Gourmets might turn up their noses, but night markets are a great place for a snack (the choices are endless), or for people- watching while soaking up the festive atmosphere.
BY ANITA CHEN
When I lived in the United States years ago, one of the things I missed most about Taiwan was the night markets. The high-energy atmosphere produced by the jam-packed crowds, shouting hawkers, pulsating music, and especially the mixture of food aromas filling the air is something unique to Taiwanese culture, and just the thought of it would induce homesickness. Oddly, the hustle and bustle of the night market seems to have a comforting magic power over me.
People of different ages, ethnic background, and social status can all find something to enjoy in a night market – whether it is cheap local foods (小吃xiaochi), shopping, carnival-style games, or traditional foot massages. Xiaochi is undoubtedly the most important aspect of a night market. The food covers a wide range, from tapas-style snacks to more filling steamed dumplings (包子baozi) and noodles, to sweet desserts and icy drinks. Inexpensive and made quickly from local ingredients, xiaochi is not gourmet fare. But it should not be missed by anyone wanting to lay claim to having been to Taiwan.
Each night market has its own specialty foods, and for each type of
food there are multiple stalls to choose from. Most of these stalls
look so similar that it is hard to tell whether one is better than any
other. How to “eat smart” in a night market when surrounded by hundreds
of similar options can be a tough task for a first-timer or even a
long-term resident. This article is intended to help fill that gap,
providing a “sneaky” guide for those wondering where to start when in a
night market. I picked the three most popular night markets in Taipei
and sampled a half dozen of the most popular xiaochi in each.
Tonghua Night Market 通化街夜市 (a.k.a. Linjiang Night Market 或稱臨江街夜市)
Location: LinJiang Street between Keelung Road and TongHua Street.
Located in the upper-middleclass residential area of DaAn District
and adjacent to the business center of XinYi District, the Tonghua
Night Market has a different clientele from other Taipei night markets.
According to Taipei City government statistics, 70% of Tonghua Night
Market’s business comes from frequent customers, of whom two-thirds are
females aged between 25 and 45. This probably explains why the xiaochi
there tend to be a little more delicate and healthful compared with
other night markets.
Like other night markets, Tonghua Night Market started out simply as
a spot frequented by street vendors with either stalls or pushcarts. In
1997, its status was formalized by the city government, and since then
it has gradually become one of Taipei’s more popular tourist spots. In
addition to its specialty xiaochi, local people come here shop for
clothes, handbags, shoes, and household items. Other nearby shopping
attractions include a concentration of pet stores on Keelung Road (near
LinJiang Street) and of furniture stores on WenChang Street (near
TongHua Street).
Hong Hua Hong Gui Taiwanese Sausage (紅花紅桂香腸)
In front of 36 TongHua St., across from Watson’s
Some half dozen Taiwanese sausage stalls operate in the Tonghua
Night Market, and each has its own loyal patrons. The grilled sausages
are served with a variety of creative stuffings – from basil, leek, and
garlic, to lemon, honey, and even chocolate! The sausages are grilled
until they are about 80% done, and then sliced in the middle to add the
stuffing.
The owner of Hong Hua Hong Gui Taiwanese Sausage was the inventor of
this kind of creative grilled sausages. The sausages here are leaner
than competitors’. A total of 22 options are available for the
stuffing, but the top five in popularity are leek, basil, original
flavor (no stuffing), combination (your choice), and black pepper.
Shih Family’s Ge Bao (石家割包)
104 LinJiang Street
Ge bao refers to the taco-shaped warm bread stuffed with
soy-marinated pork slices. It is one of the traditional Taiwanese
wei-ya (year-end dinner) dishes. In the old days when meat was
considered a luxury, serving the fatty pork slices with hot steaming
bread was a way for employers to say thank-you to employees for their
hard work over the past year. The contemporary version of ge bao uses
half-fatty, half-lean pork slices. The Shih family’s secret is to cook
the pork in the family’s special marinade for at least eight hours so
that the meat becomes soft but not greasy. Combined with Chinese
sauerkraut and poached peanut powder, it makes for a wonderfully hearty
dish.
The Shih Family’s Ge Bao was founded in 1956 at the present location
at the heart of Tonghua Night Market. Its business has prospered so
well over the years that it now has a few other branches, including a
three-story restaurant at 21-1 TongHua Street, two blocks north of
LinJiang Street. But if you want to experience the authentic “hole in
the wall” atmosphere, I recommend the original location inside the
night market.
Hu Family’s Rice Noodle Soup (胡家米粉湯)
92-1 LinJiang Street
This is one of the most famous and popular stalls in the Tonghua
Night Market. Founded in 1967 by the senior Mr. and Mrs. Hu, this place
started out as a street-side stall. It has now become a family
franchise and has branched out to other night markets and commercial
areas, including the food court of Taipei 101. The original location in
the Tong- hua Night Market is now run by the second generation, yet the
senior Mrs. Hu gets up at 5 a.m. every day to supervise preparation of
the signature dish –rice noodle soup. The dish is made from a savory
soup stock of pork bone and dried shrimp base that is boiled and then
simmered for at least four hours every morning. Then, thick rice
noodles are added to cook for half an hour to make them al dente.
Shredded scallions and white pepper are sprinkled over the savory
noodle soup before serving.
Another famous dish here is the vermicelli in starched soup with
oysters (蚵仔麵線). This typical Taiwanese xiaochi can be found in
literally every night market. The Hu’s version has just the right
balance of soy sauce and black vinegar.
A typical order at the Hu’s Rice Noodle Soup includes a rice noodle
soup, a bowl of vermicelli in starched soup with oysters, and several
side dishes, such as oily tofu, pork intestine, or pork ear.
Shanghai-style Pan-fried Baozi (上海生煎包)
At the end of Linjiang Street, near Keelung Rd.
Shanghai-style pan-fried baozi (上海生煎包) is different from
xiao-long-bao (小籠包) in that the baozi is cooked in a black stone pan
rather than a steaming pot, and is more of a stuffed bun than a
dumpling. Here at Shanghai Baozi, all the baozi are made from scratch
on site. Two dozen at a time are placed in the black stone pan to first
pan-fry and then steam to perfection. Before serving, all baozi are
sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The savory stuffing of ground pork
and scallion makes for a delicious combination with the chewy bun.
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
Location: Shilin District.
The first section of the market centers around the Yangming Theater
on WenLin Road and stretches to JiHe Road near the Jiantan MRT Station
and ZhongZheng Road.
The location of the Shilin Night Market used to be a regular wet
market – established in 1909 – where agricultural goods were traded in
Shilin, then loaded onto boats at a nearby wharf on the Keeling River
and transported to Banka (Wanhua) and Dadaocheng. As more and more
vendors were attracted to the vicinity, the day market operation was
gradually extended into a night market. For hygiene and safety reasons,
the old buildings were torn down in 2002, and the vendors were moved
into the Shilin Temporary Marketplace across from the Jiantan MRT
station.
The Shilin Night Market enjoys a reputation for being the largest
and most popular market in Taipei. Because of its convenient MRT
accessibility and its proximity to many schools and Taipei’s foreign
communities, it has become the favorite of many tourists, local
students, and Taipei expats. To accommodate the younger and more
international crowd, the best-known xiaochi here tend to be fancier and
more like fast food. There is also a higher percentage of deep-fried
items. The Shilin Night Market also has a more festive atmosphere than
other Taipei night markets. People come here to eat, shop, play
carnival-style games, and just hang out and have a good time.
Hsinchu Home-style Charcoal-grilled Fried Chicken Fillet (新竹家鄉碳烤香雞排)
In front of the City Jungle Shopping Arcade, 15 JiHe Road
Fried chicken fillet is one of the top 10 popular foods in Taipei
night markets (see the sidebar). Although Shilin Night Market is famous
for the number of stands, Hsinchu Home-style Charcoal-grilled Fried
Chicken Fillet stands out in that the chicken fillet is first deep
fried, then soaked in Chinese herbal sauces before charcoal-grilling.
The meat turns out nice and juicy.
Pan-fried Rice-flour Buns (河粉煎)
In front of the Yangming Theater at Lane 101, WenLin Road
This xiaochi, exclusive to the Shilin Night Market, was invented by
the stall owner, Mr. Guo, more than 20 years ago. The rice flour bun is
stuffed with ground pork and winter mushroom. Each side is quickly
pan-fried until the outer layer turns crispy gold. The steaming bun is
delicious, but it tastes even better after it has cooled down.
Three Brothers Tofu Pudding (三兄弟豆花)
No.2, Lane 101, WenLin Road
The original location for Three Brothers was the Miaokou Night
Market (廟口夜市) in Keelung. It is now a famous dessert franchise in
Taiwan, and has branched out to food courts and other night markets.
Its menu has also expanded from simple peanut tofu pudding to a wide
variety of hot and cold dessert soups and shaven ice. A winter
specialty is also offered – hot mochi (燒麻糬). Mochi, or sticky rice
cake, is a traditional Taiwanese dessert. The mochi are boiled in hot
syrup and rolled in coarse poached peanut powder, making for a hearty
dessert.
The second section is the Shilin Temporary Market (士林臨時市場）at the corner
of JiHe Road and ChengDe Road across from the Jiantan MRT Station.
The Temporary Market is a night market version of clustered
merchandising, where multiple food stalls set in a row all have
practically the same menu. The most popular xiaochi items here are
oyster omelet （蚵仔煎）, stir-fried cuttlefish (生炒花枝), stinky tofu (臭豆腐),
tempura (天婦羅), Shilin large sausage (士林大香腸), and small buns in large
wraps (大餅包小餅). The trick here is to find the right stalls for the right
xiaochi.
Jili Traditional Xiaochi (吉利傳統美食), Stall No. 500
This food stall was established in the Day Market era, and is now
run by the third generation owner. The signature xiaochi items are
oyster omelets, stir-fried cuttlefish, and stinky tofu.
Chen’s Small Bun in Large Wrap (陳記大餅包小餅), Stall No. 194
The small bun in large wrap is another Shilin Night Market
exclusivity. It is basically a deep-fried bun, crushed and then wrapped
in a Chinese tortilla. The bun comes in different flavors, such as
peanut butter, taro, red bean, curry, spicy, etc. The deep-fried dough
isn’t my favorite, but the story behind this creation is quite
interesting. Thirty years ago, two young men shared one small food
stall. One was selling deep-fried buns and the other offered pan-fried
Chinese wraps. Later the one selling pan-fried Chinese wrap fell ill
and couldn’t continue his business. His friend decided to combine the
two products, creating today’s small bun in large wrap.
Snake Alley (a.k.a. HuaXi Street Night Market) 華西街夜市
Location: Wanhua District. “Snake Alley” refers to the two blocks of
HuaXi Street between GuangZhou Street and GueiYang Street. Together
with several other small night markets in adjacent streets (such as
WuZhou Street, XiChang Street, and GuangZhou Street) the neighborhood
is commonly known as the Wanhua xiaochi area (萬華小吃).
Like other night markets in Taipei, Snake Alley has a lot of small
eateries and vendors selling local snacks and foods. What is
distinctive about it are the stores specializing in snakes. Chinese
people believe that snakes are very nutritious and help detoxify the
human body. Snake meat can be served as a food, for example in soups;
its blood can be served in drinks; its internal organs are used as a
natural equivalent to Viagra or as a nutritional supplement. These
stores used to perform live shows of killing snakes to attract
tourists’ attention. With increasing consciousness in Taiwan society
about animal protection, such shows are now a rarity, but one can
still see the proprietors playing with live snakes to attract visitors.
Besides the snake phenomenon, HuaXi Street was known for being a
red-light district back in the time, prior to 2001, when prostitution
was legal. Since then, the area has been cleaned up (some now find it
too sterile) and the government has promoted it as a tourist
attraction. Foreign visitors aside, HuaXi Street tends to be popular
with an older crowd than the Tonghua or Shilin markets.
Boned Goose (剝骨鵝肉)
28 HuaXi Street.
Goose dishes are one of the common delicacies in Taiwanese eateries.
Traditionally, goose meat is boiled in salty water. In this restaurant,
the meat is first smoked and then steamed to preserve its juice and
tenderness. The boned meat is served in thin slices with fresh ginger
and basil leaves.
The restaurant also sells a variety of local seafood dishes and stir-fried noodle dishes.
Xiaonan Cheng’s Tainan Steamed Rice Cake (小南鄭記台南碗粿)
216 XiYuan Rd., Sec. 1
This small eatery sells only two dishes: steamed rice cake served in
a bowl (碗粿) and milkfish soup （虱目魚羹）; both are famous Tainan
delicacies. The rice cake is stuffed with lean pork, shrimp, and salty
duck eggs, served with the owner’s special deep-fried shallots in
sweet-and-salty sauce. The soup is made with milkfish rolls and
sprinkled with cilantro.
36 Yuantzi Dessert Shop (36 圓子店)
92 SanShui Street
This dessert shop has been in the present location for 67 years. It
used to be a traditional pastry shop. Nowadays, it sells a variety of
hot and cold desserts in addition to traditional Taiwanese pastries.
The recommended choice is the Combination Dessert Soup – sweet red bean
soup served with sticky rice balls, taro, lotus seeds, taro balls, and
sweet potato balls.
Top 10 Taipei Night Market Snacks
The Taipei City government conducted an online survey in 2005 to
determine the most popular night market xiaochi. And the winners are:
-
Oyster Omelet 蚵仔煎
- Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐
- Vermicelli in Starched Soup with Oysters 蚵仔麵線
- Fried Chicken Fillet 雞排
- Pearl Milk Tea 珍珠奶茶
- Stir-fried Cuttlefish 生炒花枝
- Pork Ribs Stewed in Chinese Medicine 藥燉排骨
- Mango Ice 芒果冰
- Fried and Simmered Baozi 水煎包
- Marinated Delicacies 滷味
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