Taiwan '500 Bowls' award honors street food

台灣「500碗」獎表揚街頭美食

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The third annual "500 Bowls" list of delicious Taiwanese street food was announced on Saturday.

A total of 462 stalls and snack shops made it on the list. However, only five stalls earned the top rating of "3 Bowls," per PTS.

These stalls include New Taipei City's Zhu Ji Squid Thick Soup (朱記花枝羹), Changhua's Beidou Zhan's Bawan (北斗肉圓詹) and "Bei Men Kou Bawan (北門口肉圓), Tainan's Qiu Jia Squid Rice Noodle (邱家小卷米粉), and Qiaotou Stinky Tofu (橋頭臭豆腐), with branches in Yilan and Hualien.

Changhua's two stalls gained top designation for "bawan," which is an oversized Taiwanese dumpling with a chewy outer layer made from starch and rice flour, which is steamed and then fried. The filling is typically pork mixed with bamboo shoots or other savory ingredients.

Beidou Zhan's Bawan is already a well-known location for both locals and visitors. A near-constant crowd of customers can be seen lining up for their distinctive bawan at all hours of the day.

According to one Changhua resident, “Eating here has a very nostalgic taste, because when we were young, our grandpa often brought us here to eat. All the locals all recommend coming here.”

Liu Chen-lin (劉晨琳), the owner of the stall, said bawan is available in Changhua year-round. He added that traditional bawan are round-shaped; his are more triangular and are notable for their hand imprints.

As for the other winners, one customer agreed that New Taipei's Zhu Ji Squid Thick Soup deserved the top rating. According to the customer, "The squid pieces are very large and thick, and the overall seasoning is also very good."

The "500 Bowls" list is a new guide to Taiwanese snacks, which is similar to the Michelin Bib Gourmand. In its third iteration, 50 judges were invited to select Taiwanese snack foods that they considered worthy of recognition.

In terms of region, Taipei was the overall winner with 146 stalls selected by the guide. This was followed by Tainan with 54 and New Taipei with 35.