說是美食博覽會，但我認為只是一堆廠商聚集起來的行銷活動，因為當我繞了展場一圈之後，發現並沒有知名的食品廠牌，大多只是一些沒聽過名號的品牌廠商，現場賣的大多是一些小吃、伴手禮、糕餅等，不過，好處是不用門票，就可以一探究竟，而且店家多會大方試吃，難怪現場人潮洶湧，還有不少人是扶老攜幼，全家人都過來逛逛。
結果就在我繞了一圈之後，發現韓國的經典食品品牌 Binggrae 有來參展，Binggrae 最知名的商品就是香蕉牛奶，以其獨特的胖胖瓶包裝，被稱為韓國的國民飲品，歷年來有少女時代、李敏鎬、金宇彬、IU等知名韓國明星擔任代言人，我記得我第一次去韓國旅行時，第一天就和朋友衝去韓國的賣場搬了一箱香蕉牛奶回家喝，至於為什麼買香蕉牛奶，就是朋友堅持要買，說香蕉牛奶是來韓國必買的商品，我嘗試一下，不難喝，香蕉口味的牛奶，那時候，在台灣還沒有，算是嘗鮮啦，而那一箱香蕉牛奶就在旅程中，被我們全部喝光光啦，沒想到居然原廠已經直銷到台灣來啦，不用飛到韓國也可以買到原汁原味的香蕉牛奶，現場給我們試喝的是哈密瓜口味的牛奶，說實話，我還是比較中意香蕉牛奶。
其中有家攤位，可以試吃水煮蛋，我倒是第一次看見可以試吃這個，還真是奇妙，不過，看的人多，試吃的人少，此外，還有幾家攤位讓消費者試喝酒，我試喝了幾款酒，店員就開始半強迫地要我買幾瓶酒，不過，在我強烈的抗拒之下，總算是全身而退，算是一次不愉快的試吃體驗，還是專門的酒展比較好，比較不會有這類強賣的現象，一家賣滷味的攤位，雖然沒有提供試吃，但是排隊的購買的人不少，我看了一下，包裝精美，價錢合理，難怪排隊的人如此多，優質商品會自己銷售自己，不太需要人推銷。
其實，在我仔細再逛了一圈之後，我發現其實這個美食博覽會，雖然大多是一些名不見經傳的小廠商，但是推銷的商品蠻多元的，其中不乏一些在地美食，這些在地美食不走出來，來到這類展場，人們就不知道它的美好，當然龍蛇雜處，有些只是行銷精美，但是卻不怎麼樣的商品，不過，敢開放現場試吃的廠商，都是對自己商品有信心的。
It was called a food expo, but to me it felt more like a marketing event where a bunch of vendors gathered together. After walking around the venue, I noticed there weren't any major well-known food brands. Most of the exhibitors were smaller companies I'd never heard of before. They were mainly selling snacks, souvenirs, pastries, and other food products. Still, one advantage was that admission was free, so anyone could come in and take a look. On top of that, many vendors were quite generous with free samples. No wonder the place was packed with people, including plenty of families with grandparents, parents, and children all browsing together.
After making a full lap around the exhibition hall, I discovered that Binggrae, the famous Korean food brand, had a booth there. Binggrae is best known for its banana milk, which is often considered one of Korea's national drinks thanks to its iconic chubby bottle design. Over the years, many famous Korean celebrities such as Girls' Generation, Lee Min-ho, Kim Woo-bin, and IU have endorsed the brand. I still remember my first trip to Korea. On the very first day, my friends and I rushed to a local supermarket and bought an entire box of banana milk. The reason was simple. My friend insisted that banana milk was a must-buy item in Korea. I tried it and found it pretty good. Back then, banana-flavored milk wasn't available in Taiwan, so it felt like a fun new experience. By the end of the trip, we had finished the entire box. I never expected that the original manufacturer would eventually start selling directly in Taiwan. Now there's no need to fly to Korea to enjoy authentic Binggrae banana milk. At the expo, they were offering samples of their melon-flavored milk. To be honest, though, I still prefer the classic banana milk.
One booth was even offering samples of hard-boiled eggs, which was the first time I'd ever seen that. It was quite unusual. There were plenty of people looking, but not many actually trying the samples. There were also several booths offering alcohol tastings. After I sampled a few drinks, the staff immediately started pushing me to buy multiple bottles. Fortunately, after firmly declining several times, I managed to escape without making a purchase. It was definitely one of the less pleasant sampling experiences I've had. I think dedicated liquor expos are much better because aggressive sales tactics are less common there. On the other hand, there was a booth selling braised snacks that didn't offer any samples at all, yet it still attracted a long line of customers. After taking a closer look, I noticed the packaging was attractive and the prices were reasonable. It wasn't surprising that so many people were willing to queue up. Quality products often sell themselves and don't require much hard selling.
After taking another careful walk around the expo, I realized that although most of the exhibitors were relatively unknown small businesses, the range of products on display was actually quite diverse. There were many local specialties that people might never discover if these vendors didn't step outside their hometowns and participate in events like this. Of course, the quality varied. Some products looked impressive because of clever marketing but weren't particularly memorable. Still, I believe that any vendor willing to let visitors sample their products on-site must have at least some confidence in what they're selling.
