I'm from Taichung, came to Tainan to study,
College plus grad school, six years I stayed;
Studying, playing ball, joining clubs, I never forgot to visit many shops,
Tainan's snacks live up to their fame, every place a world of its own.
First stop: Guohua Street, where snacks abound,
Fu Sheng Bowl Rice Cake is famous, Jin De sells spring rolls;
Left side, Ya De's当归 duck soup, keep going for oyster omelet,
Right side, A Song's gua bao, and A Juan's zongzi.
At the corner, a star fruit drink stand, Xu's taro cake by the street,
Peek into Minzu Road, Yong Le sells grilled rice bowls;
Not satisfied with street shops, the market has more stalls,
Zheng's fried mackerel soup, and at the end, A Rui's yi mian.
Must-try: Jiang Shui Hao, taro so soft and sweet,
Exit to the other side, Shajialiba for fresh tastes;
Rong Sheng's rice cake leads, then A Cai's snack shop,
Liao's stir-fried eel, Chikan's coffin bread.
Take a break, then rush to Anping for shrimp rolls,
If Zhou's is old news, Chen Ji sells oyster rolls;
Anping Old Street has three treasures: tofu pudding and preserved fruit,
Mao Ji and Tong Ji scoop tofu pudding, one black, one white, order both.
Zheng He Xing sells preserved plums, Yong Tai Xing dried guava,
Tian Cong Bo's fish ball soup, oyster omelet by the old fort;
Eat and play, climb Anping Fort for a view,
Eternal Golden Fort has cannons, Tait & Co. a wax museum.
Back downtown, the feast goes on, Tainan snacks countless,
Just zongzi alone, several shops to name;
Liu Jia, Hai Long, Circle Top, Yang Ge Yang Sao add more,
Century-old Zai Fa Hao, eight-treasure zongzi for a hundred bucks.
Bowl rice cakes also many, Xiao Nan and Sen Mao for two days,
I prefer Xiao Xi Jiao, with bean soup as a side;
If I stop here, readers won't be satisfied,
So a comma here, and on we go:
On Minzu Road, right side, braised mackerel soup noodles,
Only open at night for eight-treasure ice, opposite the Far Eastern department store;
Besides Song Cun smoked goods, Ya Mu Liao has shrimp rolls,
And Ni Wo Ta duck wings, near Shin Kong Mitsukoshi alley.
Ji Cheng and Ai Zai Cheng, same origin for shrimp rice,
Like split duck soup, Qing Zhen and Dong Qiao became two;
Tainan's famous beef soup, Shi Jing Jiu for breakfast,
Or wake up early, A Hui opens at three in the morning.
Almost forgot meatballs, top pick in front of Wu Temple,
On Fuxian Road, Fu Ji, next to Lily's fruit shop;
Shrimp meatballs also famous, just count the names,
You Cheng, Mao Xiong start, Yong Qi, Jian Guo make four.
Eel yi mian can't miss, A Tie, Zhen Wei, A Yuan,
Xiao Du, A Long often heard, two more yi mian shops;
Drink water, catch breath, use restroom, then continue,
Don't mind structure, freely type on.
Old Zheng and Old Deng different shops, both sell beef noodles,
A Ming's business runs a university, Old Tang never moved;
A friend's family runs Zhan Ji, no shame to recommend,
Total shops now sixty, pause and think a while.
Yao Ji grilled skewers for late night, A Han savory porridge for breakfast,
Bao Zi Lu on Kaishan Road, Rou Bao Hui in front of market;
Shang Fu sells pork chop rice, Fu Tai rice table choose freely,
Du Xiao Yue and Hong Yu Tou, traditional minced pork danzai noodles.
Xiao Juan rice noodles far away, Zhuo Jia Shantou sells fish noodles,
Rice cake first at Xia Da Dao, A Guo goose meat all night;
Shanghai Wei Xiang and Hua Du, all on Minquan Road,
Same street Tai Yang Cheng, red bean milk ice superb.
Zong Gan Gong front, Song Zi Jiao, Shuang Quan black tea nearby,
Pudding Jin Fang and Yi Lei Te, Shun Tian popsicles hidden in alley;
Finally Yi Feng winter melon tea, one breath to finish,
Sorry for omissions, will fill in next time.