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The Street Food Haven of Guohua St. @ Tainan, Taiwan

heading to the street food haven of Guohua Street in Tainan
heading to the street food haven of Guohua Street in Tainan

A mere five minutes stroll from FUSHIN Hotel Tainan – 富信大飯店 is Guohua Street, also known as a street food haven, and YongLe Market, the local wet market. I opine this area to be similar to the wet market at Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Ipoh and its vicinity.

stalls open at about 7am
stalls open at about 7am
 butcher prepares meat while waiting for customers
butcher prepares meat while waiting for customers

The best time to visit this area is in the morning, around 7am. That’s when most of the shops open for their day’s business. Having put up the night at FUSHIN Hotel Tainan – 富信大飯店, I was eager to survey Guohua Street first thing the next morning.

breakfast is ready
breakfast is ready
pots of food being cooked but they are not for sale
pots of food being cooked but they are not for sale

I had the company of the hotel’s Executive Vice General Manager Mr Solomon Lin, Sales & Marketing Director of Polo Holidays Co. Ltd. Ms Tammy Chien, and Golden Century Tour & Travel tour leader Ms Goh Suet Eng.

more food, to prepare for catering
more food, to prepare for catering
yours truly (R), Ms Goh (L) and Mr Solomon Lin waiting for our meat mantou
yours truly (R), Ms Goh (L) and Mr Solomon Lin waiting for our meat mantou

Although a tour of the marketplace is doable solo, I appreciated the local knowledge shared with me, making it easier to absorb its uniqueness. For this first trip, I knew exactly what I should eat and drink, while we walked around the block as the wet market came to life.

meat mantou
meat mantou
meat mantou
meat mantou

According to Mr Solomon, the top four food that one must try, especially on a maiden visit, are: spring rolls (春捲), rice cakes (碗粿), meat mantou (割包) and calamari rice vermicelli (小卷米粉).

 popular rice cake stall
popular rice cake stall
rice cake
rice cake

Don’t forget to wash your breakfast down with a cup of Taiwanese black tea (红茶), which was exactly what I did!

Taiwanese black tea
Taiwanese black tea
another popular eatery
another popular eatery

Food aside, there are many quirky buildings and attractive wall murals that catch one’s eye, which also make interesting backdrops for photography.

wall mural
wall mural
 these characters are all over Taiwan
these characters are all over Taiwan

If you have been to Guohua Street before, do recommend some other top local food for me to try on my next visit. Yes, this is definitely worth a repeat!

street scene
street scene

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With love

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