Taiwan, Changhua's 'Fried Ba-wan', Papaya Milk Smoothie
Currently, this is the number one most delicious thing I've eaten in Taiwan, and it's running away with the lead.
It is the fried ba-wan and papaya milk smoothie with tapioca that I ate in Changhua City (just south of Taichung).
The fried ba-wan was too delicious. From crispy to chewy, with the thick sweet sauce, and when you poke it with a fork, there are chunks of meat inside.
What is this, it's T-D-D!!! (Too Delicious!)
By the way, Changhua is around here ↓
To get there from Taipei or Taoyuan Airport, take the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) to Taichung, then transfer to the conventional Taiwan Railways (TRA) line (from Xinwuri Station, which is adjacent to the THSR Taichung Station, not the TRA Taichung Station).
It's about 10 minutes to Changhua!
The fried ba-wan shop is also about a 6-minute walk from Changhua Station!
See!
It's surprisingly close, right!
Changhua!
It's not that hard to get to, is it!
Changhua!
Changhua (Zhāng huà) is the land of ba-wan!
Click here for an explanation of ba-wan ↓
It probably varies by shop, but even people who don't like star anise or cilantro should be able to eat it (it's almost never included, though some shops might use it).
It's like a thick, squishy sauce—similar to oden broth—with something delicious about the size of a steamed bun floating in it.
It looks brown.
Ba-wan is far from what you'd call 'Instagrammable.' But it's delicious.
By Taiwan High Speed Rail, it's about an hour from Taipei to Taichung; it's close, it's delicious, it's cheap, and the town has a nice, retro, and compact feel.
I've talked so passionately about fried ba-wan that I'll save the story about the papaya milk smoothie with tapioca for tomorrow.