Gourmet eats for cheap
Waving a little flag, the tour guide leads a group of 30 or so tourists into the market. Some stop by the mullet roe stand, watching as slices of mullet roe, sandwiching small pieces of radish and garlic, are toasted until golden brown, each one selling for NT$50. Many of the visitors pull out some change and buy some. This may be the only night market stall in Taiwan to sell this gourmet dish, and what great value!
Walking ahead, one can hear a vendor shouting, "Patented Taiwan chopsticks! 100% unbleached wood! They won't mold or turn black! It's the perfect Taiwan gift!"
Many of the tourists' eyes light up when they notice shrimp being barbecued before their eyes. The shrimp, alive and kicking, are skewered on sharp bamboo sticks and placed on the grill. Two or three flips later, they turn bright pink, and with a sprinkle of salt and pepper they become tempting. The sweaty-browed owner barbecues as he fills six or seven plastic bags with skewered shrimp, which the tourists eat while browsing the market.
In the minds of the locals, the turning point in Liuhe Night Market's success came in 2005 when the street was designated a pedestrian zone. Previously, the night market management committee had placed barriers on either end of the street at 6 p.m. each evening, but many motorcycle riders ignored them and rode in as before. At that time the Kao-hsiung MRT hadn't opened yet, and with Kao-hsiung's motorcycle culture in power, the committee resorted to requiring riders to park in the middle of the street in orderly rows, but this created numerous problems.
Liuhe Night Market is the most popular night market in Southern Taiwan among mainland Chinese tourists. Tantalizing seafood is lined up in neat rows: live crabs, barbecued shrimp and mullet roe tempt the palate.