the dust never settles: street food ecstasy

one of the best things about being in another country is eating STREET FOOD. i could care less about eating clean food in a hygienic environment. unhealthy, oily, caloric street food is the way to go. digestive problems? no big deal! i'll get over it in a matter of days.

luckily, i didn't get into any "delhi belly" situations in india. and the only time i got really sick was from actually eating too much food. but oooh that paneer curry was so worth it...even if we had to crash a wedding for it. of course, there are those who do get sick and are disgusted by street food for a couple weeks until their psychological senses recover. but there's no denying that sometimes, it's not only nice to stuff yourself with some street food goodness, but it also feels good to get your money's worth for it all. plus, you get the chance to sit with the locals. in india, when the food stand owners saw me coming by, they would force people to make room for me on the bench. or men would automatically get up so that i could sit down. they would even make the old people get out of the way. i can't say that i didn't enjoy the foreigner treatment, but sometimes the unnecessary attention can be a little too much.

veggie burgers, chow mein, momos, omelettes, samosa, chili pakora, CHAI, egg curry, gulab jamun, lassis, aloo paratha...

i am disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures of all the street food i had. the above pictures make up a pathetic collection, which i am quite ashamed of. but i hope i was at least able to convey how street food was a major part of my everyday live in India. and yes, the food cooked in huge vats of oil that gets used and reused over and over again all day does make the food taste better.

now korea is another place that exemplifies street food heaven. it's one of the things i look forward to whenever i go to korea. the pojangmacha is the quintessential korean hotspot for quick bites for cheap prices. i can imagine that on a cold day, stopping by to get some hot and spicy ddukbokki would be delectably pleasing and thermally comforting.

from superlocal Flickr

courtesy of ieattheworld.blogspot.com

unfortunately, when i went to korea this time around, i didn't get a chance to eat any street food. my aunt said it was too dirty and she always ended up taking me to the expensive fancy restaurants. i mean, korean food is good all around, but you can't go to korea and not have ANY street food. needless to say, i was thoroughly disappointed. i did have some amazing korean food though, and was able to make up for the 5 months i had not eating any beef. beef, or MEAT in general, is just too good for me to give up. and there wouldn't be any other place i would have wanted to have my first bite of beef other than in the motherland.