Taipei Food Guide: TOP 10 Street Foods at Night Markets
Taipei is considered the food capital of Asia, that's why I went on a massive mission to find the TOP 10 street foods at the Shilin, Huaxi and Tonghua night markets with foods ranging from Hot Star large fried chicken, oyster omelettes to duck tongue and snake skin salad.
- Why: Asia's best street food, Taipei is the food capital of Asia
- When: Open daily from late afternoon until midnight
- Transportation: Take the MRT to the Shilin, Huaxi and Tonghua night markets
- Tip: Save your appetite during the day to munch out hard at night!
- NEW: Join a private tour at the Shilin Night Market in Taipei
I often had no idea what kind of foods I was looking at, luckily I was with a bunch of friends from the USA & Canada to accompany me on this street food adventure. Since there are so many street food snacks available at these night markets you definitely want to starve yourself until you get here.
Places
1. Hot Star Large Fried Chicken
Most popular street food but be careful it is often blazing hot form the fryer.
2. Black Pepper Pork Bun
One of my favorites, a nice crispy bun with pork, black pepper and green onions fresh from the clay oven.
3. Oyster Omelette
Another favorite at the Shilin night market, an omelette with small oysters fried with pork lard and topped with beancurd sauce.
4. Stinky Tofu
Fermented tofu, its strong scent you can smell from a mile away, fried with a crispy shell. Trust me it is delicious!
5. Duck Tongue
Indulge yourself in a wide variety of duck at many night markets from duck tongue, feet, liver, intestines to an entire duck head.
6. Douhua Dessert
Not as widely known, Douhua is a delicious dessert consisting of soft tofu pudding often topped with shaved ice, peanuts and red beans.
7. Pig Blood Cake
For this special treat you'll have to venture out to the Tonghua night market and look for grandma chen's pig blood cake .
8. Sugar Apple
I had never heard of a sugar apple before, it is a must try at one of the Taipei night markets.
9. Pork Belly Bao
Absolute best pork belly bao in Taipei, I love bao's so much that I considered marrying the owner of this epic bao shop
10. Penis Waffles
These were quite hidden but have to be featured, if you know where to find these penis waffles leave your comment in the comment section below please.
11. BONUS: Frog Eggs
Another item I didn't personally try but had to be listed, the famous frog eggs. Be a champion and try them for me!
12. BONUS: Snake Skin Salad
Try the delicious snake skin salad, snake venom and snake blood at the snake restaurant located at the Huaxi night market. Watch my full video review!
Map
Night markets also offer a ton of fun street games from shooting BB guns to shrimp fishing. Make sure to visit a night market with a lot of friends for a hilarious evening.
My friends from the USA & Canada had a blast, we even tried the bizarre pig blood cake at the Tonghua night market costing only 30 NT or $1.00 USD. Pig blood cake rolled into peanuts and cilantro, a very odd flavour, definitely an acquired taste.
The Taiwanese street foods are so incredible cheap you just take a bit of everything you encounter and save the rest to snack on at your hotel or hostel.
My favorite Taiwanese street food item was the stinky tofy, althought the black pepper pork bun and pork belly bao came very close.
It is often difficult to locate these street foods in a country where no English street signs or shop signs are present. That's why I included a detailed map with the exact locations to find these street foods to make your life a bit easier but if you don't have time to research everything yourself you can always join a private tour at the Shilin Night Market in Taipei with a local food guide.
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