Night Markets

In our two weeks in Taiwan, we ate at a night market about every other evening. Night markets are the epitome of Taiwanese food culture, and we wish we could bring night market culture back to the US with us! Once, while eating a quick stinky tofu, a Taiwanese woman asked us if it was our first time trying the pungent dish. We started chatting, and when we told her how much we enjoyed the night markets, she said, "well, of course, we all need our night markets," which sums up how we've come to feel as well. So, what is a night market?

The entrance to one of Taipei's largest night markets

Meat and veggies stuffed into a sticky rice log - a little spicy and very tasty!

While Karen waited in line for the sticky rice log, Matt looked for a well-known oyster pancake vendor. He had to hop out of the way of a cart pulling a few hundred eggs and crates full of oysters. On a hunch, he decided to follow the man pushing the cart, which led him right to the window selling the egg pancakes.

The most salient fact of a night market is this: it is a street where vendors set up carts in the evening, to feed and entertain the crowd that gathers each night. Some of these markets have grown to cover multiple blocks. Sometimes, there is barely room for two rows of people to shuffle between the carts. Most vendors specialize in only one thing - in fact they must specialize because each cart is hardly big enough to produce more than a few dishes. Some stalls sell large portions, while most sell bites - a bag of sweet potato balls, a sausage, individual dumplings, or a to-go bowl of soup. But whether the portions are large or small, the prices are uniformly low. This is partly due to the favorable exchange rate with the dollar, but even for locals, the prices are low. Certain vendors that have achieved fame among international tourists may have increased their prices, but the general cultural expectation is that a night market provide food at accessible prices.

A nice small portion of soup

Speaking of vendors that have achieved international fame- the list of Michelin-recognized night market stalls is long and grows longer every year.

This soup is flavored with medicinal herbs, which surprisingly taste really good

The popular stalls are easy to pick out, just look for the long lines

You may be imagining that there are one or two night markets, a sort of foodie "Eiffel Tower" that tourists make sure to visit when in Taipei. No- the markets sprang up as local places to buy and sell affordable food, and therefore nearly every neighborhood has one. We felt lucky to find that our apartment was near the Ximen night market, until we realized that it would be hard to find an apartment that isn't near a night market. So which night market is the best? It's an impossible question. Many foods will show up at every night market, but each market has its own particular specialties. There are five markets that are big enough, and popular enough, to be called out in most tourist guides. We're lucky to have visited four of them, as well as several more local markets, and we can report that each one thrilled and delighted in its own way.

Shaved ice with red beans and sweet soy beans - this brick and mortar spot had all kinds of ice-and-topping combinations. The portions seem large but the ice is so light and airy, they don't seem that big.

This place sold buns to go- one bun is about 20 cents

An absolute night market classic: sweet potato balls. The chewy sweet potato starch is fried in oil until it puffs up into an airy ball. They're good plain, but we also liked them with sour plum powder.

We'd never seen a white bitter gourd before, but they're common in Taiwan. This stall specializes in white bitter gourd juice sweetened with honey. The drink is cold, sweet, and refreshing, but a slightly bitter aftertaste makes it less cloyingly sweet than other juices. Not only was there a long line- nearly everyone took a selfie in front of the gourd display while they waited for their drinks.

Due to the low prices and small servings, we were often able to try 7 or 8 dishes each night. But night markets are not just about food. On a typical Saturday night it can feel like everyone in Taipei is out at the markets, which is notable because they don't really serve alcohol. In addition to the food (and drinks- boba tea and fruit smoothies are popular), there are boardwalk-style games. You can throw darts at balloons or toss rings onto bottles for prizes. Unlike the boardwalks along the Jersey Shore, the consensus seems to be that if you pay for a game, you deserve a prize. The better you do, the bigger the prize, but you almost always win something. It looks like heaven for kids. There are also some games we don't typically see in the US. In one, you dangle a hook and try to use it to snag a shrimp in a tank. You pay for 15-minutes at a time, and whatever you catch gets grilled for you. In another, you try to catch guppies using a hoop with a thin tissue paper "net". Move too fast and the paper will tear. Nobody eats the guppies though.

Each night market has its specialties. One had a seafood section with some truly enormous oysters.

Desserts!

More shaved ice, this time with corn, peanuts, and brightly colored tapioca pearls.

From a brick-and-mortar location at Ximen: shaved ice cream with mango

Games

Karen tries a classic boardwalk game - and wins!

Karen won these bananas, but gave them away to a child, trying to explain that we have no space in our luggage

The goal of this game is to roll balls into the main grid and "connect four" without losing the ball off the back of the board or into the big holes in the front corners.

At this game you pay for a period of time, and try to catch shrimp using little hooks. When your time is up, the shrimp you catch will be cooked for you.

Other Foods of Note

A bitter gourd and egg stir fry

Karen believes this is the best pork belly she's ever eaten

These black pepper buns stick to the inside of a large oven

This grilled king oyster mushroom vendor had one of the longest lines we've seen! We found king oyster mushrooms to be particularly flavorful in Taiwan.