When you mention Taiwan, the first thing that pops to one’s mind are the night markets and the variety of street food! Sharing how to get to these markets with directions and street food you can look out for at these popular night markets in Taipei; Shi Lin, Raohe and Ningxia.
Come join me on Instagram as I eat my way through Taiwan for 2 weeks! Fat die me! #modgamtravel
*The pictures here aren’t flattering for I took them with my iphone and eating through the crowded dark markets ain’t exactly easy. I’ll improve the pictures I promise!*
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
How to get there: Take the Taipei Metro Line 2 (AKA the “Red Line”) to Jiantan Station. Walk across the street infront of the station and follow the noticeable crowds heading to the night market.
This is Taipei’s largest and most known night market. As much as I like Shilin night market, I feel it’s overrated. I go there for the sake of being there and because it’s the mister’s first visit. Even shopping can get a little boring because there are a lot of similar stalls. Even so, I would suggest you visiting still because it is still one of the most recognisable night market and, it would be like coming to Singapore and not going to Orchard road if you get what I mean. Socks are very cheap and in assorted artsy and cute designs, can buy! They have a basement food court which I kind of adore where you can sit and have some leg rest while indulging in their local delicacies.
Stinky Tofu
I can eat this 5-6 times in a day! I LOVE IT. The smell might be overpowering but the taste is nothing like the smell! It is usually crispy filled with fermented vegetables and dipped in sweet and spicy sauce! This snack is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands rather than in restaurants.
Hot Star Super Big Chicken Chop
This is bigger than the size of one’s palm! You can always see people q-ing for it and you can choose to have it spicy or original flavour. I recommend that you try it if you haven’t had it before. There is also one outlet in Ximending right beside the popular Rainbow Hotel.
Ice-cream Popiah (Spring Roll)
This is my favourite snack! I have only seen this in Shilin and Ximending on the makeshift stall (moving trolleys). You can choose the ice cream flavour; my favourite is yam or pineapple sprinkled with sweet peanut and wrapped in spring roll skin. Yummy!
Male Genitals Waffles
Not very delicious but is generous in portion but I guess we went for it because of its novelty. There is a signboard that encourages customers to snap pictures of the waffles on display!
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Taipei Raohe Night Market 饒河夜市
How to get there: Take the MRT to Song Shan Station and exit #5 and take a right pass the temple. It is a huge temple and you would not be able to miss it.
I would strongly recommend you to head to Wu Fen Pu where you can shop wholesale clothing in the day before heading to Raohe Night Market where you can feast crazily! I love Wu Fen Pu though it is clustered and one can easily get agitated through the many many clothing. BUT HEY, no pain no gain and with some patience, you can easily find treasures. I LOVE Raohe Night Market and though the street is only 600m long, I can easily go back 2-3 nights for the food is really good! It is a great market to visit!
Pepper Bun (Hu Jiao Bing 胡椒餅)
Located at the entrace of the Raohe Market near the temple, you will be sure to see the very long queue. It is pretty fast and we queued for only 20-30mins and it is definitely worth it! The black pepper bun is filled with pork meat, spring onions and black pepper. Meat is tender and bread crispy!
Baked Potato
I am a huge potato lover and was excited to see the many different flavours and ingredients I can choose for the baked potato! This is hawaiian flavour if i remember correctly filled with pineapple, ham, corn, bacons and drizzled with generous cheese!
Tamago Japanese Egg Omelette
A must try for all egg lovers for the tamago is smooth and delicious! There are a lot of different flavours to choose from adding more punch to the egg. Pretty obvious to spot the stall for it has a shaped of an egg and decorated with loads of colourful lights.
Egg Balls with prawn
Some stalls sell it plain while many included a prawn inside the egg making it crunchier and tastier! Drizzled with mayo and tomato or chilli sauce. YUMMY!!!
Grilled Mochi
This is amazingly delicious and I would have never tried if my friend didn’t urged me too. I chose the black sesame topping, my all time favourite, and the combination is just awesome! Be careful when you take a bite for the grilled mochi is really hot!
Stinky Tofu Fries
Stinky tofu yes but in the shape of fries? It’s as delicious and bonus point for the innovation. So convenient to eat and they even have different sauces to go with instead of the usual sweet and spicy chilli sauce. I opt for the thai sauce and to my surprise they have chocolate sauce too. I asked if its really good and the nice owner gave me one to try! Really quite delicious I must say.
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Ningxia Night Market 寧夏夜市
How to get there: The market is located on Ningxia Road between Nanjing West Road and Mingshen West Road. I took a cab here but I read that you can walk if you know which one to head to from Zhong Shan and Shuang Lian MRT stop.
Besides Raohe Night Market, Ningxia is my other favourite for the food is cooked differently than the ones found in Raohe and Shilin. 300-meter-long night market offering traditional Taiwanese delicacies and featuring local/traditional food.
Chicken Drumstick with fillings
Very interesting with glutinous inside and there is an addictive herbal taste to it. We like it!
Herbal Stinky Tofu
Auntie is really happy that I went back to buy another portion after trying once and shared with me that her sauce is made with chinese herbs thus the stinky smell isn’t that strong. The sauce is very well marinated and each bite is really juicy! She has a few tables behind her stall so you can purchase from her and sit down to enjoy it.
Fried Baozi with oyster and egg
This picture shows the inside of the baozi (bun) and the exterior looks ordinary like a round fried flour. Ordinary as the outlook, the taste is delicious! Such creativity. Fattening but worth every calorie! If you are not a fan of oysters, you can opt for prawns.
Grilled Seafood
Most popular stall for all the tables are filled with people and the queue never seem to end. Quite interesting for you can choose your favourite seafood and the lady boss will grilled them for you. You can even order a pot of prawns and from what I see, the portion is generous!
Hot Mochi Balls Ice drizzled with chopped peanuts
This is another popular stall for they served a few different hold and cold desserts. We loved the very simple dessert and the big chewy hot mochi are a hit! If only I weren’t full from all the eating, I’ll gladly eat another bowl!
Muah Chee
The Taiwan muah chee is so different from ours for theirs has fillings in it. I usually buy both flavours; black sesame and peanut. Very delicious and a MUST EAT!
Formosa Chang Lu Rou Fan 鬍鬚張魯肉飯
The famous braised pork rice that is greatly raved by many. Since there is a huge Formosa Chang restaurant beside the market, I urged the mister to ‘dabao’ one packet back to the hotel to try. He was surprised that there is no meat and its just gravy and sauce with very small bits of pork.
If you would like to read my other Taiwan adventures, click on the links:
Yilan Part 1: http://www.modgam.com/things-to-do-in-yilan-taiwan/
Yilan Part 2: http://www.modgam.com/things-to-do-in-yilan-taiwan-part2/
Taichung: http://www.modgam.com/9-reasons-love-taichung/
Taipei: http://www.modgam.com/five-dime-restaurant-taipei/ and http://www.modgam.com/dazzling-cafe-taiwan/
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