Shadowing Practice: I Tried $1 Street Food Around The World - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
747 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Getting a good bite to eat just seems to be getting more and more expensive.
2
But if I just had one dollar, what could I get?
3
In Japan, in Malaysia, in Korea, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Mexico, India.
4
So we're taking to the streets with our one dollar in hand, scouring the world to find any bite to eat.
5
Will we find massive culinary deals?
6
Or will we starve ourselves trying?
7
Our journey begins in Mumbai, India.
8
And our first stop is not only under a dollar, but also an extremely unique eating experience.
9
It's fire fire fire pan, which is not like a classical pan, but it's a pan that everybody wants to try
10
It's going to light your mouth on fire, but then the pan, the coldness of it is going to help you digest everything
11
Showing me around Mumbai's best $1 street food spots is my good friend chef saranch
12
I can't even begin to explain how many ingredients were put into this
13
But I'll try first on a fresh beetle leaf the vendor that adds a nut paste like sesame paste, pan masala, rose jam
14
Which he rubs all up in there.
15
That's more finger action than I think I've ever seen in my whole life
16
Shaved coconut, sweet masala, shaved nut, another sort of shaved nut, rose petal paste, and tutti frutti.
17
He then folds it up, adds more shaved coconut.
18
Oh, come on.
19
How many things are we gonna add to this?
20
Did you just put f*ing curing salt on that?
21
What is that?
22
Turns out it was more rose.
23
Anyway, he gave it a light, which is likely edible camphor, and I opened wide.
24
Most people who were to see this online, they're like, oh, it's gonna burn your mouth.
25
It immediately extinguishes when it goes in your mouth, so there's no like heat that you really sense at all
26
And it's just super astringent like an unripe persimmon or grape skins
27
It kind of like sucks all the moisture out of your mouth and like cleanses your mouth
28
It's very almost minty like a fresh peppermint
29
And then you have all this sweetness from the rose the crunchiness from the coconut
30
It does kind of blow your palate out, but not in like a bad way sort of like a cleansing way
31
It's like a mouth fresh no I was scared
32
But you know sometimes there's good things on the other side of fear
33
and I'm glad I crossed the border of fear I feel good.
34
I'm ready to go on to the next
35
On the way to our next stop, we went down to the beach to cool off with a sweet treat, a black plum -flavored popsicle.
36
This was made fresh in front of my eyes, it was delicious, and it clocked in at a solid 70 cents.
37
Now, when you think of a breakfast plate in America, you're probably thinking upwards of $10, maybe even more.
38
What if I told you you could get all of this for 70 cents?
39
We have...
40
Chalebi, Fafra, Sambaro, Green Chillies.
41
This is what makes the Gujarati community very proud.
42
We have this very, very soft Fafra at the bottom, which is basically making a bit chickpea.
43
They sort of hand push it down to make these long cigars.
44
You crack it, it has a bit of asafoetida, which is like the Indian Agino Motto.
45
Oh, a little bit of, boom.
46
You have jalebi.
47
It's sweet, it's fermented, it's chewy.
48
We've got this papaya pickle and fried chilies.
49
Cheers.
50
In restaurants, this is what we call a perfect bite because it has multiple layers, the crunch, the chewiness, the little crack from the seeds,
51
the bursts of sugar, and then of course, all the layering of flavors.
52
It's spicy.
53
It's sweet.
54
It's a little salty a little buttery.
55
This is incredible like I get the hype when I go to new places
56
There are certain things that like a group of people will hype up
57
You know like oh, this is like the best the best and it never lives up to the hype.
58
This lives up to the hype
59
You have to try this all the Gujaratis on Joshua's channel raise your hands up subscribe button right there.
60
Yeah Phenomenal onward on our next item in India arguably one of the most popular street snacks in the country vada pao
61
You cannot come to Mumbai and not try vada pao.
62
Mumbai is vada pao, vada pao is Mumbai, and it's vada -wow, is what I like to call it.
63
You can have three of these babies in a dollar.
64
Wow.
65
The guy who was assembling it was moving at lightning pace, grabbing the bread, slicing it up, spreading the spreads on there.
66
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
67
Adding the fried potato and just hammering them out all day.
68
Cheers.
69
I have no idea how does McDonald's work in the city.
70
You have this right here on the street.
71
The first thing I notice is just the texture.
72
The bread is so soft, so fluffy.
73
It releases the air like the finest Tempur -Pedic pillow as you bite down into it
74
And then it just melts as you chew
75
The potatoes soft season beautifully
76
Even just one of these is so filling
77
Unbelievable value I would pay a dollar I'd pay five dollars I'd pay ten dollars
78
For one dollar
79
You get something that isn't just good
80
It's craveable I'm gonna be thinking about this when I go back home
81
We are moving on
82
That is a wrap on India I gotta say
83
I had an unbelievable time here I absolutely need to come back
84
I was only there for a very short period of time
85
We hit so many other great places like incredible street -side panipori, Bombay sandwiches.
86
And I had the greatest dosa I've ever eaten in my entire life at Bene.
87
They were homies, they watched the channel, they let me get back in the kitchen to cook with them.
88
India blew my mind.
89
I'll be back.
90
Now, although we have a lot of countries coming, we're headed back to our home country,
91
the USA, to see if we can find anything for a dollar.
92
And after many hours of research in New York, arguably one of the most prolific food cities in our country,
93
we were shocked to find out that we could not find any American foods for $1 or less.
94
But what about the classic $1 New York slice?
95
Yeah, that is no longer $1.
96
Although we did find a samosa for $1, but that's not really American food.
97
It was okay.
98
That's why they're $1.
99
And there were other things that we found that were pretty good, but they were all over $1.
100
So we leave New York.
101
Four, Bangkok, Thailand.
102
Finally, this is my first time here and it's considered one of the greatest street food cities in the world.
103
So not only are my expectations high, but what can we even find for a dollar?
104
We're here with my man, Mark Wiens.
105
Tell us a little bit about this market.
106
Oh, this is a local morning market.
107
It's called Thok Mo Market.
108
People come here to buy basically all the ingredients you could possibly need to cook any Thai dish.
109
And there's a lot ready to eat as well.
110
Let's begin.
111
We didn't even enter the market and our first item caught our eye, an entire gigantic coconut for exactly a dollar.
112
Classic fresh coconut.
113
It's like pregnant with water.
114
I'm like blown away with how much there is in me.
115
It bursts.
116
Cheers.
117
Cheers.
118
Back home, I'm gonna go spend like $40 on some like rehydration beverage.
119
This is $1 and this is literally the most hydrating thing I've ever drank in my life.
120
Yeah, Thai coconuts are some of the best.
121
And it's so sweet.
122
So sweet, so refreshing.
123
And the other thing I like is that it's completely full of water.
124
When he pops it open, it actually bursts because of that pressure.
125
Oftentimes when you open up a coconut, at least in the US, you've got like a half full coconut.
126
The second you put the straw in the first sip is the sort of like slurping sound
127
because there's nothing in there I have a lot to enjoy here.
128
This is phenomenal.
129
As we were leaving for our next spot I also found out the vendor will take your coconut back,
130
shave the meat out, and then give it back to you
131
In even more insane steel.
132
Now imagine this, you're walking down the streets
133
and the amazing smell of pork Frying on the side of the street catches your nose.
134
Yeah, I'm going there.
135
Mark recommended we just get one dollar worth of the pork
136
And he got some sticky rice for a dollar as well.
137
If you added vegetables to this, this would be probably $15 in the U .S.
138
And everyone would be like, that's a good deal.
139
So that's crazy.
140
Here, you take a piece.
141
Thank you.
142
And I will eat that together with sticky rice because the combination is perfect. So good.
143
It's fatty.
144
It's rich.
145
Salt level is perfect.
146
The seasoning on it is like unbelievable.
147
But it's also like very unadulterated pork flavor.
148
I feel like a lot of the time with pork, you can easily mask the flavor.
149
Whatever they're spicing this with or marinating it with is really highlighting the flavor of the pork.
150
So it's porky, it's rich, it's meaty, But it just has like this intense like savory garliciness.
151
It's just like makes you want to eat and eat and eat.
152
It's addictive I got nothing else to say.
153
I love it.
154
Our next up.
155
I'll be honest I was hesitant dozens of tiny baby shrimp laid frozen in time in a crispy disc
156
But Mark urged me to try it and listen I've always said can't knock it till you try it.
157
Oh my god Mm -hmm.
158
This is way better than I thought it was going to eat
159
It has this condensed shrimp flavor because all the shells and the heads are still on but also at the same time
160
It's also quite mellow anyone who's had like a strong fermented shrimp dish.
161
It's not like that at all
162
It's a very sweet, light, fresh shrimp taste.
163
I really love that vinegary -ness from her sweet chili sauce.
164
They call it
165
Nam Chim Khai.
166
It's actually like the classic chicken dipping sauce.
167
It's sweet, it's a little bit sour, not really spicy, but there is some chili in it.
168
This is honestly one of the best crispy little bites I've ever had.
169
I could eat a hundred of these.
170
I probably wouldn't feel good after maybe a hundred, but really, really, really incredible.
171
Out of all the things we've had so far, I would come to Thailand just to seek this out.
172
Moving on, I just spotted this while we were walking, and it just looks so good.
173
Chive rice cake.
174
You can smell the chives down the alley.
175
Cheers.
176
Whoa!
177
I love Thailand.
178
I love you.
179
You can say arroy.
180
Arroy?
181
Delicious.
182
Delicious.
183
Ah.
184
Arroy.
185
The outside is so unbelievably crispy on the exterior, but the inside is like a rice custard, and you get little bites of the chai,
186
which honestly isn't very strong.
187
It's actually very light.
188
Phenomenal.
189
Moving on.
190
So at this point, we're pretty happy with what we've gotten, but it got even crazier as we got deeper into the market.
191
We got fried chicken with a sweet and spicy sauce, a crunchy, fragrant, balanced salad of pigskin noodles,
192
Thai crispy pancakes, one with egg yolk and one with river prawn.
193
I'm not gonna lie.
194
I was pretty shocked realizing how much you can get for literally a dollar in this city
195
My mind felt more deep -fried than those crispy shrimp fritter
196
But now it's time for what I'd consider a legendary dessert.
197
We have coconut griddle cakes
198
Yes So he pours in rice batter first waits till
199
that crispifies and then he adds on thick coconut cream on the top and then the toppings
200
The whole plate is $1 going down the hatch.
201
Oh my god.
202
What this is ruining me
203
This is so good.
204
This is one of my favorite high sweet snacks actually
205
And I love how it's crispy and custardy at the same time.
206
Plus that blast of coconut.
207
I don't know what to compare this to because it's so unique.
208
There's not really much like this.
209
The outside shell is so wispy, crispy, thin, crunchy.
210
While the inside, like you said, has that rich, creamy coconut custard.
211
The sweetness, it's not really coming from sugar.
212
It's just coming from that natural, fragrant coconut.
213
Even if you don't like coconut, you're probably going to like this.
214
I wish I had this near me.
215
I'm so pissed that I don't.
216
Phenomenal.
217
Moving on.
218
We've been blown away and we've only gone to India and Thailand.
219
But there's even crazier to come with many more countries plus one country I'm extremely excited to return to.
220
The adventure has just begun.
221
Next up, Japan.
222
Tokyo and Osaka are not cheap cities, so this was hard.
223
But fortunately, we had a secret weapon.
224
Our friend, Ayo, founder of Unnamed Traveler.
225
He led our World's Best Noodles video, and like he does for a living,
226
he found some hidden gems that saved our Japan trip, starting in Osaka.
227
This is Koshikatsu.
228
This is the beef one.
229
It's the OG.
230
When you eat it inside, there's like a pot of sauce that you share.
231
We're just gonna pour the sauce over the skewer.
232
Fried beef skewer, $1.
233
Cheers.
234
I like the addition of the sauce.
235
I think without the sauce, it's really like kind of plain.
236
But the crispiness, the breading, so nice.
237
Texturally crispy, it melts in your mouth.
238
It's not overly breaded.
239
The beef is very apparent.
240
It's got a good chew to it.
241
There's a lot of textural involvement here.
242
It's beefy and .
243
But all the seasoning comes from the sauce the sweetness that worcestershire flavor.
244
It's nice.
245
I like this
246
This is like classic bar food and because they're smaller here
247
So people just order so many of them and you share them with friends.
248
I agree This is the type of thing where I would want to set
249
it at table with like 500 skewers and just hammer them one after another
250
Moving on next day all found us wagyu katsu for exactly $1.
251
This price is unheard of in America Especially when you see the word wagyu, but could this be the one that's too good to be true.
252
We have menchikatsu
253
This is sizable, this is the size of my hand.
254
I have big hands, I'll let you know that.
255
I did not need this information.
256
You can see my, they're big.
257
Yeah, fine, yeah, great.
258
I should also mention that this is a Wagyu.
259
This might be the one and only Wagyu for a dollar that we're gonna have.
260
Let's go in, cheers.
261
Oh, it's like sweet, that was unexpected.
262
It's like an aftertaste of sweetness.
263
The crispiness is excellent.
264
Inside is like fatty, it's rich, it melts in your mouth.
265
It's basically like mashed up Wagyu beef.
266
My guess is they're taking trimmings of the fat
267
and loose ends of meat after they cut it up and they're putting it in this.
268
So they're making margin, but they're also charging less for it.
269
So you're kind of getting really good value here I do wish
270
there was like a bit more seasoning going on with it.
271
It's so oily.
272
There's literally oil dripping down my finger
273
Is this the best katsu you're gonna get?
274
No, this is probably very far from that.
275
For a dollar though, pretty dang good
276
But I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
277
Okay, two spots for Osaka.
278
We'll count that as a win
279
But after roaming for many more hours, it turns out we were starting to get priced above two dollars
280
and thus we move on to Tokyo We did find some steals in Tokyo like dango, rice crackers, these cream -filled bears,
281
pause But if I'm being honest there weren't very many standouts at
282
that price point and we were running out of time here
283
Because we had to make our flight to Seoul South Korea here I'm joined by my friend
284
Kim for an insider tour of a market.
285
That's mostly for locals
286
Kim Can you tell us a little bit about this market in this neighborhood?
287
This market is mango market?
288
There are really famous market in Seoul.
289
It's really authentic That was good.
290
He said his English is bad.
291
Your English is very good.
292
My Korean is non -existent
293
Immediately, and when I say immediately, like literally at the front entrance, we found an absurd deal.
294
These huge twisted doughnuts where we had two different kinds, an old -fashioned one and a glutinous rice one.
295
It's got a stretch to it.
296
Let's dig in.
297
This is the plain.
298
It's a wheat dough.
299
Cheers.
300
Very nice.
301
I like the sugar and crisp on the outside, too.
302
You're right, it's very much like a traditional doughnut.
303
Maybe even a little chewier, and by that, I mean better.
304
Now we have the glutinous rice twist.
305
Whoa, almost like a fried chicken crunch on the outside.
306
There's like these little knots and nodules of like crispy rice flour, and then the inside's so,
307
so soft, so fluffy, but it also has a chew, almost like if you were to take a donut and mochi, and they had a baby,
308
it's like a similar kind of comparison, you know?
309
They made love and they had a baby, they fell in love.
310
I'm falling in love right now.
311
It's far, far, far above the average donut.
312
Get the rice one, that's my pick, 100%, moving on.
313
But then, a stall across the way caught my eye.
314
I have never seen anything like this before
315
so let's put it in our mouths this is omuk in korea
316
or sometimes we call odang and i have really good memory
317
when i was childhood i ate this a lot with my friends
318
and my parents after the school
319
and after the hot tub looks like a hot tub the red hot tub two skewers for one dollar
320
and you get a little cup of broth too this is like a whole experience whoa it's
321
so perfect the broth is a little bit sweet a little spicy salty peppery
322
and the fish cake has a great texture too it's like a texture of like tofu skin
323
but a little bit more tender this is like the filet mignon of tofu skin
324
but obviously fish cake this is phenomenal one of my favorite bites
325
so far and it's also very satisfying i'm feeling full already
326
and for a dollar you get two i'm eating 20 of these
327
i'm gonna get in the whole hot tub now just before
328
we're about to head off to our next spot kim pointed out something
329
that he felt was very important i want to introduce another snack i don't know it's called the street food
330
but we can get the ice americano for the one dollar what where the mega coffee
331
they have a window that's street food we're doing it we're doing the one dollar Americano.
332
I think we can call it the street food.
333
Yeah, I think this counts.
334
Oh, what?
335
2 ,000.
336
Is 2 ,000 a dollar?
337
It's a little over...
338
Oh my god.
339
Inflation.
340
I didn't expect that.
341
It was one dollar.
342
Inflation is occurring too quickly.
343
Slow down the inflation, please.
344
Exactly.
345
All right, this doesn't count anymore, but at least it'll keep me going.
346
Done.
347
Done.
348
We're back on track to our final bites in Korea.
349
Some hefty stuffed croquettes, both less than a dollar.
350
The kimchi one was fine, but could the red bean be a sleeper?
351
Sorry, what is your name?
352
Vikram.
353
Vikram. Or Vik.
354
I think you need to try these.
355
That is very good.
356
It's actually crazy.
357
The outside is soft and airy, the inside is smooth and almost creamy.
358
And the sweetness in the red bean is perfect.
359
We're getting up there, we're climbing, we're climbing.
360
And for a dollar?
361
Worth it.
362
An amazing 24 hours in Korea.
363
Kim, we're gonna miss you.
364
But we have another special person waiting for us in Hanoi, Vietnam.
365
And it is Sonny from Best Ever Food Review Show.
366
The vendor he was waiting with was hustling.
367
Our first stop, we're at Soy May, and this is soy, it's a sticky rice dish.
368
A little over a dollar if you get the fried egg.
369
So if you don't get the fried egg, it's basically one dollar even.
370
With this dish, soy is the base, and then you could add a number of different toppings.
371
Pork floss, fried egg, pork patty, boiled peanuts, mung bean paste.
372
They take the bean and they mash it, they basically compress it, and then pour the soy, they're shaving mung bean.
373
It's more like a mung brick.
374
Yeah, it's a brick of mung bean.
375
Cheers.
376
Wow, the rice is so perfectly cooked, it's crazy.
377
It's so perfectly chewy and al dente and all the toppings go so well with it
378
What's unique about this, I guess from an American perspective is that this is breakfast here
379
You're gonna find this before noon all over the streets of Hanoi It makes sense as a breakfast too.
380
You've got protein, you've got carbohydrates, you've got healthy fats
381
You're gonna feel good after you eat this bowl of rice.
382
This is phenomenal I really like this one a lot.
383
There have been certain places that we've gone to where a dollar is more of like a little bit of a snack
384
Like in Japan, right?
385
For a dollar you get like a stick of meat
386
But this I'm gonna be fueled until at least like noon
387
So the dollar stretches very far in Vietnam so far.
388
Moving on We're seeing common thread here, okay?
389
We were on the way to our next spot, and what did we see?
390
Well, we saw a bunch of other cool things, like spotted fried bananas, which were whole ripe bananas smashed, battered, double fried, served hot.
391
I mean, these were fantastic.
392
60 cents in order.
393
I mean, ridiculous.
394
But what about banh mi for under a dollar?
395
Could it actually be good at the low, low price of?
396
80 cents.
397
In America, what, 15?
398
Maybe even 20 dollars.
399
It has beef jerky in it.
400
It has fried potato, and it has nem.
401
Nem is fermented pork.
402
And in fact, it's never been cooked, but it kind of ferments and cures so, you know, it won't kill you.
403
The end result is something that is very sweet and sour.
404
I'm curious what you notice as being very different from banh mi in the U .S.
405
Because for me, when I look at the bread, they are very solid, thick, doughy.
406
But here, it's just pure crispiness.
407
It's perfect for holding all these ingredients, and it kind of wraps around the ingredients perfectly.
408
Yeah, it's also very airy.
409
It's almost like it's just going to float away.
410
Cheers.
411
The Vietnamese really love sweet food.
412
What's really sweet is this right here.
413
This is the beef jerky.
414
If you try this alone, you'll taste really where that sweetness is coming from.
415
Oh, wow.
416
It's literally like candied beef jerky.
417
You don't even really taste the beef.
418
It is so almost blindingly sweet.
419
You could give this out on Halloween in Vietnam, and kids would be very happy.
420
So that aside, though, love the texture of the nem.
421
They're still a little crispy in mine, and they have this great, just like bouncy shoe.
422
There are many banh mi in Vietnam that are a little over a dollar.
423
I had one yesterday, and I actually do like this one just slightly more.
424
Even though the sweetness is a bit much for me, the potato does help diffuse that sweetness.
425
Moving on.
426
Hanoi feels too good to be true.
427
But off in the distance, I smelled something.
428
Something's smoky.
429
Could something be on fire?
430
Or could it be delicious charcoal grilled pork?
431
We got skewers!
432
This is a pork skewer.
433
It's grilled over charcoal beautifully.
434
Nice little charred bits on it.
435
I love their setup.
436
I saw it yesterday and I wanted to try it real bad.
437
We can edit around that, I believe.
438
40 cents a skewer
439
so you can have two for 80 it's kind of a deal
440
you can also have this in a banh mi bread for about a dollar
441
which is pretty badass cheers oh that's good i love
442
that anytime you're in hanoi follow the smoke something good is going to be at
443
that smoke people all over the streets here they're grilling up they're using charcoal they're making meat
444
and on top you might notice inside the flavors there's whole spices
445
and there's sugar and fish sauce inside so it makes it super umami
446
and a little bit sweet it's kind of a theme throughout the day whether it's something for dessert
447
or not they put a lot of sugar into a lot
448
of the different meats here in vietnam the sugar grants it a little extra char
449
because the sugar generally heats up much more quickly it caramelizes
450
and then it burns a little bit
451
and a lot of people they think oh well burn food is not good no no no
452
that nice char that burnt sugar is helping carry over some of
453
that smoke from the charcoal into this meat a delicious pork skewer
454
you can eat many of them have them in a bottom
455
meat many options on to the next item vietnam's dollar street
456
food hit every box from breakfast to on -the -go skewers to sandwiches, but can they hit it with dessert?
457
Apparently, these little fried bean donuts are so popular and cheap, just 20 cents each.
458
Many vendors are copying the OG inventors, even setting up in front of the original shop.
459
You know, there's a certain level of disrespect I respect.
460
This is almost too much disrespect.
461
That said, we went to the OGs.
462
It was the perfect final bite in Vietnam.
463
That rounds it out.
464
Sonny, thank you so much.
465
Wouldn't have been able to do this without you.
466
We love you.
467
Thank you, Vietnam.
468
We're moving on.
469
I wish I had more time in Vietnam, But I'm even more excited to see what the final three countries have in store.
470
So we're moving on to Malaysia, home to one of the most unique food cultures in the world.
471
It almost feels like multiple countries mixed into one.
472
So our guide Jarvis from Best Food Malaysia started us off with a dish that looks so simple.
473
I was shocked to look up and see a Michelin Bib Gourmand sign.
474
The chefs pour a lightly sweetened batter made of rice flour, egg, coconut milk into a clay pot over charcoal.
475
They're essentially just moving these around at an absurd pace so that they all cook evenly and come out on time.
476
It checks our price point, but does it pass the taste test?
477
Oh my god.
478
I mean, it's like the most tender crepe pancake texture.
479
So fluffy, so tender.
480
It melts in your mouth and the outside edges are like a lacy, crispy crust.
481
I mean, it's like the filet mignon of a thin pancake in a way.
482
It's slightly sweet, super balanced, a little bit of saltiness in there too.
483
What I love about it is this light, fragrant, just coconutty flavor.
484
This is great.
485
We also tried an egg version, also under a dollar.
486
This is like a perfect little breakfast taco.
487
Oh!
488
Oh!
489
It's dripping.
490
That's a good sign.
491
Mmm.
492
This is nice.
493
It's more substantial.
494
How is that even possible?
495
We could be on a roof and there would be a moped flying by.
496
This one is nice if you want to have like a heartier breakfast, but both are excellent.
497
Absolutely incredible.
498
Moving on.
499
Flashback to shaved ice on the beach in India.
500
Can this icy
501
Malaysian treat with coconut milk and noodles actually compete?
502
Shockingly, pretty good.
503
Although, I know what locals might say, oh, you gotta have the vermicelli.
504
I was not a huge fan of the texture, but everything else was delicious.
505
Not quite as good as the famous Michelin bib gourmand rated Nonya sweets.
506
The best was the glutinous rice dyed blue with pea flowers topped with sweetened coconut.
507
I could eat about 50 of these, but I really want to focus on the next dish.
508
I have never seen anything like it.
509
So this is putumayong, where it's very local food from our Indian community,
510
where it's rice flour come with some coconut and then two kinds of brown sugar and then mix up everything.
511
For this one, the rice flour, it's pandan flavor.
512
That's why it's green.
513
It's incredible.
514
I mean, they make this like rice flour dough that they put into a press and they push it.
515
I even got a chance to try it and it was a lot harder than it looked.
516
I thought, oh, I can do this easy.
517
Well, I tried and I failed and then I failed again and then I failed again and then I got one.
518
Yeah, yeah.
519
I got one.
520
I was surprised.
521
And then they threw it away and started over, but here it is.
522
Cheers.
523
I love that.
524
The aroma is insane.
525
I want a little more.
526
Mm, you guys love coconut.
527
Absolutely.
528
I get it, me too.
529
Wow every bite is a little different.
530
It's like hitting every taste receptor
531
You're getting a little bit of salty from the darker brown sugar sweetness from the light brown sugar
532
And then just such a great fragrance from the coconut and you can kind of choose your own adventure.
533
How many calories is this?
534
all?
535
five?
536
It's like one of those things that tastes familiar
537
But you're not gonna get anything like this anywhere
538
But here before we left we had to try these 50 cent noodles.
539
They were stir -fried in a massive wok shockingly amazing flavor for the value.
540
Next up, a city that every time I visit feels like seeing a close friend you haven't seen in a while.
541
Mexico City.
542
Last time I was here, I ate over 40 tacos in 24 hours.
543
And let me tell you something, I didn't have a single bad bite.
544
Talk about not missing.
545
Yeah, Mexico City, they don't miss.
546
Now, while $1 street food is a bit different, I'm feeling Mexico City will impress, especially since we're back with Gabby,
547
the greatest food tour guide in the city, but also a close friend of mine.
548
And like magic, the first bite literally came right directly to me
549
which let's do more of
550
that oh god i love mexico city it's food everywhere
551
i can't stop eating they just keep bringing
552
it to me gabby's off grabbing something i should be clear
553
it's a dollar 20 for three churros she's just walking around
554
in this random flower market just selling churros delicious oh my god this is actually insane they're
555
so perfectly crisp the inside is
556
so moist it's not overcooked the inside is almost custardy
557
which is hallmark of a great churro
558
but also the seasoning on the dough is proper they've got sweetness they've got a little saltiness to amplify the flavor.
559
There's no accurate oil flavors.
560
It melts in your mouth.
561
It's not too chewy.
562
It's sweet.
563
The only thing that would make this better is if they were hot.
564
And honestly, I'm not even missing it.
565
This is crazy.
566
And it's on the go.
567
That's an easy win.
568
On to the next.
569
Later that night, we grabbed some very classic guisado, more specifically stewed meat tacos.
570
God damn, he's literally throwing the food in the air and catching with the f*ing tortilla.
571
He's like...
572
These tacos were only 65 cents each.
573
And they're not skimpy, okay?
574
They're filled to the brim.
575
Now, the next one was a bit of an accidental find.
576
The biggest pastries i've ever seen in my life for only 92 cents each
577
and listen a lot of people don't know this but mexico's bread
578
and pastry game is on another level it's the size of my face
579
they were all tasty
580
but they weren't my favorite of the trip what a nice little sweet treat
581
but let's talk about the stars of the show first a
582
mexico city classic al pastor tacos only gabby could find one worth eating
583
that's this cheap 16 pesos per taco a very classic pastor and enough meat.
584
Like the amount of meat is amazing for 16 pesos.
585
It's insane value.
586
Tortillas this thick, meat mounted above that.
587
Should we just go in?
588
Ah, this is amazing taco.
589
You're really hitting it with the bangers today.
590
It's perfectly seasoned, beautifully fatty.
591
I hate when you get an al pastor and it's dry.
592
This is not.
593
It's unbelievably moist.
594
It's flavorful throughout.
595
It's seasoned perfectly with salt.
596
Very, very flavorful.
597
And that fresh pineapple is perfectly ripe, perfectly sweet, great texture.
598
I could easily eat a hundred
599
No problem and guess what it'd be a hundred bucks.
600
I mean that's a good deal
601
This is a beautiful example of one dollar street food moving on.
602
We're at La Rosa de Oro the Golden Rose
603
So this is a very classic taco place was born in 1957 and it's very deep into the Gerrero neighborhood
604
Which is a very old working class.
605
We're here because of my friend George.
606
He's a food Storyteller of Mexico City.
607
We just wanted you to have very classic Suadero with one of the most spicy salsas in the city.
608
They look beautiful.
609
They're small, but yet they're full of meat which I love.
610
Everywhere we've gone, they're very generous about the meat, even if it's sub - $1, and it's spicy.
611
It is spicy.
612
I can see why it's been standing so long, since 1957.
613
I mean, it is absolutely .
614
Perfect.
615
It's got the perfect mix of different kinds of textures.
616
You have fatty a little tender a little chewy.
617
It's meaty It's unctuous one of the most flavorful meaty tacos we've had today absolutely no distracting flavors
618
Just beautiful beefy flavor tortillas are like soaked in beef fat chewy and delicious.
619
It's phenomenal It's a no notes taco.
620
You serve this in America.
621
You're gonna get like a Michelin bib gourmand
622
We saved the best for last
623
Hundreds of hours of traveling
624
and eating the greatest $1 street food in the world
625
we're ending things in one of the largest countries in the world, China.
626
I have no idea what's in store, but something in my heart is telling me this might be the best stop we have.
627
So we're starting in Shanghai.
628
Rachel, one of the most well -known and prolific food writers in Shanghai, is taking us for Xi 'an Bing,
629
a massive egg and topping -filled crepe, which usually has a crunchy wonton -type shell in there.
630
I've actually had this a few times, and each time it's blown my mind.
631
But will it be even better in China?
632
This is the most basic version it totals out to about $1 .10, $1 .20.
633
Still in the dollar threshold.
634
Jianbing is typically from the north originally, but you can find Jianbing all over China.
635
So they put two kinds of sauces in this one.
636
One is like a Tian Bian Jiang, which is made by fermented bean paste, and a spicy sauce.
637
It's not too spicy at all.
638
It's actually a really nice sort of building warmth to it.
639
You had pointed out earlier, they're like, oh, well they have this more expensive one with all this stuff and all these toppings,
640
and I'm sure it's good, but I think what I love about this is how good it is at being simple,
641
and it delivers on exactly what it should be in the sense of it hits everything you want.
642
You got a multitude of textures.
643
You have incredible flavor.
644
It's kind of all you need to kick off your morning.
645
I love it.
646
China's starting off strong.
647
Next up, scallion pancakes made in a style I've never seen before.
648
Fried and then baked right in this little street cart.
649
It's crispy, flaky, fatty.
650
Easily the best scallion pancake I've ever had.
651
But now we leave
652
Shanghai for Chengdu, home of what we call Sichuan -style food.
653
And our guide
654
Harry, a local food writer, is starting us off with breakfast.
655
But not just any breakfast.
656
A Sichuan peppercorn -laced breakfast, called Guo Kui.
657
We have two different ones, right?
658
This one is the baked version, just baked.
659
What's inside of it?
660
A simple brown sugar filling.
661
The second version, they stuff it with pork or beef, they roll it up super, super tight, roll it out, and then they pan fry it,
662
shallow fry it until crispy, and then finish it in an oven underneath.
663
Yeah, great.
664
Which one should we start with?
665
Maybe the sweet one?
666
The pork one, because you're messing with the crunch.
667
That is unbelievable.
668
I'm tasting fresh peppercorn.
669
That's the first flavor you get.
670
It's almost like citrusy, lemony, and then you taste that flavorful, meaty pork.
671
That's the mark of the flavor.
672
If you cannot taste very fresh peppercorn, it means it's no good.
673
But what I love about the inside is like more tender than a croissant, yet it has the layers of a croissant.
674
The outside is like super crispy, crunchy, almost like a really, really thin, thin cracker.
675
And then on the inside, it like melts in your mouth.
676
It's fragrant.
677
It is kind of better than the scallion pancake we had, if I'm being flat out honest.
678
Should we jump to the brown sugar?
679
oh my god completely different
680
this one's more like a bread the density of this is almost like the texture of like a steamed bun
681
but the brown sugar itself it's not like any normal brown sugar
682
that you might be used to the brown sugar isn't just crunchy granules it's been liquefied in the baking process
683
so it's like literally flowing throughout this
684
so as you take a bite you have a liquid state essentially brown sugar syrup
685
this is like very molasses -y very rich very dark super flavorful
686
it almost has like a little bit of an umami from
687
it unbelievable one of my favorite bites on the trip so far.
688
On to the next.
689
So we're walking down the street to our next location.
690
We found this.
691
Typically with a buffet, you pay one fee and then you eat as much as you can until you leave.
692
This buffet, your entry -level fee, two dollars.
693
Two.
694
I wish that that fit our one dollar rule because we would beat out every other place.
695
Anyway, pretty incredible.
696
That just goes to show how far the dollar stretches here in Chengdu, China.
697
On to the next.
698
But hang on.
699
I did find out that if you are under the age of four, like my son, or over the age of 85,
700
this buffet is half price so it does become all you can eat for one dollar
701
that really boggles my mind i can't think of anywhere on earth
702
that has this kind of value certainly not back home for me
703
now our final stop is unlike anything i've ever seen in my entire life
704
i don't just mean the food
705
i mean the situation the environment how we found the food
706
this isn't a restaurant this isn't something you're gonna find on yelp
707
this is a random security guard outside of a normal old apartment complex making some of the greatest noodle
708
and dumpling dishes I've ever had.
709
And this is probably only one example of maybe hundreds or thousands across the country of China.
710
It blows my mind.
711
We started with dumplings.
712
Rich, crisp, seasoned perfectly.
713
Next up, chow shu.
714
Similar to the dumplings, but much lighter, floating in a super fragrant, spicy Sichuan peppercorn -scented broth.
715
And finally, the beef noodles.
716
Unbelievably tender, fatty beef.
717
Again, perfectly seasoned, a little spicy and just unbelievably fragrant.
718
I understand that this item is just slightly over a dollar but the story of this place blew my mind.
719
This place is a perfect example of what this video is all about.
720
Sometimes the greatest food in the world is in the most unexpected places.
721
I want to give a little peer behind the curtain for who made this possible.
722
I want to say thank you to Eyal, travel expert, legend.
723
He was the one who guided us around the world to find these places in random remote parts of Asia.
724
This is not an easy task.
725
I appreciate it, man.
726
It was such a wonderful experience, and I encourage you to do the same as much as you can.
727
Respect the people that host you when you travel, and you're going to learn and experience amazing, amazing things.
728
So he does this type of stuff privately for people, and we were lucky enough to have him help us do this entire thing.
729
He also wants other people to experience this, so this is something you care about.
730
He's made guides that are similar to what we've done today that you can go and follow.
731
You can go and find if you want to find them.
732
The link's in the description for that.
733
But I have one last thing to say.
734
We flew around the entire circumference of the earth to film this one video.
735
I'd be lying if I said this was easy.
736
Having to leave family at a time of need, sleepless nights on the road for weeks on end, rushing and barely making planes, trains, taxis.
737
And yet bringing this trip to a close was not easy.
738
Yes, the food was world class, but this told a much greater story to me.
739
It wasn't the insane value of the food we ate that blew me away.
740
It was the hospitality we received.
741
I had my own nerves and concerns about seeing this many random people I've never met in places I've never been,
742
and they accepted us with open arms.
743
Every single person, whether they were on camera or not, sat down with us, ate with us, and it reminded me that everyone across the world,
744
no matter how different the cultures happen to be, are human beings that are just like us.
745
They work hard, they search to find something delicious to eat, and maybe cook a little bit too.
746
We walked away with something I would call priceless.
747
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
📺 Same Channel
✨ Recommend Video
B25
68 sentences
People Try Indian Street Food
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B220
6 sentences
Fire Paan
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
478 sentences
10 Street Foods UNDER $1 in Saigon, Vietnam!!! Street Food Dollar Menu 2!!
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
1221 sentences
I Ate The World's Best Sandwich
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2560 sentences
I Cooked Every EXOTIC Hot Pepper
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
46 sentences
Finger Food vs Chopsticks vs Fork & Knife | The Science of Touch
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2201 sentences
This Cookie has Korea in a Chokehold..
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2303 sentences
We Ate a Full Meal for ONLY ¥500 ($3) in Tokyo 🪙 – Impossible? | Japan byFood
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
172 sentences
I Turned My Apartment Into a Fine Dining Restaurant
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
362 sentences
How Muslims Survive in China's Land of Pork!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
234 sentences
first time in bangkok
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B25
263 sentences
"Coffee" is just Dessert Now
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “I Tried $1 Street Food Around The World”. This video has 746 sentences and 7176 words to shadow. The speech runs for 31:15. The speaker talks fast, about 230 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| coconut noun | /ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/ | A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed. |
| flavor noun | /ˈfleɪvə/ | The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect. |
| fry verb | /fɹaɪ/ | To cook (something) in hot fat. |
| bite verb | /baɪt/ | To cut into something by clamping the teeth. |
| beef noun | /bif/ | The meat from cattle or other bovines; especially, that from adults. |
| cheers | /t͡ʃɪəz/ | A common toast used when drinking in company. |
| spicy adjective | /ˈspaɪsi/ | Of, pertaining to, or containing spice. |
| texture noun | /ˈtɛkst͡ʃə(ɹ)/ | The feel or shape of a surface or substance; the smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. of something. |
| taco noun | /ˈtɑkoʊ/ | A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft- or hard-shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables, and salsa. |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| bean noun | /ˈbi(ː)n/ | Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods. |
| phenomenal adjective | /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/ | Very remarkable; highly extraordinary; amazing. |
| boom verb | /bum/ | To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| tender adjective | /ˈtɛn.dɚ/ | Sensitive or painful to the touch. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| point out verb | To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body. |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
| walk down verb | To continually advance (on an opponent) and punch (the opponent) in order to control the fight and dominate the opponent, while shrugging off the opponent's… |
| beat out verb | To sound a rhythm on a percussion instrument such as a drum. |
| blow away verb | To cause to go away by blowing, or by wind. |
| carry over verb | To transfer (something) to a later point in time. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Will we find massive culinary deals?
- How many things are we gonna add to this?
- Is this the best katsu you're gonna get?
- Sorry, what is your name?
- Should we just go in?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you try this alone, you'll taste |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've ever seen · I've ever eaten · I've always said |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were put · was made · were shocked |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | pan, which is · light, which is · people who were |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 173 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, I'm, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, thick /θɪk/, thread /ˈθɹɛd/, smooth /smuːð/, broth /bɹɔθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, dish /dɪʃ/, shave /ˈʃeɪ̯v/, shrimp /ʃɹɪmp/, shock /ʃɔk/
- Long words — get the stress right: phenomenal /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/, unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, beautifully /ˈbju.tɪ.fə.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like coconut, flavor, fry.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.