I want to make some sushi so it should be really fresh. I suppose a market would have it first before supermarkets get to it, so anyone know a market where you can buy fish on a Saturday morning?
Assuming Taipei… Minzu E. Rd. just east of Jianguo N. Rd. Giant fish market there. Definitely going to need to be able to speak chinese.
I’ll be going there next week for a particular product. 
The absolute best in the city is to get yourself down to the WanHua fish market at about 4 am. Down on WanDa Rd. just before the bridge to Banchiao. So fresh, it melts in your mouth.
Wan hua is the best - if you can acutally get up in time. Cheap too. It’s the wholelsale market for the wet markets.
WanDa Rd. the one that becomes HuaChung Bridge? I thought that bridge runs into YongHe. Well I guess it straddles between Panchiao and YongHe. Got a cross street for this WanHua market? WanDa and ???
Maybe check it out this Sat morning for kicks. I only know about MinZu E. Rd. (Taipei Fish Market)
Many neighborhoods have a local area where fishermen bring their catch. You just have to go early or it’ll all be gone. You see a bunch of taitai going out in the morning with empty baskets, follow them.
You’re right, the bridge into YongHe. I want to say nearby the intersection of WanDa Rd. and Shui Yuan Rd. but my knowledge of streetnames in that area of town in pretty limited, mostly go by landmarks. The market is pretty big and renouned in the area, so if you go anywhere around there, especially at 4 in the morning, all of the traffic will be bound for either the fish market or the poultry market located quite a ways further north on HuanHo S. Rd. It’s a cool area of town to be in at that time of the morning.
Sweet thanks guys. Well Taipei Fish Market is pretty well known and it’s a lot easier to get up for. It lasts until about noon-1pm. It’s also marked on my MRT map, along with some McDs WanHua isn’t.
Only market I see down on WanDa Rd., next to the bridge (on my map) is the Taipei Farmers Sales Company or the TungYuan Fruit Vegetable Main Market . Might be that. Or least in that area.
One last question/confirmation. This WanHua fish market is for the general public and not limited to companies/restaurants/etc. Correct?
Assuming it’s all good, I’ll definitely check it out this weekend or next weekend. I’l let ya know what I see. Thanks.
Actually, that bridge comes into Chung-Her not Yung-Her. After coming off the bridge, that road is Jing-Ping Road where the B&Q and Carrefour are located.
Grayson,
Sorry for the lack of detail; wish I could give you an exact location. It is open to the public and the some of the fish-mongers will even do the dirty work for you, slicing your fish into sashimi or whatever other cut you desire.
Another favorite is the fish market on the coastal highway, just past Keelung city. This one runs all day and makes a nice stop on the way back from a day at the beach. They have a good selection, but a lot of their shell fish seems to be frozen as soon as it hits the boat. You can always find really nice tuna, though. Ideal for a barbecue on the beach.
I’ll have to head up to Minzu E. Rd sometime and have a look there. Thanks for the info.
Good luck and enjoy.
OFF TOPIC: Just as an FYI, almost ALL fish commerically caught is frozen. As soon as its in the hold its laid down with saltwater ice.
If not…then watch the parasites. Swordfish is the worst, but I eat it any way
Thanks for the Taipei Fish Market tip Grayson - just got some beautiful fish there and the laoban was extremely helpful. They had shrimp, crabs, lobster, & clams in addition to fish and everything was live in tanks. They killed and cleaned my fish for me and put it in a styrofoam cooler on ice, and gave advice on storing it.
Anyone looking for it, it’s Minzu E rd #246 1F. 02 2503 0030 / 2211 4723.
A side note, both there and at the Nanmen market next to CKS MRT station, all the fish vendors seemed very smart about what could and couldn’t be sold for sushi. Both places explained they couldn’t cut fish for me because their equipment wasn’t properly maintained for preparing fish to be eaten raw. A pleasant surprise… I thought I might find a general disregard for sanitation.