臺灣夜市的琳琅美食邁向國際化

Taiwan has long been known for its night markets.

臺灣夜市聞名已久。

According to the island's tourism bureau, night markets attract more than 70% of foreign visitors. The popularity of these nightly bazaars even prompted the bureau to come up with an app in which players can be virtuAl street hawkers in the markets.

據臺灣觀光局透露，夜市吸引了70%以上的外國遊客。由於這些夜間市集的人氣高漲，臺灣觀光局還推出了一個應用，讓用戶可以成爲這些市場的虛擬小販。

But as Taiwan becomes more globalized, so too has the selection at the night markets.

但隨着臺灣的進一步全球化，夜市提供的選擇也更具國際特色。

Visitors to Taipei's famed Raohe Night Market can still get their fill of Taiwanese standbys like stinky tofu, pork intestine soup and pig's blood rice cakes smothered with peanut powder. But those in the mood for something a little different can now also find Italian pizza cones, French crepes and Thai banana roti.

在臺北有名的饒河街夜市，遊客仍然可以吃到臭豆腐、豬腸湯、鋪着花生碎的豬血糕等臺灣美食。但如果想吃點不同的風味，現在遊客還可以找到意大利手握披薩、法式可麗餅和泰式香蕉煎餅。

For Kao Tzu-fang, the best way to enjoy India without leaving Taiwan is a visit to her neighborhood night market.

對於Kao Tzu-fang來說，能夠一嘗印度美食又不用離開臺灣的最好辦法就是逛一逛她家附近的夜市。

'I love the Indian milk tea here. I don't need a visa or a plane ticket, ' she said, while fixing her eyes on the Taiwanese man showing off his 'pull tea' skill--a common Southeast Asian trick involving pouring a mixture of sweet, condensed milk and black tea back and forth repeatedly between two pitchers from a distance.

她說，她喜歡這裏的印度奶茶；她都不需要辦理簽證，也不用買飛機票。她目不轉睛地看着眼前這個臺灣本地人表演他的“拉茶”技術。拉茶是一種在東南亞很普遍的做茶技術，即將糖、煉乳和紅茶的混合物在兩個距離較遠的容器內不斷地倒來倒去。

Although Ms. Kao, a Taipei resident, has never been to India and admitted she doesn't know what real Indian masala tea tastes like, she is happy with the Taiwanese version. She said she and many of her friends rely on the night markets when craving something exotic and different.

作爲一個臺北本地人，Kao從沒去過印度，也承認自己並不知道真正的印度瑪莎拉茶到底什麼味道，不過她對臺灣夜市版的拉茶很滿意。她說，自己和許多朋友想要嘗試異國風味時都會去夜市。

Wearing a sweat-soaked black tank top with a towel around his neck, Tu Ming-hsiu stands in front of a smoldering hot grill each night at the Shilin Night Market, hoping the cumin-infused aroma from his Chinese Xinjiang meat skewers will appeal to passersby, especially those from the mainland, where it's a popular street snack.

Tu Ming-hsiu穿着被汗水溼透的黑色背心，脖子上搭着一條毛巾，站在自己位於士林夜市內的烤肉攤前，每天晚上如此。他希望自己新疆烤肉攤的孜然香味能夠吸引到來來往往的食客，尤其是來自於中國大陸的遊客。新疆烤肉是大陸流行的街邊小吃。

'Taiwan receives lots of Chinese tourists and many of them probably would like to have a taste of home,' the Taiwan native said, noting his business is doing 'better than ever.'

這個臺灣本地人說，來臺灣旅遊的大陸游客很多，他們中很多人可能很想在臺灣嘗一嘗大陸的食物。他還稱，自己的生意從來沒有像現在這麼好。

Some foreign vendors are also seeking to feast upon Taiwan's craze for exotic food. Halit Toprak, has been selling Turkish ice cream, or dondurma, in various night markets for the five years. He said selling a beloved dessert from his home country is his way of sharing his culture with Taiwanese people.

一些外國商販也瞄準了臺灣人對於外來美食的癡迷，準備大賺一筆。託普拉克(Halit Toprak)在各色夜市販賣土耳其冰淇淋(dondurma)已有五年之久，他說，他通過兜售祖國受歡迎的甜品來跟臺灣人民分享土耳其文化。

'I want my Taiwanese customers to experience the original taste, so I even get my salep [a type of flour] from Turkey,' he said, but he admits he has to dial down the levels of sugar to cater to Taiwanese taste buds.

託普拉克稱，他希望臺灣客人們品嚐到原汁原味，所以他連做甜品用的蘭莖粉（一種麪粉）都從土耳其運來。不過他也承認，爲了迎合臺灣人的味蕾，他少放了糖。

While the globalization of street snacks is giving night market shoppers more options, not everyone embraces the foreign influence. Some fear the influx of cheesy fries, Japanese moichi and Indian chapati is spoiling the essence of something so quintessential Taiwan.

雖然街頭小吃的國際化給了夜市遊客提供了更多選擇，但並非每個人都歡迎這種外來影響。一些人擔心，奶酪薯條、日本麻 、印度麪餅等小吃破壞了臺灣風味的精髓。

'When I was in America, I missed Taiwan's night market food so much. But now there is all this Western food here, and it isn't even good or authentic,' said Michael Shih, a 28-year-old manager at a startup. 'People who want burgers should just go to McDonald's or a food court, but leave my night market alone.'

現年28歲的某初創公司經理Michael Shih稱，他在美國的時候特別想念臺灣夜市的小吃，但現在的夜市充斥着西方食品，既不好吃，也不正宗。他表示，想吃漢堡的人應該去麥當勞(McDonald's)或美食街，而不要來夜市。

Mr. Shih said one of his favorite memories growing up in Taipei was grabbing a plate of stinky tofu with a heap of pickled cabbage after an intense basketball game.

Shih說，他是在臺北長大的，記憶中最美妙的事情之一就是在打完一場激烈的籃球賽後，就着醃白菜吃一盤臭豆腐。

'It was dirty, cheap, and messy, but that's what made it so good and so Taiwan,' he recalled.

他回憶道：（這樣的吃法）確實不衛生、廉價而又雜亂，但那種感覺特別棒，纔是原汁原味的臺灣風味。

Second-generation street vendor Huang Ying-tong said the invasion of foreign food in Shilin Night Market, where his family has been selling an array of barbecued grub for 30 years, doesn't bother him at all. In fact, he said he feels it's something Taiwan should be proud of.

第二代街頭小販Huang Ying-tong稱，他家在臺北士林夜市上經營燒烤大排檔已經有30年了，外來小吃的入侵對他而言一點都不構成困擾。他表示，事實上臺灣應該爲此而驕傲。

'Taiwan is small island but it is a giant melting pot,' Mr. Huang said. 'The constant changing selections of night market food proves just that.'

他說，臺灣只是個小小島嶼，但同時又是個巨大的熔爐。他認爲，夜市小吃不斷推陳出新，恰恰佐證了這一點。