Taipei Night Markets
As I weave through the crowded streets lined with a million little vendor carts, I am greeted by unique smells at every turn. A bit overwhelmed, but very excited, I examine each cart to see what I will be adventurous enough to try, and what I will be ruling out right away. I make a mental list in my head of what I want to try, and as I reach the end I head back to the ones I remember.
This week I will take a look at the best foods that use dairy products at the various night markets throughout Taipei.
Ningxia Market
The Ningxia Night market was one of the first in Taipei, and it consists of one tight long street crammed with vendors. I went pretty early on and it was already packed, so I can only imagine what peak hours would be like. This delicious pastry toward the end of the road was my first taste of a night market, and what a great way to kick it off! It is known commonly as Imagawayaki or Japanese filled pancake. The cool thing about Taipei, is that it is extremely diverse, and a lot of influences in the food come from other countries. This perfect sized treat has a waffle like, doughy outside, and inside was filled with either red bean paste, boba, or my favorite, a sweet and creamy custard! The warm exterior with the cool cream was a perfect combination. The flavor was not overbearingly sweet, but more of the perfect size dessert.
Price of pastry: Around NT $50 ($1.61 USD)
Ningxia Night Market: Ningxia Road, Datong District, Taipei City, 103
Shilin Market
The Shilin market is also a very old market in Taipei. Located near the red line, this night market has been there since 1899. Shilin is also one of the largest night markets and seems to be popular among students and tourists. While walking through, I was greeted with a variety of great shopping and even better food. We started our quest for the uses of dairy in typical dishes, and we did not have to look very far. They had dairy in everything! Fried cheese balls, shaved ice with milk, milk tea, cheese bread, cheese potato, and much more. My attention was caught especially by the first dish we picked up.
This type of food can’t help but catch your attention due to the huge flame and jet fuel like noise it brings with it. It is not uncommon to find this way of cooking food at the night markets, but I did find it unique to put cheese on seafood. I was excited to try it, and to be able to sit in their air conditioned back room. We ordered the scallops, which can be seen at the front of the photo to the left, as well as pork covered in cheese. It did not disappoint. As we dug in, you could see the cheese evenly melted across the top of the scallop, leaving every bite equally delicious as the last. If theres one thing I’ve learned about cheese, its that it makes everything better.
Price: NT $150 ($4.82 USD) for two scallops
The next item on our Shilin night market list was fried milk! I knew I had to have this because I had absolutely no idea how you could FRY MILK. And to be completely honest, I still don’t know. But, I do know, that it is delicious. The milk is somehow formed into cubes and put on a stick. Once fried, they become little balls of custard of some sort. Biting into it, I got a delicious taste of sweet creamy milk, followed by a warm crunchy outside. I know I just said that cheese makes everything delicious, but I may also argue that frying food makes everything more delicious as well. This is just one of those cool foods you’re only going to try once. I can’t say that it was the best part of the night market, but you’re definitely only going to get it there.
Price: NT $50 ($1.61 USD) For three fried milk balls
For my last stop at the Shilin night market, I decided to cool off with a papaya milk smoothy. It only has two ingredients, and yet this famous Taiwanese drink knows how to leave an impression. These fruit smoothie stands can be located all throughout Taipei and can be customized with all kinds of fruits and even avocado is a popular choice! I thought that the papaya was perfect because the fruit wasn’t overly sweet, and the milk seemed to complement it perfectly. I definitely prefer this option over fried milk for any future sweet tooth cravings. Plus, it was a perfectly refreshing way to end this night market excursion. I returned to my hotel with a slight food coma, but no regrets. I still can’t seem to grasp that I get to try all of these unique foods at such a great price!
Price: NT $70 ($2.25 USD) for a small papaya smoothie
Shilin Night Market Location: №101號, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111
Raohe St. Market
This night market had a really great vibe from the start. On a Tuesday night, this place was packed. As I approached, a beautiful temple came into view. Throughout the night I saw several tour groups being led throughout the huge market, and I could tell this was a great market for tourists to experience because of how traditional and large scale it is. This was another night market that had an insane amount of dairy, as well. At a certain point you start to see some repeated items, the classics I’m assuming. But, along with the similar food items shared between markets, I also found some new uses of dairy such as cheese and octopus balls, cheese mash potato, super thin crust cheese pizza, and even more. The one item I knew I had to stop for was a unique type of a desert.
This desert starts with fresh, homemade rice tortillas. Then a slab of candied peanuts, also homemade, are shaved down and spread on top of the tortilla. After that, three scoops of ice cream are added. I believe mine were berry, vanilla, and lemon. Lastly, parsley is added and the tortilla is wrapped up in a little burrito. Here’s why this is the most unique desert I have ever had. First of all, who would have ever thought that the combination of parsley, peanuts, and ice cream would ever taste good together? And yet it did! The crunch of the parsley and peanuts complimented the smooth ice cream so well. And the sweetness of the peanuts and ice cream was offset by the parsley. Never in my life would I have tried this if I weren't at the night market. Secondly, who else would have thought to make an ice cream burrito? But, it too worked beautifully! It was the perfect way to combine all of the flavors and the fresh rice tortilla kept everything wrapped neatly to the end. This is so unique, and if you can’t get past the idea of having parsley with desert, you can always ask for it without it. I definitely recommend trying this if you ever are at the Raohe market.
Price: NT $50 ($1.61 USD) for one ice cream burrito
Raohe Night Market Location: Raohe Street, Songshan District, Taipei City, 105
