What is your FAVORITE NIGHT MARKET in Taipei?
0 voters
Following up on my earlier query. Seek your additional comments, too.
I hate night markets. They are hot, dirty, crowded and boring and I can think of funner ways of contracting hepatitis, tbh. Voted Raohe because I like the temple there.
i’ve only been to 2 so far… shi da also but i cant class it as a proper night market. shi lin was awesomely big but i found some better food in raohe.
Plus the food is dull, unappetising and lacks variety. I’m struggling to think of one night market snack I like. Obviously others do like them, but I don’t so I was forced to choose None of the Above.
I love night markets, but as I said before, some of them have had their funky old-time feel stripped from them by overzealous urban-renewal-minded politicians. Raohe still retains some of that old-time coolness, and is my fave. Liaoning Street is small, a food-only night market, and I like it a lot.
Voting for my local Tong Hua nightmarket. Three mins walk from my place. Has pretty much all you could want for a nightmarket, and is noticeably cleaner than most.
They’re okay for people new to Taiwan, or if you like the sort of food they have there, but I am not a big fan of the food, and trust neither the safety of the ingredients nor the hygiene of the vendors. I don’t like the density of the crowds, either.
I voted for Rao He because it’s the one I returned to most often, years ago when I still visited night markets, which was probably because it’s by far the nearest to my home.
Thank you for your votes everyone – and thanks to Ermintrude, Lros, tomthorne, Chris, Dr Jellyfish, Dragonbones for comments! Good perspective. Hope to hear from others, too. Heading to the markets tonight starting with Raohe …
The sushi bar in the heart of Lehua night market in Yonghe has some of the very best sushi I’ve had in Taipei. Mostly I don’t like all the fried and greasy snacks but I do enjoy the liveliness of night markets and the people watching!
Raohe has been my favorite for years, but I’ve recently discovered that the best oyster omelets (my fave night market food) are at Ningxia.
Now that I live near Lehua I’m going to have to check out the sushi if it’s that good.
If you ever go to Tong Hua nightmarket, there is one thing you really must try, and that’s the 水煎包 (pan-fried stuffed buns). The stall is easy to locate. It’s at the very top end of the nightmarket (the end that’s closest to the 101 building) and it’s right on the corner. You can’t miss it, there’s this bald dude who cooks them and looks like he should be in movie. There’s usually a que, but it goes down pretty fast. They cost 50NT for 5. I’ve been eating them since 2004. I’ve tried shuijian bao from several other places and these are my favorite by far. They were even featured on a Japanese travel show. Have fun on your nightmarket adventures.
Yeah, do it! The stand is right near the crossroads in the heart of Lehua. Order the nigiri sampler (bottom left of the menu, about 150 NT) and enjoy!
My other recommendation at Lehua is the lime juice stand to the west. I know, nothing too special about lime juice, but everything is fresh and they don’t make their drinks too sweet. They have packets of plums on the table and might even make something akin to kit chai, a Sabahan specialty that I quite like, but I didn’t quite know how to ask about it. Picture here:
flickr.com/photos/mysabah/8427268770/
Those are pretty good, actually. Tong Hua is really bland from what I have tried… I just happen to be around there a lot so I find myself wandering through. Everything I have tried has been just okoay but those buns were damn tasty. Good call.
The one that has saweima.
went to lehua yesterday. pretty cool as it was so close to where i live. food wasnt as good as i had in raohe but i did notice some stalls that i wanna try next time, quite a lot of different food there. the surrounding area is pretty nice to walk around too, different vibe from my neighbourhood and less rough than the market area.
I dislike Shilin as being over-crowded and too wide spread. Been more than 5 years I didn’t go there
I can live with Tonghua as they have a few stalls with some nice treats. The shops are horrible as their assortment.
Not so long ago I discovered Ruahe and simply love it. Can be congested yes - but there are again things to be found you can’t see anywhere else.
If Ximending is a night market, then Yongkang St. is also a night market, especially after Dongmen MRT opened.
Thanks for the input, ceevee. I agree re: Shilin being over-crowded, especially underground – amazingly crowded I thought last night. I hope the first evacuation is a minor issue vs. serious fire as I fear not everyone can escape in time. And worry about trampling etc. Interestingly, some vendors say business/traffic has decreased over last year or so–so it apparently used to be even more crowded.
Can you advise what items in particular you find only at Ruahe / Raohe ?
[quote=“ceevee369”]I dislike Shilin as being over-crowded and too wide spread. Been more than 5 years I didn’t go there
I can live with Tonghua as they have a few stalls with some nice treats. The shops are horrible as their assortment.
Not so long ago I discovered Ruahe and simply love it. Can be congested yes - but there are again things to be found you can’t see anywhere else.[/quote]
Thanks for your comments, Incubus. I went to Ximending last night at a bit before 11 and perhaps it was too late, so will go again. But certainly seemed more like commercial shopping with a few street vendors vs. night market. At same time I’ve heard and read that this is an up-and-coming night market, so trying to reconcile conflicting input and observations…
Will try to check out Yongkang St also.
Yongkang St. is not a night market; it’s a hip area with lots of cafes, galleries, and fine restaurants and only a little street food (mostly right at the top of the street where Dongmen station is). IMO all the best stuff is non-obvious, tucked away on a side street or whatever. You will be rewarded by taking the time to read many reviews and picking a cafe and a restaurant to aim for on your first visit. Try stopping in at Caffe Libero before waltzing over to Tsubaki 椿 for some simple (but good) Japanese fare.
I dunno how I guess before opening the tread that the first post was going to be this one. We are just like that.