Shilin Night Market is the most famous of all Taipei night markets. It is a tourist destination but is also popular with locals. Shilin cannot be beaten for its sheer size and variety of food and goods for sale. There are some 3,000 stalls and shops here, both above and below ground level.
Shilin has all the Taiwan street food that Taiwan has to offer - from fried chicken cutlet, oyster rice noodles, oyster omelette, grilled pork intestines, fried stinky tofu, bubble tea, papaya milk, anything and everything - you just have to come here to see to believe.
Shilin has three stalls in the Taipei Michelin Bib Gourmand Selection which you may want to look out for.
😋Chung Chia Sheng Jian Bao 鍾家原上海生煎包 (Yellow T-shirt) is a must try traditional Shanghai pan fried bun stall. Everything is handmade at the stall from kneading to stuffing the meat to frying. These Shanghainese pork buns are unique as they are fried in a shallow pan with water inside. They are fried till all the water evaporates and the base of the bun is browned. The sheng jian bao here is as good as those sold in restaurants and in Shanghai.
😋Good Friend Cold Noodles 好朋友涼麵 is popular because of its delicious blend of sesame seed paste / oil, garlic and mala chili spices over tender springy noodles.
😋Hai Yu Pork Ribs 海友十全排骨 is like Malaysian herbal bak kut teh or herbal pork rib soup.
🚆The easiest way to come here is by MRT - the nearest stations are Shilin (Red Line) and Jiantan (Red Line)
Raohe Night Market is the second largest night market in Taipei. Like Shiliin it is very crowded with locals and tourists. There are four Michelin Bib Gourmand Selection stalls here.
😋Fuzhou Ancestor Black Pepper Bun 福州世祖胡椒餅 is probably the most famous stall at Raohe. You can't miss it. It is right at the entrance arch and there is always a very long queue. But, the queue clears quickly as they have an efficient factory-like mass production system. The tennis ball size pepper cake has a not-too-thin, slightly crisp and chewy crust. The meat ball inside is tender, juicy, savoury sweet and slightly peppery. There's lots of aromatic spring onion inside. (Please note if you don't eat spring onion 😜 )
😋A Kuo Lu Wei 阿國滷味 serves savoury herbal stewed meats like pork, duck and offal. The popular items are stewed duck wings, tongue and pig uterus (yes, you read correct, uterus for its unique soft crunch to the bite).
😋Beef Noodles and Beef Entrails Soup is the only night market beef noodle stall in the Michelin Bib Gourmand Selection. It serves beef and offal stewed with fermented bean paste and mild herbs. The beef and offal are served in a beefy savoury mildly herbal soup with noodles.
😋Chen Tung Pork Ribs Medicinal Herbs Soup 陳董藥燉排骨 serves pork ribs cooked to fall-off-the-bone tenderness with herbal savoury sweet soup in a paper bowl.
🚆 Raohe Night Market is at Songshan MRT station exit 1 (Green Line)
More details on Raohe Night Market 👈 click
Nanjichang Night Market is a busy local favourite relatively free of tourists. It is a foodie's night market with these four food stalls with Michelin honours. Many of the food stalls here are over three decades old. Prices here are more pocket friendly as there is no tourist premium.
😋A Nan Sesame Oil Chicken 阿男麻油雞 serves tender juicy chicken drumsticks in a full bodied full flavoured soup made of pork and chicken bone stock with sesame oil. It is not overly greasy but you can taste the sesame oil with natural sweetness of the fresh pork and chicken. They also have pork kidney and bee hoon (if you need carbs).
😋Stinky Tofu Boss 臭老闆 現蒸臭豆腐 serves steamed bouncy spongy fermented tofu in a shallow pool of tangy savoury spicy sweet soupy sauce. The steamed tofu is firm outside by soft inside. Topped with soy beans, julienned ginger and mushrooms. Eaten with plain boiled white rice. This stall is vegetarian and use no eggs. They have vegetarian "lou rou fan or braised pork rice" made with beans.
😋Sung Ching Taiwanese Burrito 原松青潤餅 serves Taiwanese style popiah. Lots of ingredients like carrot, cabbage, bean sprout, fried pork, crushed peanut, sesame seed, fried tofu, fried egg, char siew, cilantro, dried seaweed powder, etc., and sauces rolled in house made daily fresh tissue thin flour wrap. Layers of savoury sweet flavours with mix of soft, tender, crunchy and crisp textures. Pro-Tip. If you are coming to Nanjichang night market, come to this stall first. It opens at 3:30pm and often sold out within 2 hours.
😋Unnamed Clay Oven Roll is a push cart stall serving hand rolled bread pan fried or baked in a small charcoal fired oven. They have 4 breads - sweet, red bean filled, savoury meat filled and spring onion filled. The breads are well browned, crisp outside and chewy inside. The outside is sprinkled with toasted sesame seed.
🚆 Nanjichang Night Market is at Longshan MRT station (Blue Line). About 15 minutes walk (1 km distance).
More details on Nanjichang Night Market 👈 click
Linjiang Street Night Market is relatively small, just ½ km long but it has 4 stalls in the Michelin Bib Gourmand list.
😋Liang Chi Lu Wei 梁記滷味 serves around 60 types of savoury herbal soy sauce braised items like duck wings, duck tongue, chicken feet, chicken heart, chicken intestine, beef tripe, pork intestine, pork blood curd, seaweed, tofu, chicken eggs etc. Humble dishes but every piece is well infused with savoury herbal flavour. Fans also like Liang Chi Lu Wei's stir fried pickled vegetables, and house made chili sauce.
😋Lo Chi Hsiao Chao 駱記小炒 is a tiny zhi char (stir fry) stall. They have stir fried beef slices with kang kong and garlic. Chef has good wok hei skills (heat control skill with the wok). They also have stir fried lamb, clams and snails. Yay! Must try the snails 🐌 The quite robustly savoury stir fried dishes are eaten with plain boiled white rice.
😋Tien Hsiang Stinky Tofu 天香臭豆腐 serves deep fried stinky tofu with pickled cabbage and savoury spicy sauce. The stinky tofu is fermented at the stall and pickled cabbage is also made in house. The stinky tofu is deep fried twice, in different pots at different temperatures for extra crispness outside. They also have a ma la spicy soupy version of stinky tofu which is very popular too. Try also their famous beef steak on spaghetti with house made black pepper sauce.
😋Yu Pin Yuan Iced and Hot Tangyuan 御品元冰火湯圓 is a must try. It's hot sesame seed paste or peanut paste filled mochi balls laid on a mound of shaved ice. We can drizzle in sweet fragrant osmanthus syrup or sour lime juice as desired.
🚆 Linjiang Street Night Market is at Xinyi Anhe MRT station on the Red Line.
More details on Linjiang Night Market 👈 click
Gongguan Night Market is not big but it is the favourite of National Taiwan University students as it is right at its doorstep.
😋Hsiung Chi Scallion Pancake 雄記蔥抓餅 serves pan fried flat bread which is crispy and fluffy outside while inside it is chewy and moist, filled with chopped scallion and egg. There's a ham and cheese option. Fans say this the best scallion pancake in Taipei.
😋Lan Chia Guabao 藍家割包 serves a comfort dish of steamed hinged bun with stewed pork, crushed toasted peanut and pickled vegetables inside. They offer a choice of fatty and leaner stewed pork.
🚆 Gongguan Night Market is at Gongguan MRT station on the Blue Line (exit 1).
More details on Gongguan Night Market 👈 click
Daqiaotou Yansan Night Market 延三夜市 is another small local people's favourite blessed with several popular food stalls serving old school Taiwanese dishes. It is not really a night market in the sense that there are no pedestrianised streets here but there is a row of food shops, so this is more a foodie than shopper's haven.
😋Cabbage Rice and Pork Rib Soup 高麗菜飯. 原汁排骨湯 serves ultimate comfort dishes of savoury sweet cabbage rice with stir fried shredded cabbage and julienned carrot boiled in the rice. Eaten with pork rib and radish soup. The rib meat is tender and juicy while the chunks of radish are tender and saturated with savoury sweet juices.
😋Da-Qiao-Tou Tube Rice Pudding 大橋頭老牌筒仔米糕 is famous for their steamed glutinous rice with soft savoury sweet marinated pork. It is eaten with a splash of sweet spicy chili sauce and a dab of chopped chai poh (preserved turnip) with chili. Layers of Savoury sweetness with spiciness, tender softness and turnip crunch here and there. Eat the rice with a both of pork liver and oyster soup. Yummaey!
😋Shih Chia Big Rice Ball 施家鮮肉湯圓 shop serves many Taiwanese comfort dishes but is most famous for their pork meat filled mochi (glutinous rice) balls in a mildly savoury sweet pork bone soup. Each serving also comes with wantons i.e. minced pork in a thin dough wrap. The sweet soft gummy chewy mochi ball skin complements the savoury sweetness of fresh pork fillings inside perfectly.
🚆 Daqiaotou Yansan Night Market is at Daqiaotou MRT station on the Yellow Line (exit 1).
More details on Daqiaotou Yansan Night Market 👈 click
Ningxia Night Market 寧夏夜市 is a little 300 metre stretch of food stalls with three stalls with Bib Gourmand honours.
😋Fang Chia Shredded Chicken on Rice 方家雞肉飯 is exactly as described. Fans love the chicken shreds' savoury sweetness which tastes great. The rice is drizzled with chicken grease and a savoury sauce which makes the dish delicious. Get also their stewed tofu which is soft like custard.
😋Rong's Pork Liver 豬肝榮仔 is a comforting savoury sweet tangy clear soup with smooth soft crunchy pork liver and pieces of tender soft pork inside. The pork liver and pork slices felt smooth from the thin coating of starch outside.
😋Liu Yu Zi 劉芋仔 is the busiest stall at Ningxia Night Market with long queues every night for their deep fried taro (yam) balls. There are two flavours - just pure yam or with salted egg yolk and pork floss filling. Crisp outside while inside it is tender and moist. Savoury sweet fried snack can't go wrong one.... .
🚆 Ningxia Night Market is at Zhongshan Green Line MRT station on the Red Line.
Huaxi Street Night Market 華西街夜市 is one of the oldest in Taipei. Mostly locals here, nothing glitzy or exciting to brag home about, except that one of Taipei's best lu rou fan or stew pork rice stall is here 😋 They also have a snake soup place, if you are game for it lah.... . I actually find the place quite charming.
😋Hsiao Wang Steamed Minced Pork with Pickles in Broth 小王清湯瓜仔肉. Savoury sweet greasy fatty stewed pork over rice or lu rou fan paired with a minced pork and fish cake soup boiled with canned preserved radish and bone stock. They call the stewed pork with gummy greasy slick over rice "black gold". The comforting robust savoury and mildly sweet combination packed in generations of regulars since 1975.
I was so inspired by Hsiao Wang's soup that I tried to make a version of it myself. It's simple and nice - savoury sweet with subtle underlying tangy flavour. Very easy recipe with readily available supermarket ingredients. I made it a few times at home already 👈 click
If you love lu rou fan, then this stall alone is reason enough to come to Huaxi Street Night Market.
🚆 Huaxi Street Night Market is at Longshan MRT station on the Blue Line.
Date: 27 Jun 2020
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