在台灣，若要說有什麼最能吸引外國遊客目光，美食絕對是其中之一，特別是夜市美食，融合了閩南、客家、外省及原住民的飲食特色，一走入夜市，就可以看到琳瑯滿目的攤位向遊客們招手， 人們一手拿著豪大雞排，一邊喝著大杯珍珠奶茶，下一秒又轉身排隊買胡椒餅，幾乎是夜市常態。
這款把經典小吃變成超酷怪獸公仔的商品，我其實早就見過了，其實我之前就看過了，是在百貨商場的童年回憶特展上看到的，當時覺得它獨特的設計蠻有趣的，沒想到這次在某個特展的紀念品販售區，又再次與它相遇，
最吸引我的是麻辣鍋怪獸，就像我常吃的麻辣鍋，一鍋較清淡的口味、一鍋是純正麻辣口味，兩隻坐在麻辣鍋內的怪獸，有一隻像冰龍，另一隻像是火龍，帶給人們冰火二重天的震撼快感，臭豆腐怪獸則像是從一塊油炸臭豆腐中長出兩手兩腳，仔細一看，原來不是長出兩隻手，原來是長出兩顆張著雪盆大口的頭。
外國人第一次看到豬血糕，覺得又是一種特色美食，不過當知道是用豬血做的之後，往往覺得感覺很恐怖而不敢吃，經由口耳相傳之後，聽說被票選為外國人最怕的十大台灣食物之一，可能是因為這個原因，豬血糕怪獸誕生了，此外，詭異又可愛的地瓜球怪獸，某名地受到很多小朋友的喜愛，可能最近的趨勢是越怪越醜，越多人愛吧。
上次在百貨商場時，沒有時間細看，這次仔細觀察後，我發現這些美食怪獸真是太有趣了！它們的設計靈感，完全是從經典美食中延伸出來的，為日常美食小吃賦予了全新的生命力，例如，一顆顆的地瓜球變成咬牙切齒的小怪獸，這種將美食具象化的方式，讓人看了就忍不住想笑，真是怪怪惹人愛，我相信，之後會有機會看到更多將美食具象化的美食怪獸。
In Taiwan, if there’s anything that really grabs the attention of foreign visitors, food has to be at the top of the list, especially night market food. It’s a mix of Hokkien, Hakka, mainland Chinese, and indigenous flavors. The moment you step into a night market. You’re greeted by rows of stalls calling out to you. People wander around holding a giant fried chicken steak in one hand, sipping a big cup of bubble tea in the other, and then suddenly turn around to join the line for pepper buns. It’s pretty much the typical night market scene.
I actually saw these cool monster figurines inspired by classic Taiwanese snacks before. The first time was at a "Childhood Memories" exhibition in a department store. I thought their unique design was really fun, but I didn’t expect to run into them again this time at the souvenir section of another exhibition.
The one that caught my eye the most was the "Spicy Hotpot Monster". It’s just like how I usually eat hotpot, one pot with a mild broth and the other with pure spicy mala soup. The two little monsters sitting in the hotpot looked like an ice dragon and a fire dragon, perfectly capturing that "icy hot" contrast. Then there’s the "Stinky Tofu Monster". which looks like it grew arms and legs out of a fried tofu cube, except when you look closely, it’s actually two huge heads with wide-open mouths sticking out!
For foreigners, pig’s blood cake is another food that shocks them at first. They might think it’s just an exotic snack, but once they find out it’s made from pig’s blood, most of them get freaked out and refuse to try it. I heard it even got voted as one of the top 10 scariest Taiwanese foods for foreigners, which might explain why the "Pig’s Blood Cake Monster" exists. There’s also this weird-but-cute "Sweet Potato Ball Monster" that’s super popular with kids. I guess the trend these days is: the weirder and uglier it is, the more people love it.
Last time I saw them at the department store, I didn’t have time to look closely. But this time, I really took the time to check them out and realized how fun they are! These "food monsters" are directly inspired by classic Taiwanese snacks, bringing everyday street food to life in such a playful way. Like, turning sweet potato balls into little fanged monsters—it’s hilarious! Honestly, they’re weird but totally adorable. I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing even more creative "food monsters" in the future.