[Taiwan] This Might Be a Bit Odd [FamilyMart]

Hi everyone, it’s Takky!

Since I couldn’t think of anything to write about for this blog post, I went to a FamilyMart in Taiwan and bought a product that looked a little suspicious at first glance—and didn’t seem very appetizing. Will it actually taste good?? Be sure to check it out.

No.1　Sesame noodle tea milk tea

In Chinese, “芝麻” means sesame. Sesame milk tea sounds delicious, but there are two extra characters in the middle—“麵茶”—that seem unnecessary. Incidentally, at first glance, I interpreted it as “芝麻麵茶/奶茶” (sesame miancha/milk tea). That makes it sound even less appetizing.

It has a cute appearance.

Looking at the ingredients, nothing seems particularly suspicious—except for the noodle tea powder.

It had a roasted aroma, similar to barley tea or hojicha. The taste was like a sesame barley tea milk tea, and it was pretty good. Honestly, it was a bit of a letdown. I’m disappointed.

Apparently, miancha is a traditional food that has long been enjoyed in Taiwan and China. It’s a powder made by slowly roasting wheat flour, sugar, and ground sesame seeds, and it seems the aroma reminiscent of barley tea actually comes from the miancha.

You can mix it with a little hot water to make a paste and eat it, sprinkle it over shaved ice, or simply drink it mixed with hot water or milk. Personally, it reminded me of kinako mochi, and I thought it would taste delicious sprinkled on mochi. It was so good that if I found it at a supermarket, I’d probably buy some to take home as a souvenir.

No.2　Chiayi-style mayo cold noodle ice cream

This is the real deal. It’s clearly a weird, offbeat snack. It gave me the same sense of madness as the “Gari Gari-kun” Napolitan-flavored ice cream. By the way, this was a product that had been sitting on the shelves at FamilyMart for two or three months. I forgot to get a receipt, so I’m not exactly sure, but I think it was priced at about half the list price.

By the way, White Vinegar Cold Noodles are a local specialty representing Chiayi City. Their most distinctive feature is the use of “white vinegar”—a uniquely Taiwanese ingredient with a strong sweetness—and a generous amount of mayonnaise. These cold noodles are topped with crunchy ingredients like cucumber and bean sprouts and drizzled with a rich sauce made by blending the special mayonnaise with garlic soy sauce, sesame sauce, and chili oil.

What kind of person would even think of turning this into a product? I’m curious about both the person who came up with the idea and the one who gave it the green light.

The outside has a sesame sauce flavor, and the inside seems to be mayonnaise-flavored.

It was covered in frost. No wonder—it’s been sitting on the fridge for a while.

As for the taste… it wasn’t absolutely terrible, but it wasn’t delicious either. As expected, the inner layer of mayonnaise had a unique flavor. That said, if you asked me if the outer layer alone was tasty, I wouldn’t say so either. It created a mysterious synergy where two negatives multiplied to make a positive. If I didn’t have any preconceived notions based on the name, I think I could enjoy it as a sesame-flavored salted ice cream. That’s what it tasted like.

Summary

This time, I bought and tried a suspicious-looking product at a FamilyMart in Taiwan. I’m not particularly into weird foods, but in Taiwan, there are often things that look like they’d be terrible based on the Chinese characters but turn out to be pretty tasty once you try them, so I make a point of trying them out every now and then. Aside from that, I occasionally come across things that are obviously questionable, like cold noodle ice cream. Trying new things is always fun. If you ever find something suspicious in Taiwan, I encourage you to give it a try.

Well then, everyone, stay safe today!