The Best Meals in Life

What is it about street food and markets?

I think it would be fair to say that the best meals on earth probably take place in dodgy little eateries along the road side, with flies buzzing about the raw ingredients and hawkers conversing with patrons in unfamiliar languages.

Seated in chairs that could barely seat a baby, you huddle over your meal that barely cost a dollar and suddenly, it hits you.

Something you never saw coming. Ever.

That aroma. That taste. The simplicity of the meal. But what flavour and what depth.

And you know that this is probably the best meal you've had since coming on this trip.

Fuck those fears of diarrhoea, salmonella, cholera, aids and anything that made you think twice of eating there. Cause you know you just added a whole lot of value to life.

A life that was once pathetic but now brimming with meaning.

You have just reached the holy grail of culinary delights. Street food.

Every culture has its own. And I can safely say that indulging in street food is one of the greatest joys I've ever experienced in life.

So how best to identify potential life-changing scenarios?

There are a few commonalities which I've come to notice over a few trips:

1. Flies. The more the merrier.
2. Inability to converse with the hawker.
3. Open fire. Always a good sign.
4. Not a tourist in sign. Only locals.
5. Suspicious-looking meat.
6. Smell that travels down the road.
7. Whole lot of sauces and condiments to accompany your meal.

The promise of life-changing meals in lands I've yet to explore still makes me excited. And makes me yearn longingly for travel.

Damn Thank you Anthony Bourdain, why make me lust for this?

Next stop: China.