STREET EATS

JESS HO pens a love letter to dining sans table.

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Street food is God-tier, and you cannot change my mind. As a person who has made a career and hobby out of eating, I can unashamedly say that the best dining experiences I’ve had in my life have been on the street. Granted, street food is not for the precious. There have been countless times where I have had buckets of wastewater thrown at my ankles. I have had to be prepared and bring my own wet wipes. I have had my mobility tested with the height of stools (you know the ones). I have stood in extreme weather for hours with a rumbling stomach and dissolving willpower. I’ve shared tables with strangers. I’ve even eaten a bowl of hot, soupy noodles without the aid of a table. Shoes, singlets, and shirts have all become collateral damage.

Finding the best street food, in some ways, is a sport. It starts before I even make it to my destination. I pore over articles, social media, and videos to hone in on the dishes I want to eat. I Google streets, venues, and reviews. I download local chat programs, maps, and area guides and read what the residents think. From there, I create my own maps, spreadsheets and itineraries, making sure there is enough activity between vendors so I can eat absolutely everything I want. I learn as much of the language as I can to get by, order, and say thank you. But there is only so much I can plan without having been somewhere before. Sometimes I have to make split-second decisions by cutting venues and reacting to the location, weather, and traffic. Sometimes, no matter how much I stalk a venue and its food, the reality of it is a huge, waving, red flag.