From kimchi to biryani, inflation bites Asia's food stalls

STORY: From kimchi to noodles to biryani,

beloved staples in Asia are soaring in price

as inflation sends costs for ingredients spiraling.

Affordable street food is an integral part of society and the economy in Asia, and many households are now feeling the pressure.

Street food hawkers face a choice - to raise their prices and risk losing loyal customers or take the hit.

Location: Seoul, South Korea

First on the menu – kimchi.

Made from fermented cabbage and eaten with almost every meal in South Korea.

Kimchi shop owner Choi Sun-hwa says she may have to raise her prices soon.

Why?

Because the cost of cabbage and ginger have shot up in price.

[Choi Sun-hwa, Kimchi shop owner]

"Prices of ingredients have all gone up. For example, I was able to make kimchi with 10 heads of cabbages, but now I can only make it with seven heads at the same cost. However, I'm selling it at the same price. If it goes on like this, I won’t be able to keep this business, so I think I may have to raise the price a bit."

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Over in Tokyo, Yusuke Iwai had to raise his Udon noodle prices.

to compensate for an unprecedented surge in costs of ingredients, from wheat flour to cooking oil.

Iwai says the price of oil he uses has doubled since last year.

[Yusuke Iwai, Udon noodle restaurant owner]

"Our business is to offer Udon noodles at an affordable price of about a few hundred yen, so raising 50 yen is a really big deal. But in order to continue what I want to do, I had to raise the price a little bit. It’s a very painful decision.”

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

‘Aunt So’s Papaya Salad’ stall in Bangkok is feeling the pinch, too.

Sopa Hokham has been running her stall for over a decade.

So far, she's held out against raising her prices.

But the cost of ingredients, including lime, have gone up.

[Sopa Hokham, Salad vendor]

“I may slightly increase the price, but it will be a reasonable increase, with which we can still earn something without hurting the customers too much. We will still maintain our standards, we won’t reduce the amount of food that is usually served, so that both we and our customers can still survive.”

Location: Hong Kong

Wong Charn-chee has been running his family dim sum restaurant for 30 years.

He raised his prices in January, largely due to to transport disruptions at the border with mainland China

Each Dim Sim piece went up by one Hong Kong Dollar - the equivalent of $0.13.

But he’s nervous to raise them further.

[Wong Charn-chee, Dim Sum restaurant owner]

“If you just casually raise the prices, the customers won’t like it. The problem is they won’t come to your store.”

Location: Karachi, Pakistan

Chef Mohammad Ilyas makes Biryani at this famous eatery in Karachi.

He says prices have nearly doubled in a year.

1kg of Biryani, which can feed up to 4 people, hovered around the $1 mark and now costs $2.2.

And is even more expensive at other eateries.

[Mohammad Ilyas, Chef]

“I have been working at this kitchen for the last 15 years. These days prices of rice and spices have gone up so much that poor people can't afford to eat Biryani.”