A 20-Year-Old Traditional Snack from Changhua: Glutinous Rice Balls Coated in Sugar and Black Sesame

Text & Photos bySan Gao Chi Han

I’d heard for ages that the glutinous rice balls near Yongle Street, located on Minsheng Road, were delicious. I didn’t see them on my previous visit to Changhua, so this time I specifically searched the area — turns out they’ve moved to Taiping Street. It was around 1 PM when they had just started selling, and when I arrived, there were already customers waiting at the shop front~

The stall is run by an elderly lady who does the frying. Each portion seems to cost NT$30 these days, but most customers buy NT$50 or NT$100 worth, so I followed suit and ordered a NT$50 portion to try.

An elderly man who was also waiting, noticing my tourist-like appearance, immediately started chatting...
Elderly Man: “Are you a tourist? This is a traditional snack from Changhua!”
Me: “Hehe, I’ve had it from another place before...” (Actually, I had glutinous rice balls about 8–9 years ago.)
Elderly Man: “Did you buy it from the place across from the rice ball shop? Right?”
Elderly Man: “That one isn’t tasty at all. Too hard. You should eat this one. The best in Changhua.”
Elderly Man: “I’ve been eating this since I was a kid. Now I eat two bags at a time.”
Elderly Man: “From age 20 to 50, it’s always looked the same!” (What? Already looking weathered at 20?)

Is this elderly man this lively? Later, while I was taking photos... he said, “Post about it, post about it!” (egging me on) Do you even know how to post online? Are you a netizen too~

After leaving the enthusiastic elder, I dug into the still-hot glutinous rice balls. These ones are extra fluffy and aren’t the usual long, flat shape I remember. Aside from the usual peanut sugar coating, they’re also sprinkled with black sesame.

The outer layer is crispy but not hard, while the inside is very soft with a fragrant rice aroma. When you bite down, the chewy, elastic texture makes it puff back open slightly, almost like a laughing mouth. Two people can easily finish a pack — it’s really good, especially for those who prefer a softer texture.

Guyueguan Glutinous Rice Balls
Address: No. 50, Taiping Street, Changhua City
Business Hours: 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM
 

San Gao Chi Han

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