Tiana Eats Taiwan 003
I could never do a "Tiana Eats Taiwan" without a post discussing night markets. Among tourists visiting Taiwan, one of the bucket-list must do activities is visiting a Taiwanese night market. Night markets are unique to Taiwan and always a fun and delicious experience. They're well-known world wide. In fact, every summer, New York hosts a makeshift Taiwanese night market at Union Square - except it is hosted in the day time. In Flushing, Queens there is also a night market held every weekend during the summer. Apparently it is quite popular too. When I visited Taiwan this time around I had the chance to visit two of Taiwan's most famous (and touristy) night markets.
1. Shilin Night Market (in Taipei)
Taipei has a ton of night markets to choose from, but the biggest and most well known among them is definitely Shilin Night Market. Although a lot of locals would argue that going to Shilin doesn't provide an authentic night market experience, in my opinion, it is well worth the visit. Especially if you don't have much time in Taipei. It lives up to a person's expectations of a Taiwanese night market, whereas some of the smaller, perhaps more authentic night markets, might not. The smaller ones tend to be more spread out, with less booths. However, I definitely recommend visiting all types of night markets while you're in Taiwan!
Shilin is big. Way bigger than I even realized, and it has it all. There are tons of food booths on the ground level, but there is even an underground food court with a lot of food offerings too. A word of advice for anyone who wants to try the Hot Star chicken... don't wait on the ridiculously long line for the ground level booth. Go to the underground food court and there is another Hot Star chicken booth there. There is a still a bit of a wait, but it is significantly shorter.
Other dishes I recommend you try while at the night market are:
- Oyster Pancakes
- Stinky Tofu
- Taiwanese Sausage
- Mango Shaved Ice
- Penis Cake
Those are very generic night market foods, but for a good reason. This time I even tried the penis cake booth with my dad. He was a good sport and decided to try it out with me while everyone else was very hesitant. We got a good laugh out of it and so did the other visitors at the night market who kept taking pictures of us. Plus, it was surprisingly delicious.
Once you're full you can wander around the night market and play games or even do some shopping. There are a lot of stores in the general area and the prizes for the games are pretty cute. However, some of the games can be a huge rip off - so be warned.
2. Kenting Night Market (in Kenting)
The Kenting Night Market was amazing. If you are ever go down to Kenting, you must go there. Unlike Shilin, the Kenting Night Market is far less cramped because it goes down an entire street and booths are contained to both sides of the street. The street goes down for quite awhile too and the booths offer very different types of food.
The dishes I recommend you try while at the night market are:
- Grilled Squid
- Fried Mushroom
- Seafood (Oysters, Clams, Scallops)
- Takoyaki Ice Cream
Since Kenting is in the South and considered the beachy area of Taiwan, there is a lot of fresh seafood. My favorite was the grilled squid and fried scallops kebab. Both of them were flavored and seared to perfection. The best part is while you're enjoying your delicious night market treats you can browse the many stores that are also at the night market. If eating street food isn't your cup of tea, there are also many restaurants located along the night market as well.
I would say while you're at the Kenting Night Market you should venture out of your comfort zone and try some new things. They have strange offerings like Fried Milk which is actually pretty popular. So go on and try something new! That's half the fun of visiting Taiwanese night markets.
