Famous snack on Zhongshan Road

I was walking along the shops off the main stretch of Zhongshan Lu when I came across this lady who claimed that she's selling one of the famous snacks of Xiamen (Amoy).

She pointed to this newspaper clipping of herself:

I nodded impressively and noticed that the snack sells for only 1.50 yuan (yi kuai wu) that I thought, "Why not?" and promptly agreed to try it out. 

  Smiling with joy, she started preparing her "famous" snack, which looked like spring rolls:

She continued her cheery banter as she bustled about her cart. Smilingly, she said that hers was not an ordinary spring roll. 

Her famous snack had a sweet surprise: 麦芽糖 (mai Ya Tang) or maltose candy although it was softer than the lollipop kind - it's like a soft nougat? 

Do you see the shiny strips of "nougat" on either side of the spring roll? 

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical because spring rolls, Chinese and Vietnamese, are savoury and should, in my opinion, stay that way!

Anyway, I didn't want to hurt her feelings as the spring rolls were looking kind of tasty with crumbled roasted peanuts, freshly grated white radish and some chilli sauce:

The spring roll is nice on its own since it's freshly made - the maltose candy added a sweet touch to a savoury snack. In the end, it tasted like what peanut butter pasta tastes like :)

Seaweed Tofu Egg Drop Soup

One of the interesting bits about chain restaurants like KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) in China is the "localization" of its offerings. 

 

Seaweed Tofu Egg Drop Soup

Here's a seaweed soup (with pieces of carrot and tofu) that comes with breakfast :)

The seaweed soup is actually a light and nice vegan meal for kids because the carrots, seaweed and tofu are soft enough for babies and toddlers to nibble on.