前幾年疫情時，我也有來逛年貨大街，那時候年貨大街的氛圍，充滿著不信任及不安全感，店家幾乎不開放試吃，人們就靜靜地從攤位前走過去，在疫情過去的幾年後，店家全面開放試吃，並以一百分的熱情，高分貝地招呼來往路人，這才是我印象中的年味。
走在迪化街上，兩旁是歷史悠久的南北貨店、中藥行與伴手禮店，街景帶著濃厚的老城城氣息，到處都充滿著懷舊感，那些充滿歷史感的老建築物，也是一道道令人移不開目光的風景啊，不過在年貨大街開張期間，人們的眼光都被賣著各式各樣零食乾貨的攤位所吸引了，誰能拒絕得了那些堆得像小山一樣高的魷魚絲、牛肉乾、蜜餞、瓜子、開心果等。
我媽之前給了我一份採買清單，列出零食乾果的價錢，假如年貨大街比較便宜的話，就可以買，以開心果為例，我稍稍記住迪化街上的攤商的開心果價錢，落在一斤在三百四十到三百六十元台幣之間，居然比我媽拿到的價錢還要貴一點，打破我的認知，我一直以為年貨大街賣的年貨會比較便宜，但是居然並沒有，那這樣來年貨大街採買年貨的人不是被騙了嗎？我在深思一下，同樣的食物，味道不一樣，品質不一樣，沒有親自試吃，怎麼知道食物的品質好或不好，所以，也不存在騙與不騙的問題。
A few years ago during the pandemic, I also came to shop at the New Year street market. Back then, the atmosphere was full of distrust and insecurity. Vendors almost never offered free samples, and people would just quietly walk past each stall. But a few years after the pandemic ended, vendors started offering samples again, and with full-on enthusiasm, loudly calling out to people walking by. That’s the kind of New Year vibe I remember.
Walking along Dihua Street, you see historic dry goods shops, traditional Chinese medicine stores, and souvenir shops on both sides. The whole street feels like an old city frozen in time, full of nostalgia. Those historical buildings are like scenery you just can’t stop looking at. But during the New Year market season, people’s attention is pulled toward stalls selling all kinds of dried snacks and treats. I mean, who can resist mountains of shredded dried squid, beef jerky, preserved fruits, melon seeds, pistachios, and more?
My mom once gave me a shopping list with price references for dried fruits and snacks. She told me if the New Year market was cheaper, then I could buy. For example, pistachios. I roughly remembered the prices from stalls on Dihua Street, about NT$340 to NT$360 per jin (about 600g). Surprisingly, that was actually a bit more expensive than the price my mom found. That really broke my assumption. I always thought New Year street markets would be cheaper, but apparently not. So does that mean people are getting ripped off when they shop there?
After thinking about it more, I realized that even if it’s the same type of food, the taste and quality can be different. If you don’t personally try samples, how would you know whether the quality is good or not? So in the end, it’s not really about being cheated or not. It’s more about what quality and experience you’re willing to pay for.