Finding food after 10pm in a new city

Convenience stores in Japan, hawker centres and night markets in Asia, and apps that bring food to you: how crew eat after a late landing.

You land at 9:30 pm, clear the airport by 11 and find that the restaurants near you stopped taking orders an hour ago. A little planning before you land turns that into a short walk to a hot meal.

Convenience stores

Japan's convenience stores, called konbini, are open around the clock, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). The three big chains are Lawson, FamilyMart and Seven Eleven. JNTO lists rice balls, bento boxes, cup noodles, gyoza, pasta and even ramen among the food on sale. The major chains in cities have multilingual ATMs that accept foreign cards, Seven Eleven among them, which helps if you landed with no yen.

Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore also have convenience chains. Hours vary by branch, so look at the sign or the opening hours in your maps app before you walk over.

Hawker centres and night markets

UNESCO added Singapore's hawker culture to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020 and calls the hawker centres "community dining rooms". Opening hours differ by centre and by stall, and some close well before midnight, so check the hours for the one you plan to visit.

Bangkok and Phuket have night markets and restaurants that trade late. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says some restaurants open late and some open 24 hours. Night markets keep their own hours, which can change with the day of the week.

At any stall, follow the CDC's basic rule for street food: choose food that is cooked through and served hot. Our guide to avoiding food poisoning lists the checks. If you are gluten free or have an allergy, read eating gluten free or with allergies overseas before you order.

Apps that bring food to you

In Southeast Asia, Grab runs in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia, and its GrabFood service sends meals to your address. Check which apps work in the city where you land, and set up your account before the flight. Our guide to mobile data when you land covers how to get online.

If your body clock says it is the middle of the night, a small meal is a better choice than a feast, and our guide to eating when your body clock is off explains why.

Before you walk out

Walk to a late-night meal on a lit main street, and let a crew mate know where you are going. Our guide to walking alone at night in a new city has a checklist. For rides, see taxi and rideshare safety abroad.

Use the Open now filter

On Chocks has an Open now filter, and the spot page shows opening hours in local time. You can also type something like "late food, open now" into search, and the app searches the city's crew spots on your phone. Save a city before you fly and the spots and hours work without signal, which helps if you land with no data.