Singapore—TripZilla, which describes itself as ‘Southeast Asia’s #1 travel inspiration platform’ started an online food fight on October 18 when it broke the news from CEOWorld magazine that Singapore had been ranked the World’s Best City For Street Food.
This is the first time that the magazine has published such a list.
Ironically enough, the article begins with the words “The food fight is over,” because for many netizens, it’s just begun.
TripZilla reported business travellers and corporate travel agents as saying that “Singapore is the best place for them to enjoy street food,” besting cities well-known for their delicious street fare such as Bangkok (Thailand) and Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), which ranked second and fourth on the list respectively.
Taking third place is currently embattled Hong Kong, and Mumbai, India, is in fifth place, which means that all five top spots are cities in Asia.
Rounding out the top ten are: Rome, Italy (6th), Tel Aviv, Israel (7th), Sydney, Australia (8th), Mexico City, Mexico (9th) and Portland, US (10th).
The article did seem somewhat prescient, though, with the following paragraph. “Not everyone might agree with the placings. In fact, food feuds are common in the Southeast Asian region, where there are lots of similar dishes with similar ancestries. However, everyone would definitely agree that the best place to find street food must surely be in Southeast Asia.”
And sure enough, netizens did not take the ranking sitting down, with many hotly defending cities and street food of their choice.
Some Malaysian food aficionados wondered why their favorite street cuisine did not even make the list, with others insisting that it’s the best street food.
Other commenters agreed with him
Another netizen said that the street food in Hanoi, Vietnam, is the best for him.
Even some Singaporeans did not defend the country’s street food.
One person who lives in Singapore even called the article “fake news.”
Netizens who defended the ranking were quickly challenged.
Others tried to understand the ranking
Others were unafraid to express their strong opinions on the matter.
Some even questioned the notion that there is street food in Singapore at all, saying that street food and hawker food are not the same.
/TISG
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