Childhood street food vendors

Every morning my mom would take me to the back of the ally for breakfast, and the meal of choice was noodles. This vendor was known for noodles with peanut sauce and soup with fish balls. Their fish balls are very bouncy, Taiwanese term is very " Q ", and there is some meat inside with a touch of meat juice. When the guy ended his business years later, it was a very sad day for the whole neighborhood.

There were other breakfast places that served traditional meal like deep fried "oil stick" and soy milk, but the noodle place was the best!

At night all the street vendors came out, and my childhood favorite were two stands. One is the Oyster noodle soup/pork ball soup/deep fried meat pocket/deep fried taro root cake, and the stand is still there this day but operated by the original owners' son. When I went home for the first time after 14 years, that was one of the place I went. The verdict: I still miss it because things did taste better in your memory.

The other stand sold fish cake soup in the winter and ice cream in the summer. The guy was always very nice to me. I can get similar ice cream now in Tamshui night market as the Old Time ice cream. The fish cake soup usually served dry first with hot and sweet sauce on top and cilantro, when you finish all the pieces, then he pour some hot soup into the bowl. The remaining sauce and the soup cooked with fish cakes all day in were just great! Once I sat there asking for refilled of the soup over and over again and the guy just smile and gave it to me, because the soup is free I justified. My mom said he asked about me often after I came to USA and she would tell that story about her son scammed this poor vendor for bowls after bowls of soup. One day he just disappeared, my mom thinks he had some kind of illness.

My favorite favorite food however, is the oyster omelet.






The best place was this stand in the night market in front of Long-Shan temple. The oyster omelet was Q and the little touch was grounded peanut powder on top of the sauce. That is another one that stands out in my memory. The whole night market was tore down and so went the awesome oyster omelet.

I am sure you know I love food just by looking at me, but hey, don't call me fat, I am just a foodie. :)