doused with curry sauce. At Konnopke's Imbiss, a famed food stand in Berlin, a currywurst goes for just €1.70 ($2.25).
3. Okonomiyaki, Osaka. This delightful, greasy food item can be found in a number of spots around Japan, though it is firmly associated with Osaka. It's a cabbage pancake topped with several ingredients. These often include pork, green onion, other vegetables, shrimp, fish and seaweed flakes, mayonnaise, and a dark sauce. An all-but-the-kitchen-sink okonomiyaki in Osaka will set you back around 750 yen ($9).
4. Pintxos, San Sebastián, Spain. For just a few euros, you can fill up on extraordinary pintxos (Basque tapas, see above) in countless bars in the lovely seaside city of San Sebastián. That San Sebastián is also home to some very expensive restaurants is an entertaining notion to contemplate while you're scarfing three perfect €3 ($4) pintxos for lunch in a crowded bar. See Todo Pintxos for a listing of pintxos perches.
5. Hawker centres, Singapore. Many of Singapore's hawker centers, which are more or less open-air food courts, serve up very high quality portions of food for very little. As little as S$4 ($3) will get you off to a good start. Among Singapore's many hawker centers, check out Maxwell Hawker Centre, Chomp Chomp, and Lau Pa Sat.
6. Kizilkayalar's Islak burgers, Istanbul. They're cheap, at 2 lira (under $1.50) and they're delicious. These small burgers are a late night Istanbul mainstay. Kizilkayalar has two locations in Istanbul.
7. Bò bía, Saigon, Vietnam. This delicious Vietnamese food item consists of pickled vegetables, sweet sausage, small dried prawns, and noodles wrapped in a rice paper roll. This typical Saigon street food item, adapted from Chinese popiah, is cheap and delicious. Cost: around 10000 dong ($.50) per portion.
8. Chivitos, Montevideo. Chivitos are the top Uruguayan fast food option, a huge mess of a beef sandwich with egg, bacon, mayonnaise, vegetables, and other toppings. A fast track to a heart attack for sure, but a delicious one. The cheapest chivito at Guga Chivitos goes for 90 pesos ($4.50).
9. Som Tam, Thailand. This spicy salad made with not-yet-ripe papaya is a popular street food (and restaurant dish) across Thailand. It's an appealing taste sensation, with sweet, salty, spicy, and sour components. A decent helping of som tam shouldn't set you back more than 60 baht ($2).
10. Roti, Port of Spain. The capital of Trinidad and Tobago is full of roti shops selling this extraordinarily filling Caribbean fast food, and locals have very strong opinions about which shop does the best job. You shouldn't need to part with more than TT$30 ($4.75) at any of several dozen roti shops for a perfect lunch.
Thanks to fellow Gadling contributors Jeremy Kressmann and Meg Nesterov for suggestions.
[Image: Flickr / RinzeWind]
7. Bò bía, Saigon, Vietnam. This delicious Vietnamese food item consists of pickled vegetables, sweet sausage, small dried prawns, and noodles wrapped in a rice paper roll. This typical Saigon street food item, adapted from Chinese popiah, is cheap and delicious. Cost: around 10000 dong ($.50) per portion.
8. Chivitos, Montevideo. Chivitos are the top Uruguayan fast food option, a huge mess of a beef sandwich with egg, bacon, mayonnaise, vegetables, and other toppings. A fast track to a heart attack for sure, but a delicious one. The cheapest chivito at Guga Chivitos goes for 90 pesos ($4.50).
9. Som Tam, Thailand. This spicy salad made with not-yet-ripe papaya is a popular street food (and restaurant dish) across Thailand. It's an appealing taste sensation, with sweet, salty, spicy, and sour components. A decent helping of som tam shouldn't set you back more than 60 baht ($2).
10. Roti, Port of Spain. The capital of Trinidad and Tobago is full of roti shops selling this extraordinarily filling Caribbean fast food, and locals have very strong opinions about which shop does the best job. You shouldn't need to part with more than TT$30 ($4.75) at any of several dozen roti shops for a perfect lunch.
Thanks to fellow Gadling contributors Jeremy Kressmann and Meg Nesterov for suggestions.
[Image: Flickr / RinzeWind]
Filed under: Food and Drink, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Budget Travel, Caribbean
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Barbara Dec 3rd 2010 9:12AM
To be honest, I am quite surprised that Italy was not included in the list, given the incredible number of "street food like" deli that can make your day when travelling on low budget. From "pizza al taglio" (pizza slice), "supplì" (rice balls), "fried cod filet" in Rome to "arancini" and "sfincione" in Sicily, just to mention a couple of example.
And what about the "vlaamse friets" (french fries flemmish style) in Belgium and Holland, or "pita gyros" in Greece or "kebab" in Turkey or...all around Europe street food plays an unvaluable role in travelling and enjoying the local culture.
May I suggest to encourage other readers to provide their own selection and, maybe, compile a sort of "directory" to keep handy next time we travel :-)?
Enjoy it!
Simone Cannon de Bastardo Dec 4th 2010 9:08AM
Don't forget empanadas in Argentina! Delicious, portable and with fillings like beef, chicken, ham and cheese, calamari, botola (a type of fish), roquefort, fresh mozzarella and basil, corn...etc.
www.travelingbastards.blogspot.com
Lee Harris Dec 5th 2010 9:24PM
In Christchurch NZ, try a lovely hot steak pie in the pie caravan at Goodbye Blue Monday in the evenings; or at the Poplar Lanes Market, order a whitebait sandwich, a plate of Egyptian koshari, some teriyaki chicken balls or a toasted cheese roll!
used cars for sale Dec 13th 2010 11:44PM
Yes, its true that there are big attraction of road foods in every country and this is very popular in every society of person ,a student ,a business man ,or a house wife.This is very good option for nearby outing.
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Cindy Jan 15th 2011 10:10AM
I'm not fond of fast food but i think you forget Argentina. In this city you can find these locals almost anywhere. You can have "empanadas", a kind of little pie full of meat, chicken, ham, and chesse. Simply delicious. But i still think there're some other more useful ways of saving money. You can for example, get travel tours and visit the most popular parts of a city in a few days and for a fixed price. Also, you can book a room well in advance so you can get a discounts. Many hotel deals have these offers and this can save you a lot of money.
Food is something we should enjoy, especially if we're traveling and discovering other worlds.