I hear a lot of talk from some of my fellow foodies about being afraid to eat street food when visiting other cities. I stand as a testimony that if you follow some simple rules, you can eat street food and survive! While living in Bangkok I was super afraid to try street food. All of my peers assured me it was great but I wasn’t convinced. Everyday I walked down Sukhumvit toward my room on Langsuan and passed by a man frying chicken. The smell allured me so much that one day I had to stop and try. It was the best chicken I ever had in my life! Yes it rivaled my moms (don’t tell her I said that). After that I was sold. I went all over Bangkok and tried every bit of street food I could. Once I took a whole day and went looking for all the delightful dishes I could find (click here to see video of my one day food adventure here). I’ve had grilled street meat from the mobile carts, pretty sure I had rat on accident(I caught that on video), I had the most amazing pork belly at the chatuchak, and delightful deserts! Never once have I gotten sick. Even after potentially eating a rat. Simply because I created and followed some simple rules that never lead me wrong. Here they are:
(Wanna see some more photos and video from my BKK trip? Click here)
- Never eat at an empty stand. You always want to eat at places that have a lot of foot traffic. If people go there that means the food is good and it’s fresh. Empty stands mean that the food has just been sitting there.
- Only eat at a stand where they cook in front of you. Watching them cook the food ensures you can see their food handling practices and ensure food is cooked to your preferred level of doness. The street carts with street meat can be tricky. Always go to the ones with the grill still lit. That way after you purchase your treat you can toss it back on the fire to kill any lingering germs.
- If the flies don’t eat it, you shouldn’t either. Never have I ever seen a fly that did not try to get on any food. Furthermore, flies have a pretty low standard of eating. If a fly won’t even go to it, as my mentor would say, “Something in the milk ain’t clean.”
- This is my last and unofficial rule: If you see a black person there, it’s probably good. Black people are very picky with their food. So, if they trust it, you can generally trust it too. I only say that because I’m black lol.
Get out there and eat some street food! Share your pictures on IG @HuskyboysIntl with the hashtag #HuskyBoysIntl #StayHusky.
Husky Boys Intl. 