Kinmen's official travel guide claims that local peanut candy is the most important souvenier to buy while you are visiting. Again, how this food became so popular here is a little mysterious. The Chinese name actually translates to something like "offering candy," and my coworker told me this is because in the past, all of China's territories would have to give offerings to the ruler. Kinmen did not have much money, so they made delicious candy from peanuts as their offering.
I arrived at the breakfast shop around 6:30am before it got busy to enjoy the more peaceful part of the morning. The Cantonese congee was as hot as fresh coffee and burned my tongue a little. I really enjoyed the flavor of the congee at this shop. I tried congee once before a couple months ago and did not enjoy it much because it came with pig liver and what looked like other organs. This time, I made sure to order it without these parts! I feel that this breakfast will be an excellent way to warm up in the morning during the colder months in Kinmen.
I chose to bring the peanut candy to a work session with my other English teacher friends. We tried a few different kinds while we drank tea. I liked the salted peanut candy the best. It reminded me of the really thick, dry natural peanut butter you can buy in the U.S. I was curious to try the pig's foot peanut candy! It seems this kind is named for its shape rather than its taste or ingredients. I'd recommend this one to people who like caramel because the gummy outside part reminded me of caramel candy.
