Hwahsi Night Market

This alley of noodle and fish restaurants, specialty shops, foot massages and street vendors is a popular street for local and foreign toursists. Snake handles and snake-derived fluids and foods (also called medicine here) gives Hwashi street its common name: Snake alley.

Chen-Hung convinced me to have a shot with some snake blood and alcohol. Normally I don't turn much food down, but here I had some small doubts. But he is convincing!


Entrance to Hwahsi Night market

   

Here is the menu: from left to right: snake oil pills, bowl of snake soup, snake oil shot, snake poison alcohol shot, snake guts shots. Sounds like my kind of Saturday night food.



Snake restaurant: From left to right: snake oil pills, snake soup, snake oil shot, snake poison alcohol shot, snake guts shots



Voila, soup anyone? Friends asked me whether this was actually edible. It is edible, but it was not very delicious. But it can also be due the very basic preparation: basically water and snake. The snake tastes like chicken completely filled with the bones of a fish.

Snake soup

"I thought we would come here for the blood?" I asked. This was arranged in no time, so there I was with my big mouth. However, it was not so bad at all. Honestly, somewhere deep inside, I hoped to taste some more blood than the alcohol!

This would keep me going on those looooong Taipei Saturday nights :-).

Enjoying the blood alcohol shoot.