From souvlaki and samosas to tacos and tikka, loads of the world’s finest foods are at their best when knocked up in a haphazard kitchen and sampled on-the-go.
As you can imagine, the title of ‘world’s best street food’ has a lot of competition. But according to culinary travel guide TasteAtlas, one dish is head and shoulders above the rest.
Based on ratings by TasteAtlas’ audience, the best street food in the world is (drumroll please)... roti canai! For those not in-the-know, roti canai is a kind of pan-fried Malaysian flatbread that is traditionally served with a dal-type curry. Buttery and with a crispy outside and soft, layered inside, roti canai is a staple of Malaysian street food and, in our opinion, a very worthy winner.
Second in the ranking came lumpiang shanghai, a type of egg roll from the Philippines, while third was karaage, AKA Japanese fried chicken.
Here’s the full top ten street foods in TasteAtlas’ list, along with a short description of each.
- Roti canai (pan-fried Malaysian flatbread)
- Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino egg roll)
- Karaage (Japanese fried chicken)
- Bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette)
- Paratha (flaky Indian flatbread)
- Gringas (Mexican tacos filled with cheese, steak and pineapple)
- Guotie (a kind of pan-fried Chinese dumpling)
- Carnitas (Mexican slow-cooked pork)
- Carne asada tacos (Mexican tacos with grilled, sliced beef)
- Negima yakitori (Japanese chicken skewers)
Got you drooling yet? You can read TasteAtlas’ full top 50 here – and be sure to check out these 18 street food dishes from around the world that you have to try.
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