Yummie Street
UX/UI / Mobile App
Yummie Street is a simple, budget-friendly app that helps travelers discover authentic Thai street food while staying safe and spending smart.
How might we help backpackers enjoy street food fully: culture, flavor, and budget all in one?
Backpackers usually travel on a limited budget, so food becomes one of the main ways they can stretch their spending. Especially in Thailand, where street food is more affordable and offers more chances to experience the full local flavors while traveling.
However, only 8% of the travelers regularly try street food and 63% of them are mostly concerned about food safety and hygiene despite the fact that the incidence of street food contamination is low and not even higher than most foods.
Gen-Z backpackers often rely on word of mouth—or end up at 7-11
An ecosystem map is a visual representation of how people interact with their environment across both physical and digital touchpoints. This process helps us identify how backpackers decide what and where to eat throughout their entire journey, finding gaps as well as opportunities to come up with creative solutions for backpackers and Lonely Planet.
Most Gen-Z backpackers rely on local and hostel recommendations to decide which place to eat, and some even ended up choosing well-known fast food chains and convenience stores like 7-11 during their journey.
Hygiene Henry (Main Persona)
"I want to eat Thai street food, but I’m worried about getting sick."
Pain points
Workarounds
He wasn’t sure how long the food had been sitting out in the open.
Worries that street food might come at the expense of hygiene.
Sees that street food is cheaper and is curious but still hesitant to order on his own.
Only eats from stalls where he can see food being cooked fresh.
Only eats at fast food chains and small restaurants, where he is more comfortable.
Only eats street food when he is with other experienced travelers he trusts.
Curious Clara
"Thai food is culture on a plate—I just need guidance on what to try for a truly authentic experience."
Pain points
Workarounds
Overwhelmed by many stalls selling variations of the same dish.
Struggles to find unique local dishes for an authentic experience.
Large-portion dishes make it hard to try different street food.
Choose randomly from one of the stalls to try out the food first.
Asks hostel mates and locals for suggestions on what to try.
Buys small portions to sample as many dishes as possible.
Picky Pia
"I want to try Thai street food, but being vegetarian in a new country is always tricky."
Pain points
Workarounds
Hard to find vegetarian-friendly dishes in street food.
Can’t tell if some dishes contained hidden meat- related ingredients and ended up eating them.
Feels like there’s limited vegetarian options at street food stalls.
Rely on the familiar dishes she knows, like mango sticky rice.
Go to dedicated vegetarian street food stalls at Chatuchak Market and Chinatown.
Choose Indian restaurants or packaged snacks in 7-11 if no options are available.
Visualizing a worry-free way to enjoy street food, from sketches to screens
Once we figured out what it is that the backpackers needed from the insights, we then start visualizing the idea we had in mind to bring the yumminess to life so backpackers can get to enjoy street food without worries by sketching wireframes.
Introducing, Yummie Street!
An app that not only eases safety concerns, but helps backpackers learn, order, and collect Thai dishes like treasures!
With Yummie Street, you can:
Learn street food tips, explore varieties of Thai dishes.
Adjust ingredients and flavors, order to vendors with ease.
Enjoy a gamified food experience, unlocking new flavors!
"How might we ease Hygienic Henry’s concerns and increase his confidence in exploring and enjoying a wider variety of street food?"
Onboarding
When Hygienic Henry logs into the app first time, he will be first greeted with the onboarding page, and received the Street Food Rookie badge to start his street food journey.
Home Page
Once Hygienic Henry arrives to the Home Page, he can scroll and look around for Thai street food dishes as well as be able to check details like ingredients and spice level.
View Street Food Tips
As Hygienic Henry concerns with food safety, viewing street food tips has helped him understand more about Thai street food and became more confident in eating them.
Adjusting Dish
When Hygienic Henry wants to eat something, he can also tap to see the details of the dish, and also be able to adjust ingredients and flavor to his preferences.
Show Translated Order
Once Hygienic Henry finished his adjustment, he can show the translated order for the street food vendor to see and understand clearly.
Done!
Now that he shows the menu to the vendor and receive his dish, Hygienic Henry can now eat Thai street food without any worries about food safety!
Rank Up!
Hygienic Henry can add dishes to his food collection by uploading photos. As he collects more street food, he can rank up and level up his food journey!
Collect dishes, snap photos, and track your tasty adventures. The more street food Hygienic Henry tries, the more he ranks up: unlocking new badges, flavor achievements, and keep aiming for the title of Foodie Grandmaster!
Become a Street Food Grandmaster!
More than just a process: it’s about stories, empathy, and connection
Throughout 6 weeks while working on the project, as a designer I’ve come to realize the importance and learn a lot of things about the UX process in a new light. Not only research is important, but the storytelling, the presentation, every step must be done with consideration to ensure that everyone gets the message across and that the design truly addresses people’s needs in a meaningful way.
Big thanks to my teammates for all the contributions. Working alongside them has helped me find my voice, express my thoughts more clearly, and realize that communication is key not just for good teamwork, but for meaningful design too. Despite a few bumps along the way, we stayed true to the problem and created one of the most meaningful projects we’ve done.
Sirada Vitoonvarakorn ©2025