Sometimes a ma hua (麻花) truck appears from nowhere in the neighborhood and parks on the sidewalk, or just pops up in a centric square where you never saw it before and disappears after a day of frenzy activity. Perhaps it is illegal to sell it… 😉
Ma hua is a fried, twisted piece of dough, originally from Tianjin, with a coating of sesame seeds, but as many things in China, the presentation, sizing and even the filling if any, have hundreds of variations, one for each city maybe… but in all cases, they are crispy, tasty and always filling enough to skip a meal!
If you find them, give them a try, because depending on the city where you’re living, these snacks/desserts can be very hard to find…
You may also like:
- A different kind of snack: Spicy tea eggs (茶叶蛋)
- The Macanese pastry from the colony days: Portuguese egg tarts
