When in Taiwan: Eat!
The wonders of Taiwanese night markets
The fateful trip to Taiwan
Over four years ago, I made a fateful trip to Taiwan, on a whim, and fell in love with the island of Formosa and its charming people. Most of all I fell in love with the food. Especially their night market food or ‘snacks’ as they are affectionately called there. It did not take me long to quickly discover that Taiwan is crazy about street food.
Everywhere in Taiwan, there are what are called Night markets. These are generally bazaars dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than the more businesslike day markets. And these night markets are food meccas. Throngs of people, vibrant smells, a cacophony of sounds, dazzling lights, and innumerable signs give these markets a fantastical, carnival-like atmosphere.
Taiwan’s night markets
Taiwanese are proud and immensely keen about their street food and night markets. It is very easy to conclude that Taiwan is all about food. There is a sense of industriousness around their food culture. If you want to start your own business, then start a food business. A stall, a cart, a corner take-out joint, a small restaurant in an old garage, and so forth. There are a million and one food-selling businesses on every block.
And night markets? Oh, every city, town, village, and crossroads across the country has at least one. There are over 700 official night markets in Taiwan. Ranging from larger ones, with purpose-built marketplaces, to ones that close down small streets in the evening, right down to theoretically temporary ones. I say theoretically because even these come back every night. During the day, there is just the usual humdrum of a busy street, daytime stores vying for business as usual. Come evening vendors show up with their stalls and start cooking some of the most amazing food you will find in Taiwan. I have even stumbled across ones where the regular road traffic still steals past stalls and throngs of people. Quite an unnerving experience, dodging cars and scooters while munching on delectable morsels of culinary heaven.
It is not all food either, there are stalls hawking clothing, consumer goods, drinks, and even carnival games for kids, or adults, to entertain themselves and win toys. There is something for everyone at these night markets.
Are they worth it you ask
If you are into food, you will not be disappointed! There is absolutely something for everyone.
Look, I know, we constantly get to hear that we should be careful about street foods, we hear horror tales from other travelers about contaminated waters, upset stomachs, diarrhea, and so forth when traveling to Asia (well not just Asia). Rest assured that these do not apply to Taiwan’s street food, even in the smallest of villages.
Taiwanese are very conscious about health and safety matters. They always boil their water, whether for drinking or cooking. This is a first-world country, and the quality of their raw produce is top-notch. All you need to worry about is the sensibilities of your stomach vis-a-vis spices and oils.
Personally, I have a stomach of steel, so I have the luxury of trying street vendor’s delights even in the most questionable countries. But I assure you that Taiwan definitely does not fall into that category, and if you have to chance to visit this island, venture into their night markets and try to your heart’s, well stomach’s, desire.
It is really worth it if you ask me!
What to expect
As you enter a night market the flow of the crowd will carry you just as the currents of a river. As you bob along in this human flow, all these delectable scents will assail your nostrils, and before you know it, your mouth will be watering with desire and anticipation. There is a bit of an art to maneuvering around and you will have to find the right moment to exit the stream and come ashore at one of the stalls.
Hailing from the West, it took me a little while to get used to the lack of personal space and how the crowd presses in on you.
My suggestion is that while you wait in line to place your order, take the time to study what other hungry souls are ordering. And how they are ordering it. Depending on what the stall is selling some will have chairs and tables, overs will be takeaway only and you will have to find a space to sample your bounty.
Look for stalls that have a long line. A telltale sign of good food is a full restaurant, the same applies to any food establishment and thus also here in the night market. A long line is indicative of something worthwhile.
Food is the gateway to a culture
I cannot overstate the importance of food as a gateway into a culture. At least to me, it is. I make it a point to try local foods, to seek out those places where locals go eat. I do not need to travel to faraway places to eat at the same restaurants that I can find at home. There is so much richness in food, not just the culinary aspect of it. Want to learn about a culture, and dive into its culinary panoply? Preparing and consuming delectable dishes is more than just a means of survival. Food is multidimensional, it shapes us and represents our identity, our culture, and society.
So, if you have the chance to visit Taiwan, you would be greatly amiss not to try their culinary wares. There is so much to learn about Taiwan through its dishes.
Taiwan is an island of migrants. People who came from mainland Asia (mostly mainland China) to find a heaven and freedom lost in their homelands. They brought their culinary heritage with them. As you travel around the island you can learn through their dishes where they originally came from.
A culinary historical hot pot
The history of Taiwan’s cuisine starts with the aboriginal peoples of the island. From the Ming dynasty on, starting around the 16th century, a large number of migrants from China’s southern provinces, especially the Hoklo people, settled on the island. Of course, they brought their rich culinary heritage with them. Nearly at the same time, the Hakka people from Fujian brought their dishes with them to Taiwan.
Half a century under Japanese rule, at the beginning of the 20th century, brought its influence, thus you will find a strong Japanese Washoku (traditional Japanese foods literally translating to ‘food of Japan’) and Yōshoku (western-influenced Japanese cuisine) representation on the island. After the second world war the Kuomintang (KMT), led by Chiang Kai-Shek, fled to Taiwan, following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, and brought with them a myriad of dishes from more northern regions of China.
Must try foods
The easiest answer to what foods you should try when in Taiwan is: EVERYTHING! There is something for everyone. But I digress, I am writing about night markets after all. Here are my top three must-try night market foods, ones that you are less likely to find served in any restaurant.
- Pepper Buns — Hu Jiao Bing: deliciously seasoned meatball, usually beef or pork, inside of a bread bun, think calzone, and cooked in a charcoal-fired Tandoori oven until it’s crispy on the outside but dripping with juice inside. Be careful when first biting into one as the inside with all its juices can be steaming hot.
- Pan-fried Pork Buns — Sheng Jian Bao: Tasty, moist pork wrapped in a half-soft, half-crispy yeast dough. Can’t go wrong with these.
- Small Sausage in Large Sausage — Daichang Bao Xiaochang: Ran out of bread for a hot dog? No problem let’s just make a rice sausage and use that instead. This delicacy consists of a Taiwanese pork sausage slid into a cut-open sticky rice sausage drizzled with a sweet soy and garlic sauce.
GO! Experience it
These three top suggestions and photos of other dishes you should try are just a tiny fraction of what is on offer in Taiwanese night markets. My little article here barely scrapes the surface. Your culinary senses will be in overdrive when you go and explore these markets for yourself. There is something for everyone there.
