Street Food Vendors

The thing about street vendors is that it's all on show. You can see the ingredients, you can tell if they are fresh and well cooled. You can see the cooking utensils and watch them cook the food in front of you. So you can make your own decision based on what you see.

With a restaurant, even an expensive restaurant, you don't see the kitchen. So you don't know what is going on behind the scenes. We have seen really nice looking restaurants, then you walk round the back past the kitchen and it's filthy inside.

That goes for Asia and your own country.

Sometimes in SE Asia you get sick. It might be because of the food or the water or you because you drink too much or you're not used to the heat or one of a great many reasons. You have to take the rough with the smooth!!



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I go along with Chris above. Common sense and observation go a long way towards keeping you safe.

One basic rule is don't eat anything that needs to be washed unless it has also been well cooked.

Another is to clean your teeth with bottled water. It's amazing how many people are really strict about what they eat and drink but use tap water to clean their teeth. Having said that, most tap water in big cities is ok these days.

If you are really concerned, check out products such as Travelan which you take before you get sick to prevent it, not afterwards to get over it. There are other brands on the market. I used one while travelling in China and Mongolia and had no problems with what I ate. I forget the product name but generically they are made from colostrum, which assists in fighting off the gut bacteria which cause tummy upsets.

Whatever you do, have fun.

John Reply to this

Where the locals eat is also a good guide. If a street vendor is popular, chances are the food is good - and you know it won't have been left sitting for a few hours :-) Reply to this

Yes, it is mostly safe, cheap and delicious! Stick with food that is freshly cooked in front of you and here's my best advice: eat raw garlic with every street meal. I live in a small Chinese town and there is raw garlic at every table. I don't know if the locals prefer the taste or if it is illness prevention, but I have been free of any tummy trouble since I started eating a few cloves with every meal. Garlic has been know for centuries for it's anti-bacterial properties. Bacterial cells die when they are saturated with garlic. So if you are like me and love the taste of garlic anyway, pop a few cloves and enjoy all the street food you want. If it is not on the table, ask for it or carry a head in your bag. Enjoy your trip! Reply to this

Street foods are wonderful. I eat street food some days a week. They are safe because there are many people eating them. You should eat the hot and well-cooked food. In my experience, don't eat the uncooked food like vegetable, herbs because they might not be washed carefully. Another way to avoid the stomached is eating raw garlic, ginger. They can prevent you from bacterial. Reply to this

Street food provides cheap tasty food with endless variety. We've only got caught out once, when a fantastic sizzling stir fry was served up in rolled lettuce leaves. Doh!
Our biggest cause for concern anywhere is the dreaded buffet - be it breakfast or at one of the tourist trap restaurants. Street food is much safer! Reply to this

I think the worst thing with the local water isn't necessarily the bugs that give you upset stomachs, it's the bugs you don't know your picking up. I've heard of some people using tap water to brush their teeth right from the start so they get used to the local water faster.

Have you actually tried this? I use a steripen when I travel to cut down on bottled water use, but if I can start eating local produce washed with tap water, that would be awesome! Reply to this

The thing's pretty cool, it uses light to kill the bad stuff in the tap water in like a minute. Reply to this

awesome I'll check it out! Thanks!! Reply to this