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Is Shilin Night Market A Great Night Market To Visit In Taipei?
Shilin Night Market is one of the largest, if not the largest, night markets in not only Tapei, but all of Taiwan. This makes Shilin one of the most popular night markets in the city, especially amongst tourists.
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The Shilin Night Market History
The Shilin Night Market dates all the way back to 1909, so it’s definitely been around and has a long history. It originally started out as a day market, with two long market buildings built across from the Shilin Cixian Temple.
These buildings were quite popular and busy and space within them were soon snapped up. Due to the lack of space within the market buildings, vendors and stores began opening up and spreading throughout the neighborhood. Through this growth and popularity over decades, the market morphed into the Shilin Night Market we see today.
At its peak the market was home to over 500 stalls. I’m not sure if there’s that many today, but the market is definitely expansive, with a ton of stalls to explore and more importantly eat at!
The Shilin Night Market Food
Like at every food market that has a million different food stalls, deciding on what to get can be very difficult since there’s SO many different options. As someone that is always eager to try new foods it can be very difficult to decide on what to get since I only have so much stomach space, lol. This is what I ended up getting during my visit to Shilin Night Market.
Cheng Zu’s Pepper Pork Buns
I had seen some videos about these buns so this was definitely a place I was looking forward to trying.
They have a few variations of these buns, and as you can see by the “Sold Out” tags underneath the majority of these options, they’re very popular. I got here early as well, around 530 pm, which is early and most everything was sold out already. Luckily, the OG pork buns, the option that I would have wanted anyways was still available. I got two of them (120 NTD, $3.75 USD).
First off, these things come out PIPING hot. Even holding them with the paper wrapper was hard since they were so hot. Secondly, these buns were BIG. I wasn’t expecting them to be as big as they were. Definitely well worth the price.
The buns are nicely roasted, with a little bit of char and heavily coated with sesame seeds on the exterior. When you take a bite, you better take it with caution, due to the amount of scaldiong hot juice coursing through these. I took a bite and some juice went squirting out of it past my shoulder. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone walking by at that time lol.
Nice and crunchy on the outside, the inside was nice and doughy. You can really taste the freshness of these. Not only were these buns packed with juice, there was also a LOT of meat in there as well. It’s a really well-seasoned, juicy filling, that has a strong peppery taste to it. There’s onion and another green veggie in the filling. Not sure what it was, it wasn’t green onion though. These were really good and a great way to kick off the night. My lips were burning from all that peppery goodness for quite a while after I dusted these off which speaks to just how seasoned they were!
Peanut Ice Cream Roll
I located a small stall selling peanut ice cream rolls in the Shilin Night Market near Cheng Zu’s and knew what I was eating after I dusted off those pepper buns. This was something I had seen in YouTube videos of Taiwan night markets and was looking forward to giving these unique treats a try.
Why are they unique? These are called a “roll” but to me it was pretty much a dessert burrito. The “tortilla” in this instance was a thin roll, which reminded me of a spring roll. It’s not quite that but the texture of it was similiar and was the thing I instantly thought of.
Within this “burrito” is shaved peanut brittle. These are big blocks of Taiwanese peanut brittle which they literally shave down and then use those shavings in the “burrito”.
After a nice layer of this covers the “tortilla”, two scoops of ice cream were added. Popular flavors are taro, pineapple, passion fruit, and vanilla. I opted for vanilla here. The ice cream is more icy than creamy too, which seems to work well here.
The last ingredient added was cilantro. Yes, cilantro! It’s not something you’d associate being paired with a sweet dessert with peanut brittle and ice cream and yet it’s a key ingredient here.
This was the end result, hence the burrito comparison!
It somehow all works. The combination of all the ingredients, the roll texture, ice cream, peanut brittle shavings, and ESPECIALLY the cilantro, just seem to jive well with on another. From the textures of the roll, the sweetness from the ice cream, slight crunch from the peanut brittle shavings, and the diffent kind of crunch and flavor from the cilantro, it just works. This roll was a very light dessert and extremely tasty and was very cheap (50 NTD, $1.56)!
Deep fried crab meat on a stick with spicy sauce
This wasn’t something that was on my list of “must try” items but was something I came across while walking through the Shilin Night Market. I love all things crab and all things on a stick, so this was just too tempting to pass up, lol.
It also helped that it looked like a big chunk of crab and a lot of interesting dips and seasonings you could coat the crab with. I grabbed one of them and got it coated in a spicy sauce (80 NTD, $2.50 USD)
The crab meat was quite sweet. It wasn’t fried for long, just a quick dip, the outer coating and crab itself was soft. The meat wasn’t very firm at all. The spicy sauce added a nice kick. It was a little tangy, a little sweet and savory with a decent spice to it. Overall it was pretty solid, nothing to really write home about, but pretty tasty and enjoyable.
Taiwanese cold noodles with sesame sauce
This stall earned a Michelin star back in 2019 and 2020 and was clearly a very popular place. There was a pretty sizable line into the restaurant and they also had a bustling to-go set up as well. This to-go area was nicely organized and efficient. Even though this line was also busy, the line went fast.
I got a small noodle cup (50 NTD, $1.56 USD). The sauce is defintely on the thicker side and really coats the noodles well. The noodles reminded me of ramen noodle and were pretty firm, tasted pretty fresh and were overally solid.
The sesame sauce had a peanutty, slightly sweet taste to go along with a great sesame flavor. You can order it spicy as well, which I clearly had to do, lol. This added a nice little kick to a very flavorful sauce. A little sesamey and peanutty with a hint of sweetness to it and overall quite tasty. The more I ate, the more I appreciated it. It was pretty addicting to be honest. I was impressed with the flavor. Also, that spice definitely started creeping up on me and my lips were burning for a while after finishing them. This was a satisfying end to my Shilin Night Market experience, with that sauce really making these noodles pop.
The Shilin Night Market Experience
If you’re in Taipei visiting a night market or night markets, Shilin Night Market, being one of the most popular night markets in the city, is certainly worth a visit. It will very crowded so if you’re not a fan of fighting through crowds for food, this may not be the place for you.
Otherwise, this is a massive night market with a ton of food stalls and restaurants to experience. You will almost certainly find something that tickles your fancy as this has all the Taiwanese Night Market foods you’d expect to find, along with places that are just specific to Shilin Night Market!
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Is Linjiang Night Market (Tonghua) A Great Night Market To Visit In Taipei?
Taipei has many, many, sights and attractions to visit and experience. One of the highlights – especially if you’re a foodie or night market enthusiast – is the vast number of night markets spread throughout the massive city. The city is absolutely jam-packed with night markets. Some are more notable than others, with some night markets including Michelin Star stalls!
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Linjiang Night Market
Located near the popular Taipei 101 building and Elephant Mountain, Linjiang Night Market, also known locally as Tonghua Night Market, is one of the more popular night markets in Taipei. I had visited Elephant Mountain earlier (definitely recommend!) and saw that Linjiang was the closest night market in the area so thought I’d give it a try.
Serving traditional and classic street food, there’s about 200 hundred stalls located at Lingjiang Night Market.
There’s obvioulsy a ton of food to choose from and if you’re new to the Taiwan night market scene, like myself, choosing just a handful of items to try can be challenge since there’s so many interesting, delicious looking food items!
The Food
Fried Sweet Potato Balls
I had heard about these fried sweet potato balls (50 NTD for a medium bag $1.56 USD) and they were definitely on the list of things I wanted to try. A night market staple, fried sweet potato balls can be found at every single Taiwainese night market, including Linjiang Night Market. They’re a very, very popular street food so I was excited to give them a try.
Let’s just say they didn’t disappoint! Freshly made right in front of you, these are given to you piping hot. Luckily, you’re provided with a tooth pick to stab at the balls to eat.
The different colors were all different flavors. There was seaweed, sweet potato, and black bean from what I could tell. They each had a distinct flavor, and they were all good! These things were light and airy, crispy on the outside, with a gooey, chewy texture on the inside. The inside of these things reminded me of mochi, so I loved it.
The flavors here aren’t overpowering either. A little sweet, a little savory, it was just the right amount of both. They’re quite addicting, especially straight out of the wok when they’re extremely hot!
Fried Dumplings
Dumplings, another night market staple, was another easy choice to grab at Linjiang Night Market. With this being my first Taiwan night market I absolutely had to get some dumplings! I found a stall that was pretty large and was definitely the most popular at the night market based off the line of people waiting to purchase them.
The stall is bustling as the staff stays busy preparing the buns and dumplings. There’s nothing pre-made here so you know what you get will be extremely fresh. It’s fun and interesting to watch the dumplings being made while waiting in line. The staff is a well-oiled machine in prepping and serving them and the dumplings get pumped out efficiently.
They have a couple of options: pan fried buns and pan fried dumplings. I decided to go with the fried dumplings (5 for 75 NTD, $2.34 USD).
Once you get your fresh dumplings, or buns for myself, these things come out piping, piping hot. I could barely hold them to even get some pics of them. Sure, you could wait, but I mean, who can actually wait to eat freshly made buns?
The bun skins were fairly thin, and these things were PACKED with filling. The filling was ground pork, green onion, and onion. It was well-seasoned, not overly savory, and tasted great. I just wish I had some chili sauce or some dipping sauce for them. They probably had those, I just didn’t see them.
Snow Ice
Taiwanese snow ice was something else that I had read about and had wanted to try. I’m a shaved ice fan to begin with and Taiwanese snow ice was something I was certainly looking forward to. Linjiang Night Market had a couple of snow ice shop options to choose from. I went with the one that had a watermelon snow ice on display (140 NTD, $4.36 USD) since I LOVE watermelon.
This is a little bit different than other shaved ices that I’ve experienced over the years. Instead of using ice, milk is frozen, and then shaved down. It took me a while to figure this out as I ate it. Initially it was a very confusing experience for the taste buds. The snow ice tasted like a light vanilla ice cream. It was fairly sweet but not overly so. This also come in a massive, deep bowl, it’s probably a dish for two people or just one hungry tourist, lol.
You get a ton of snow ice and very generous amount of watermelon with condensed milk drizzled over the whole thing.
The watermelon itself wasn’t too sweet, but it was decent.
Linjiang Night Market Experience
I enjoyed my time at Linjiang Night Market. I didn’t have any other night markets yet to rate it against but I thought Linjiang Night Market was a lively, fun, place to be. With this being my first exposure to the Taiwan night market scene it was a little intimidating and overwhelming initially. The vast number of food stalls lined up in long rows, the different types of foods and smells wafting through the air, and the night market itself being packed with people, it’s a lot to take in all at once.
It’s a good thing to take in though, since I was surrounded by food, much of it comprised of new and exciting items to try. Plus, the food is so AFFORDABLE. For the three items I got it was a total of $8.26 USD and it was all really tasty stuff.
There are probably some unique stalls serving items you can only find at Linjiang Night Market which makes it all the more enticing to come back to and explore at some point. I look forward to it!
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Unique Tanghulu Hallabong And Juice At Dongmun Market
Tanghulu Hallabong
Once I finished up the Hallabong sundae I really thought I was good for the night. I was wrong.
On the way out I passed by what looked like just another Hallabong juice stall. However, something on the side of the stall caught my eye. Glistening orbs of Hallabong on a stick chilling in mid-air will certainly catch your attention. Intrigued by these “Hallabong kabobs”, I walked up to get a closer inspection.
A glossy sheet of sugar syrup coated the floating Hallabong. This sugar coated treat is called Tanghulu.
Originating from China, Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese snack. Consisting of skewered fruits and dipped in a coat of sugar syrup, it’s quite popular. Once the fruit of choice is carefully skewered, the sugar syrup is heated up to just the right temperature. This creates that fabolous glossy shell of sugar that coats the fruit.
The glossy coating, combined with the vivid orange color of the Hallabong, really grabbed my attention. I’ve never had Tanghulu before and figured this would be a nice “healthy” treat after all the other food I had earlier in the night. Sure, it’s sugar coated. But it’s fruit so it evens out right? Let’s not answer that…
The stand convenientely packages the skewers in an easy to go cup so these were easy to transport back to the hotel I was staying at to enjoy throught out my stay in Jeju.
The other thing about the sugar coating is that it acts as natural preservative which keeps the treat fresher for a longer period of time so I could take my time eating it. I couldn’t wait for that first bite.
The Taste Experience
The first bite didn’t disappoint. It had an abundance of flavor with the crispy sugar shell shattering and providing a sugary sweetness combining with the release of the sweet and tangy flavor of the Hallabong and its juice.
They were kind of addicting to be honest. It’s more like candy on a stick since the Hallabong is naturally sweet on it’s own. I had to refrain from eating them all in one sitting, I wanted to make them last a little while longer!
This was the perfect ending to my experience at Dongmun Market. Finishing up with something Hallabong related was fitting since it’s so famous on Jeju Island and really capped off a fun food night trying a bunch of good food stalls at the market place.
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Jungang Night Market, Gyeongju, South Korea
I stopped by this small food market and grabbed a quick bite at a couple of the stalls. This was just opening up so not all the stalls were up and running and there were minimal people there, which was nice!
The first stall I had was BBQ pork. Right off the grill, the pork pieces had that lovely char taste and the sauce was slighlty sweet with mild spice. The pieces were juicy and tender and very tasty. Servied on a bed of shredded cabbage, this was a delicious snack.
The second stall I had served gimbap. It’s hard to walk by a good looking gimbap so I had to give this one a try!
This particular gimbap had some lettuce and grilled pork with some chili sauce in the middle with some ground sesame sprinkled over the top.
Pretty simple ingredients within this gimbap but it was well made and solid tasting!
There were a few other stalls that were open but a lot were still setting up or not fully open yet so I didn’t get the full experience of this night market but was happy with the two stalls I stopped by!
