Health and safety forum

huh. Interesting....is this still the case in northern Vietnam/Hanoi (or anywhere else in Vietnam for that matter?

I'm a street food addict so this is troubling news indeed.

When I lived in Malaysia most of my local friends were fairly well-off Chinese but they always insisted on eating street food at the night markets.I asked why and they said at least you can see the food being prepared and examine its freshness.
How do you define a quality restaurant? Nice wallpaper, chandeliers?
Madmac, you should go back and look at some of the preparation rooms and kitchens of some of these Asian 'quality restaurant.'
I think you'd have a big surprise. Plenty of super-sized cockroaches etc since hygiene comes a lowly second to the decor and the grovelling staff .Only those who don't know S,E. Asia eat where they can't see the food and examine it for freshness; as you should know, nothing ever gets thrown out they just spice it up to kill the taste of rotting meat.

Sayadian
I can't speak for your Malay Chinese friends, but I use three criteria:

1. Does the food taste good?
2. Do I get sick afterwards?
3. Is the service / ambience good?

If the kitchen is funky, but I don't get sick, then it's good to go. I eat street food, because it's cheap. But there is zero doubt in my mind that in general it's not as clean, it's not as good, and ambience doesn't exist. It ain't fine dining. This is true in Asia, it's true in Germany, it's true in Africa... it's true everywhere.

And wouldn't you know it. Ate at the night market last night, and got sick as a dog. This thread must have cursed me.

Our choices here are pretty good. I ike what I call the "Thai Tacco", which I get at the night market. I like the "Moo Bin" (sweet pork), which is what did me in last night. I don't like Vietnamese food but their egg rolls are good. I am getting sick of SEA food in general and praying a McDonalds opens here sooner rather than latter.

@MADMAC,

I'd like to hear about the street food in Africa. You've mentioned that you liked Somalia, which I've always thought was interesting. What was the street food like there?

In Turkey, there isn't a lot of variety like there is in SEA. Nine out of ten carts were selling these pretzel-like things. We used to call them hepatitis rings. Tasted great and cheap, but...

Sorry to hear about the street food getting you. I love that moo bin you mentioned, particularly in the Isan. Still no western food restaurants in Muk? Bummer. It sounds like Savannakhet will get a McDonalds first. I know what you mean about getting bored with local food. When you are just passing through for a month or two, the local food is new and unique and exciting. But after a few years.... It is the same where I live. No ethnic places other than Mexican. I'd kill for a good Turkish or Greek place. Cheers.

exacto
The security situation in Somalia precluded large, crowded markets when I was there. Even markets like Bakkara were not the same as in Asia. As for food, Somali food is an interesting mix of Arab and Italian, and is easily my favorite cuisine.

In Ethiopia there were lots of street stalls, although these universally offered places to sit and eat. Like the night market in Muk which also has this feature, but it's not universal. The hygenic standards were consistently low however.

As for the safety of the food, I think it's generally OK. But it is never going to compare to the standards for a western restaraunt, and it would be naive to think it does or could. The oversight is far less stringent (where it exists at all), the attitudes toward safety of food preparation are also more poorly understood... It ain't Africa, but it ain't western Europe or the US either.