Must-try night-market snacks
Faced with a dazzling array of snacks but a limited stomach size, one may be overwhelmed by the choices available. Ma Chi-kang recommends the “snack banquets” offered by some night markets. Ningxia Night Market, known as “Taipei’s stomach,” has launched a “Millennium Banquet” spread, allowing visitors to sample a little bit of each snack between meals.
Ma strongly recommends the Millennium Banquet, which brings together the most classic local delicacies in Ningxia Night Market. You can sample more than 20 different snacks, from roasted bird eggs and oyster omelets to stinky tofu and braised pork rice, all presented in the form of small servings of shared dishes so that every guest can get a taste.
Although this “banquet” is relatively small, customers often laugh and say their stomachs are ready to burst afterward and still full the next day, thanks to the super generous portions. Tainan, known as the gourmet capital of Taiwan, has a similar snack banquet. The dining environment is a somewhat more upmarket, and you can try Tainan’s famous shrimp rolls, danzi noodles, coffin bread, and almond tofu pudding. Tourists would have to go to many places to visit every famous eatery on their maps, and so for those with limited budgets and time, the snack banquet can give them a chance to try it all in one place.
If your trip is short and you want to visit a night market, there are several top choices: in the north, the Keelung Miaokou Night Market offers the chance to try Taiwanese tempura, shredded chicken rice, crab soup, and fermented glutinous rice dumplings; Taipei’s Raohe Street Night Market has Michelin-recommended stinky tofu and pepper cakes; while at Shilin Tourist Night Market, you can sample shiquan herbal spareribs and fried chicken fillets bigger than your face, and experience the joyful, heady atmosphere of an urban night market.
In Central Taiwan, Taichung’s Fengjia Night Market has earned the title of the “night market of night markets.” Many of the innovations in Taiwan’s night markets start out in Fengjia, and the food here is naturally not to be missed.
Then there are other options worth trying, such as “fire and ice” tangyuan, sweet potato balls, and fried chicken wings at Tonghua Night Market in Taipei; fish head casserole and turkey rice at Wenhua Road Night Market in Chiayi; and scallion pancakes and fried century eggs at Luodong Night Market in Yilan. No matter what you choose, it’s sure to leave you full and happy.
Ningxia Night Market has launched its “Millennium Banquets,” assemblages of snacks and dishes that give time-pressed visitors a chance to try a little of a lot.
Stinky tofu is a divisive dish among foreign visitors to Taiwan, but a perennial favorite among the locals. Good stinky tofu is a dish you won’t soon forget.
Night markets offer fun as well as food, and one of the most fun things about them is how they provide a chance to get an insight into the pulse of the city.