Tasting Taiwan Street Food for Muslim

People said that Taiwan Street Food is a must to try when you are travelling to Taiwan. Yet, it's still challenging for muslim. So, hunting for street food is not placed on the top of wishlist on my recent trip to Taiwan. But I already have notes about some Taiwan Street Food that save to eat, just in case. 

Due to the schedule activity I have in Taiwan, I ended up visiting 2 night markets in Wuqi, Taichung. One of them is Wuqi night market, but I forgot the name for the other one. Actually there's also afternoon small market near temple in old Wuqi street. Since the choice is limited, we decide to not buy anything there. 

 

I depend on google image translate a lot when try to find Taiwan Street Food to taste. My tiny mandarin skills I learned weeks ago also help, just a bit. Aturan lain yang aku terapkan saat cari jajanan pinggir jalan adalah, stallnya ga jualan jenis makanan meragukan lainnya. Untungnya stall Street Food di Night Market di Taiwan ini emang biasanya cuma jual 1 menu aja.

Here are some food I tried:

1. Of course, Stinky Tofu. I didn't plan to taste this special food cause I'm a bit affraid with the review I saw on internet. But our leader bought one to share for us all. Tbh, I almost didn't smell something suspicious from the stall. Thankfully my first Chou Dou Fu is SAFE. This one is not as bad as many bad reviews I saw on internet. Not like it's name, I still can put them inside my mouth, chews, and gulp them through my throat. But I also can't say that I like it. Just the taste is not so special for me. 

 

2. After wondering here and there, busy looking my handphone for the translation, I decided to try Oyster Omelette (small $70). Another Taiwan Street Food must buy after saw some reviews on internet. Unfortunately, after waiting for several minutes, the taste is not worth. It's not like what I expected, despite some review I saw on internet. Just like regular omelette, nothing special. Oyster also bland, even though leave a bit fishy taste, but no umami flavor. I also can't taste the seafood-taste. Sauce is not even help. My friends said that "maybe the sauce ruining the taste of this dish". (Lebih enak Puyunghai Solaria kata gua mah). Another minus point to this dish is after they put the dish in the box, they squeeze the oil before served (like squeezing the laundry, omg too much oil).

  

3. Scallion Pancake. I tried one pancake bought by my friend in the first night market. I can't remember clearly about the taste. But I remember my friend said that she didn't really like it cause it feels oily. Then I bought another one again in Wuqi Night market (half $45). I think I like this one better. Moreover, they offers some sprinkle, and I choose seaweed. It looks appetizing, and taste is good. 

  

 

 

4. This is the most expensive, but the most delicious one I think. Fried Squid with hot sauce. Dari pertama masuk koridor jalan yg penuh jajanan di Wuqi Night Market, mataku ngincer makanan mana yg bisa dibeli. Stall cumi goreng ini yang paling menggiurkan. Sambil nunggu temen yang sedang antri dumpling, aku melipir ke stall ini. Ternyata temen thailand ku juga tertarik ngelihat jajanan ini, trus dia nanya "do you wanna buy?", then I asked " How much?". She help me translate the price. There are two size, $100 and $200. Alamak mahal ga maen-maen. Kan kita orang indo biasanya seringan ga enakan kalo udah nanya masa' ga dibeli yak, yaudahlah akhirnya aku beli. "Yi bai yi ge" I said. And the seller ask me if I want the sauce (sempet bingung krn ga ngerti, untung dibantu temen thailand tadi yg kebetulan bisa dikit mandarin), of course I would like to dip my fritters into hot spicy sauce. I didn't regret buy this pricey snack! Texture is perfect, crispy outside and the inside is not tough to chew (biasanya kan klo ga pandai masak cumi, jadi alot, tapi yg ini pas banget kenyalnya, enak digigit). The combination of fried squid with the sauce (kaya' sambal bangkok gitu) is hen hao chi!. Every each ofmy friend who tried this fried squid, also agreed by showing their thumb up. 

 

5. As far as I know, this is the must try sweet snack for Taiwan Street Food, Potato Balls (bola ubi klo kata orang indo). I didn't buy because this snack is a bit similar with what we commonly found in Indonesia. But I taste one which bought by my friend. It's tasty. The level of sweetness is suitable with my taste. Nice snack to munch. 

 

Usually street food price is affordable for our thin wallet. But not in Taiwan. 100 NTD is not enough to make my big stomach feel full. You know, I can eat rice and chicken for 20 NTD only in my hometown (ok I know I shouldn't compare the obvious difference with IDR weak rate, but I just want to let you know that I'm not the rich one). I even didn't consider to buy drink, nvm I have my bottle with water in my bag, more healthy anw.

I think Wuqi Night Market offers more safe food choices for muslim. There's even a stall which sold vegetable dumpling. But I didn't buy cause I was still afraid with the filling, so I didn't even ask further question like limian Zhu rou? Niu rou? Ji rou? to the seller. But my friend who bought said that it was taste good. Actually there's also another vegetable friendly snacks, mostly fried mushrooms. But I didn't buy cause it's also mainstream enough for Indonesian, right?. 

In Wuqi Night Market I even encounter several Indonesian/ASEAN looks who work there (I guess). Street food taste I tried there is not dissapointing. So, it's worth enough to visit when you are around Taichung port. Oya, selain makanan, masih ada banyak jualan dan hiburan ala pasar malam juga loh di sini. Aku lihat banyak juga orang indo yang beli pakaian. Boleh deh temen-temen muslim cobain mampir ke Wuqi Night Market. 

 

  

*catatan : makanan yg aku beli ga bisa jadi patokan makanan halal ya gaes. Terbatasnya ilmu dan tipisnya iman, buat aku belum mempertimbangkan bahan masakan lainnya, seperti kemungkinan penggunaan alkohol (mirin, angciu, arak), minyak/lemak babi, dan cross-contamination dengan barang haram lainnya.