Street Food Galore

The street food in Taipei is just the best! No need to eat lunch or dinner in an expensive restaurant if you are on a food trip on one of their street markets, whether during the day or night.

First stop is in Gongguan where you can find the stall of the Best Bubble Milk drink in Taiwan which is named Chensanding. Take note that this is not a milk tea drink, as the drink consists only of milk. The line is really really long, but the crew are very efficient so you would need to wait in line for only a few minutes. After drinking a sip, I realize that the taste of the pearls are different. They are made from brown sugar, which is why it has a different sweetness to it. The pearls are still hot when mixed with the cold milk, and the combination is simply to die for. Also, the price is really affordable, costing only NT30. Definitely a must-try!

Next stop is the Jiufen Old Street, where there are a lot of different kinds of food being sold from left to right. There are also cute souvenir shops where you can buy gifts to take home for friends. To be able to go around touring this place, we can only set out on foot. Cars will not be able to fit into this tiny street.

The busy Jiufen Old Street with quaint teahouses at the sides

The stinky tofu, one of the local cuisines in Taiwan. It was my first time to try it, and not only was the smell stinky, but also the taste! However, you will realize that the more you eat, the more you would want to keep on eating. Weird huh?! I guess that's why it's one of the delicacies in Taiwan haha.

The Stinky Tofu!!!

Continuing on, you would get to see black sugar flavored and fruit-flavored candies. The black sugar flavored candies are so cute as they are shaped into popular cartoon characters. Do you see Patrick Starfish and Sergeant Kero? Then, you can also buy takoyaki from the takoyaki stand.

For drinks, there are also different selections to buy like Iced Coffee and Almond Tea.

There is this one snack that our tour guide treated us that was really something that we have never tried before. It was covered in lumpia wrapper, and there was peanut powder inside, but it was mixed in ice cream. It tasted really nice, and we would have ate some more, but there were still a lot of food to try out.

At the end of line, there were gross-looking snails that were almost twice as big as the ones we see in Seaside. Our tour guide prompted us to try some, and la-dee-da since we were very obedient tourists, we quickly bought a bowl. I couldn't believe it, but it was the best tasting thing snail I had ever tasted. No kidding! Add to it the best tasting chili sauce, and it was a great combination. Yummy!!!

Beside the snails were some squids being cooked, and it tasted great as well, and the chili sauce would also give it great justice, so don't hesitate in giving it a try as well!

For food to take home to friends and relatives, there are also lots to choose from, like seaweed crackers, tea, and grape concentrate used to make grape juice and grape yoghurts. 

So, this was the end of our Jiufen street tour. However, before we left, our tour guide treated us to one last dessert that Jiufen is famous for. I'm not sure about the name, but they are composed of different colored glutinous balls that really had no taste, but are quite fun to chew. You might want to buy a bowl to try it. :)

Next stop is the Raohe Street Night Market. There are a lot of stuffs here that can be bought at an affordable price. Almost everything you want to buy can be found here. You name it, they have it. There are clothes, shoes, cellphone cases, dog clothes, pillows and bedsheets, and of course street food!!! The street food consists of sausages, squid chops, chicken chops, noodles, and fruits! Just thinking about it again makes me hungry(drool). 

Big sugar-apple (atis)

Strawberries with condensed milk and squid chops

Last stop is the Shilin Night Market. The most recommended street food here would be the Hot Star Fried Chicken. One must simply not miss this experience. Something to look forward to during every visit to Taiwan. 

Well, that's it for the street foods of Taiwan. They're all definitely very delicious, and it would be a shame not to be able to try most of it. So, that's it for now!

Ciao!

Kat <3