Tanghulu

This is what Little Pear eats.
Tanghulu.

When I found them among the street foods of Taiwan, they were like something from my imagination come to life.

That's because they were immediately recognizable to me as the treat the Chinese boy in one of my favorite books could not resist.
I read the books about Little Pear at least half a dozen times as a child, and another two or three dozen times to all the many children I've read stories to over the years.

Everybody loves Little Pear.
And Little Pear loves his tanghulu.