The Ultimate Countdown of the Best Fast Foods in the World

The best fast foods in the world offer a tasty way to explore different cultures without sitting down for a long meal. Each country has its own fast food classic, from the crispy Dutch bitterballen to the Polish pierogi, the spicy Mexican elote and flavourful Vietnamese bánh mì.

Eating establishments are found in busy street stalls or have become popular worldwide. Shawarma, souvlaki, choripán and Uganda's Rolex demonstrate how delicious ingredients can combine to produce unforgettable flavors. This global food trip is a collection of some of the most popular street food, quick bites, snacks and sandwiches from around the globe.

Fast food favourites from around the world

Certain fast foods gain fame and win love from the public everywhere burgers in every sense of the word, burgers with a lot of toppings and not as well loved. Of course, people enjoy other on-the-go items, those tied quite firmly to one place or country such as Aussie meat pies, British fish and chips and the countless forms of the street-food dish that chefs prepare freshly. We count down to the best fast foods on the planet from every corner of the world to the one ultimate dish.

Bitter Ballen, Netherlands

The Dutch version of the moreish, deep-fried fungi. These glorious balls of meaty, gravy slathered goodness chill the beef mixture before rolling into balls, breading, and frying. What used to be a way of using up your weekend meat will rarely be found in people's kitchens, but you can pick some up from takeaways in the Netherlands (most often served with fries).

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Pierogi, Poland

An honest but good dish, this small crescent-shaped parcel, exists on the Polish diet from the 13th century and has St. Hyacinth for their patron saint. Cooks fill these with a dough of flour, water, and often an egg, and once filled, they gently poach them before frying them in butter. The selection of filling is vast; however, the favorites are cheese and potato, cabbage and mushroom, and fruit and meat.

Choripán, Argentina

From the 19th century, choripn is an Argentinean sandwich known for its specific taste-a touch of smoky pork and a chewy texture. Vendors sell choripn on streets from all over the country; it is an eat-on-the-run kind of snack made by taking a chunk of cooked sausage or grilled chorizo and stuffing it in between a roll of crusty bread with lots of tart herby chimichurri.

Slider, USA

The slider, which is now present all over the menus of international events and weddings, as well as in restaurants and bars around the world, represents nothing more than a mini hamburger. Kansas-born Billy Ingram, the creator of the U.S. burger chain White Castle in 1921, is credited with giving rise to sliders.

These inexpensive small square burgers, priced at just 5 cents each, dominated the menu and quickly became popular among customers. Today, people still prepare thousands of White Castle Original Sliders worldwide every day, following the same method used in the yesteryears: a tiny 15-cent square grilled bun with five dots for faster cooking, filled with a touch of onion and a pickle.

Elote, Mexico

The popularity of Elote-Mexican street corn-within the US and as far as the US (particularly southern California) follows its vast popularity within Mexico itself, where it has been consumed for centuries; the dressed up corn flies out of food trucks and market stands; this tangy, peppy street treat (usually served on a stick) consists of: an ear of corn grilled and brushed with a butter, mayonnaise, lime, chilli and coriander spread, all topped with an aged, white cheese known as Cotija.

Rolex, Uganda

This well-known snack exists all throughout Uganda and is a thin, vegetable-laden omelette tucked into an East African chapati, folded like a burrito. Legend has it that the first Rolex originated when a businessman rented a roadside plot outside a university in Kikoni, Kampala, and began selling food at lunch to students a delicious and cheap snack on the go, in other words. Now, street food sellers serve the yummy snack everywhere.

Souvlaki, Greece

Slices of charcoal-grilled skewered meat (often chicken or pork) form the base of this delicious Greek fast food. They serve in a pita (with an extra pita on the side as also an option), salad, and a blob of tzatziki.

Its history could go back hundreds of years, as archaeologists found the oldest known skewers on Santorini, dating to 2000BC. Homer writes of food cooked over ember in the eighth-century epic, the Iliad.

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Bánh mì, Vietnam

A Bnh m is an exciting French-inspired Vietnamese fast food sandwich that street cart vendors sell all over Vietnam (and all over the world these days also). The French colonized the north in the 1860s, bringing a plethora of food products.

These particular baguettes are a lighter, fluffier version that cooks make with rice flour and fill with spiced pork with fish sauce or sausage, sardines and mackerel. Vendors also add picked pickled vegetables, delicious fresh herbs and spicy chilies for yet more flavor and texture.

Shawarma, Turkey

Meaty fast food, people consider this to have come from Ottoman times and they find it in all Turkish high street stalls to all the food vendors in all of Middle East. This combination of lamb and chicken cooks on a rotating spit, shaves off while it's hot and gets put on a flatbread with pickles, salad and sauces.

FAQs

1. What are the best fast foods in the world?

Some of the best fast foods in the world include shawarma, bánh mì, souvlaki, elote, pierogi, choripán, sliders, bitterballen and Uganda's Rolex.

2. Which country is famous for shawarma?

Shawarma is strongly associated with the Middle East and has roots connected to the Ottoman culinary tradition. It is now enjoyed in many countries.

3. What is a bánh mì?

Bánh mì is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a light, crisp baguette and fillings such as meat, vegetables, herbs, pickles and chilli.

4. What is Uganda's Rolex fast food?

A Rolex is a popular Ugandan street food made with a thin omelette, vegetables and chapati. It is rolled together for an easy meal on the go.

5. Which fast food is popular in Mexico?

Elote, or Mexican street corn, is one of Mexico's famous street foods. It is usually grilled and topped with ingredients such as mayonnaise, lime, chilli, coriander and Cotija cheese.