Back in January, I came home loaded with all kinds of gifts from my two sisters in Taiwan. They were so generous, and it was completely unexpected. They actually bought me an extra surplus-sized suitcase in order to bring everything home! I’m sure glad they did because there was no way all those gifts would have made it back with me without that extra suitcase. I came back to Arizona with pineapple cakes, packages of high mountain tea, milk candies, cookies, fresh jerky from one of the best shops in Hualien, and other specialty items from Taiwan. My family and I polished off the pineapple cakes and jerky within a week. We’re still enjoying some of the wonderful candies though. Taiwanese nougat candy. They come in different flavors: vanilla, green tea, coffee, chocolate, etc.

The white candies are the original milk flavor well known in Taiwan. The dark ones are sort of a cross between caramel and coffee. The color reminds me a bit of karo syrup. They’re soft and chewy with a bit of a crunch from the nuts inside.

Each candy is individually wrapped. On the front of the wrapper, it says “Delicious”, “Tasty & Pleasant to Taste.” That’s the only thing I could read because it was the only thing written in English!

There’s a clear outer layer wrapped around the candy called candy paper, or as my elder sister called it, sweet paper. She told me you just eat it along with the candy. At first, I couldn’t get used to eating a piece of candy with a wrapper still around it even though it’s very thin, tastes sweet, and basically melts in your mouth. After a few more, though, I got used to it. I love the nuts inside. It looks kind of like taffy and has a similar texture, although it’s a little more thick and chewy. The original milk flavored candies taste like milk, but sweeter. I can’t decide if I like the dark or white ones better.

I took some to work to share with my co-workers, and it disappeared within a week. I would love to try some of the other flavors in the future – maybe on my next trip to Taiwan.

Taiwanese candies! Yum!!!