Daily Life Part II: Street Vendor Snacks

There are food vendors all over my neighborhood selling 'little eats' from early morning until late at night (or early morning again). Here are a few little eats foods that are popular in my neighborhood. (Click to enlarge.)

Mantou (steamed buns, left) and baozi (steamed buns with savory filling, right). Baozi is popular for breakfast. The pork filling reminds me of school cafeteria mystery meat, I'm not a fan. But I do like mantou.

Squid on a stick with lajiao (hot pepper) powder. Basically spicy calamari on a stick.












Little steamed dough baskets filled with pork-cooked glutinous rice. They are very salty, but very delicious! I can only eat two before I get full.

Shao kao (bbq). Veggies, meats, tofu and sometimes dumplings. You choose your foods and they grill it (what the lady is doing), then fry it in a wok with spices, peanuts, hot peppers, MSG, cilantro and chives (what her husband is doing). It's a great snack to eat when you are sitting at a beer garden at night, shooting the breeze with your friends.


Most shao kao places stay open 'til the early morning hours because drunk people like to eat shao kao.



Here's what cooked shao kao looks like. This dish could also be called 'iron stomach endurance training.'











This is a thin flour shell (like a crepe) filled with eggs, veggies and/or meat. Basically a spicy omelet wrapped in a crepe. You can also buy thicker pancake style ones that are filled pita-style with meat, eggs and/or veggies.




Well, I hope you've enjoyed this overview of the foods you can buy from street vendors. These foods are all available within a 1 block radius of my apartment. I don't eat them very often because I don't think they're healthy, but every now and then, they hit the spot. Shao kao is my favorite.