Fish balls, squid balls, kikiam, kwek-kwek, cheese sticks, isaw, chicharon, tapsilog, siomai, Adidas, Betamax, siomai, pares… We Filipinos simply love our street food. Stalls can be found anywhere, and they’re take only a few minutes to cook, so they make quick fixes for hunger pangs and satisfy our cravings, too, for an affordable price. But have you ever wondered what kinds of street food people in other countries indulge in — and have you ever wished you could taste them, too?

This idea crossed the mind of Chef Michael Santos, corporate executive chef of the Vikings Group of restaurants, and he wasted no time in developing a special additional menu for the buffet spread of Vikings, The Alley. He cascaded the idea down to his chefs and kitchen staff, and together, they developed the “100 Best Street Food in the World” menu, which has now been introduced in Vikings, The Alley’s UP Town Center and Cloverleaf stores.

“100 Best Street Food in the World” now gives diners a private taste of the various street food enjoyed by food lovers in other countries, particularly not so familiar ones to Filipinos. These include Choclo con Queso of Peru; Maakouda of Morocco; Birria Tacos of Tijuana, Mexico; and Empanada Tucumanas of Argentina.

Peru’s Choclo con Queso is a traditional Peruvian street food of large kernel Andean corn (which is the choclo) served with fresh, mild white cheese (the queso) melted over it. The husked corn is usually boiled with a little sugar and anise seeds until tender, then plated and topped with a thick slice of fresh cheese so the cheese melts onto the corn kernels.

Morocco’s Maakouda, which is also spelled ma’quda, is a potato fritter made from boiled then mashed potatoes seasoned with garlic, coriander, turmeric and cumin. Formed into a round disk shape, the fritter is then dipped in flour and deep-fried until golden. A traditional street food across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, it is crispy and is enjoyed as is for a snack or side dish, or as a filling for bread in combination with lettuce, tomatoes and harissa.

The Birria Tacos of Tijuana, Mexico, are a bit more familiar for Filipinos, who have acquired the habit of eating tacos, both crispy and soft varieties, because of Mexican specialty fast-foods and restaurants that offer them in Manila. They are a famous Mexican dish with braised or slow-cooked beef in a chili and spice broth served in a soft, folded corn tortilla or taco shell with onion and melted cheese. The beef can be replaced with goat or lamb, but beef is more familiar to the Filipino palate, so it is what Vikings, The Alley uses.

Argentina’s Empanada Tucumanas are baked or fried pastries originating from the Tucuman province and are hand-cut matambre or beef flank flavored with hard-boiled egg, green onion, paprika and cumin, and wrapped in wheat flour dough into small empanadas.

Other street food items included in Vikings, The Alley’s special menu include Beef Rendang of Indonesia, Roasted Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich of Vietnam, Crispy Sushi Rice with Spicy Salmon of Japan, Chili Garlic Shrimps of Taiwan, Apple Cinnamon Tart of the United States and Lemon Meringue Pie or Tart of France.

Beef Rendang is a comfort food that originates in West Sumatra, Indonesia, but is now part of the cuisines of Malaysia and Singapore as well. It is traditionally slow-cooked beef in a spice broth that goes very well with freshly cooked rice. The spice level has to be adjusted to the preference of the diner because the original Beef Rendang is very spicy.

As for the Roasted Pork Belly Banh Mi of Vietnam, the country actually has a lot of variations of the banh mi sandwich. It’s actually a short baguette bread with thin and crispy crust and is soft on the inside, much like the French baguette that it originated from because of the French influence on Vietnam. It is sliced in half and filled with meat, savory ingredients, lettuce and other greens.

These interesting street food items from different parts of the world will be featured by Vikings, The Alley’s UP Town Center and Cloverleaf stores, with six to eight of them rotating on the buffet spread every two weeks.