The chicken is fried with the bone still in it, so that they can lock in the tasty juices from the chicken. You can watch as they fry it fresh in front of you while you are avidly waiting in line for your turn, so make sure you are prepared to hold a nice, hot and fresh fried chicken! They also will let you choose between spicy or non spicy powder, or you can ask for half of each (say '"ban le" for "half spicy")! If you are curious about how the stinky tofu got it's stink, it is because it is prepared by marinating the fresh tofu for days, sometimes even months, in a unique brine. The brine could be made by things like fermented vegetables and beans. After it is nicely marinated, the style of stinky tofu that you can try at the night markets is fried to be nice and crispy, and then topped off with some crunchy pickled cabbage. Don't let the smell deter you from this must-try authentic Taiwanese dish!
Of course! Taiwan is known as the "Fruit Kingdom" because its sub-tropical climate is an ideal temperature to produce so many fresh fruits year long. So as long as you see fruit or fruit juice, you bet the fruit was grown right close by! As for the fried chicken and stinky tofu, both of these use locally sourced ingredients from their suppliers in Taiwan. Everything from the spices, the batter and the marinades are local flavors that have been around for a very long time. Hot-star fried chicken specifically started in 1992, but frying chicken in general started years before.
