第三市場豫台燒餅油條

第三市場豫台燒餅油條 is tucked into a stall in Taichung's Third Market in the South District, its sign reading “SINCE 1959” — a stall that's been at it for six decades. The fresh-fried you-tiao (fried cruller) is golden and crisp yet not greasy, and comes in two kinds: the regular you-tiao and the darker, extra-crisp “lao you-tiao” (double-fried) — the latter especially good wrapped in a rice roll, cooked into Cantonese congee, or dropped into hot pot to soak up the broth. The sesame-dusted shao-bing is hand-rolled and baked to order, and wrapped around a you-tiao it makes the classic shao-bing-you-tiao. One diner said “the you-tiao was so good I'd finished it before getting home,” another “no need to fly to Kinmen for you-tiao anymore.”

The stall hides inside the market — plenty of people “couldn't find it on Google Maps and only found it wandering the market.” The shao-bing is limited, one diner warning “come early for the shao-bing — it's pretty much gone by 9:30 or 10.” The owner and her son are patient and warm, a point many reviews single out for praise. The you-tiao is crispest fresh from the fryer, so eat it hot.