Phowa, an old house bar in the alleys of West Central District, Tainan

#100 Ways to Travel Address: No. 121, Xinmei Street, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700 Atmosphere/Facilities: Lively bar, old house industrial style bar, Linepay accepted Specialties: Stinky tofu hamburger steak, Ferrero Rocher fries, okra fried chicken, fried rice balls Price per person: NT$1,200 Rating: This is an old-house industrial-style bar located in an alley near Ximen Roundabout in Tainan, specializing in Tainan's local specialty cocktails. It takes about 3 minutes to find the way in from the roundabout. Next to the small neon sign at the door that only says phowa is the main door of the bar. There is a staircase at the entrance and the staff will kindly remind you to be careful of the steps. When you enter at around 8:30, the seats in the store are already nearly 90% full. It is recommended to make reservations online or by phone in advance. Stinky Tofu Hamburger Steak NT$280 The beef hamburger patties are mixed with stinky tofu, coated with flour, deep-fried, and then topped with a sweet and salty sauce. It tastes stinky and fragrant, but the outer layer is very hard. The side dishes are boiled corn shoots, cherry tomatoes and grated radish sprinkled with a little salt. Fenghe Yam and Okra Fried Chicken NT$380 The most common Japanese fried chicken has a crispy outer layer of batter after being fried. Served with grated yam and blanched okra slices, topped with sweet soy fried chicken sauce. Crispy yet smooth. The sweet soy fried chicken sauce is also mixed with the juice of yam and okra to make it slightly sticky. Tainan Fried Rice Balls 180 Taiwan Dollars Judging from the appearance, it should be the commonly eaten laurel-filled small dumplings made by deep-frying, with sesame and peanut flavors. It is sprinkled with mung bean powder. A piece of Tainan specialty salt paste will also be included. This dish is probably the phowa version of the banquet dish. It’s hard for fried glutinous rice balls to be unpalatable, but mung bean powder and salt paste add a lot to the taste of the fried glutinous rice balls. The clerk suggested eating the original flavor first and then crushing the salt paste and sprinkling it on top. Golden Sand Crispy Potato 170 Taiwan Dollars The Ferrero Rocher sauce is very similar to the semi-finished Ferrero Rocher sauce that can be bought in PX Mart, which is concentrated and tastes stinky. Mix with fried shallots, chopped green onions and crispy fried potato cubes. The flavors go together very well. Nandong Chunmei NT$380 The cocktail, which is made with peaty whisky and plum wine as the base, has a very rich taste, although the bar staff said that the peat taste of this whisky is not very strong. But I don’t know if it’s because of the plum wine, but I can clearly feel the unique aroma of peat and the aftertaste is plum wine, a very sweet kind of plum wine. Recommended for those who like strong alcoholic drinks. Those who like sister wine should avoid it. Cherry Blossoms NT$380 Sparkling cocktail, sweet and sour taste. Red Fruit NT$380 A cocktail with fruity flavors such as jasmine tea and passion fruit, and a hint of coffee in the aftertaste. Daily necessities: NT$380 This is the most special and conflicting cocktail. Before I ordered it, the waiter explained that it has a salty soy milk flavor. The most conflicting thing about the drink is actually the burst of coriander flavor, followed by celery juice. The overall taste is sweet. The salty soy milk taste refers to the salty foam on the top layer, which is mixed with fried shallots to create a very subtle salty taste. A piece of fried dough stick will be attached and you can eat it with the foam.