In particular, the night market, lined with stalls selling Taiwanese B-class gourmet food, is a must-see when sightseeing. In Taiwan, it is customary to separate drinking and food when going to a restaurant, so night markets that stay open until late are a blessing for tourists, as many restaurants close relatively early. This time I went to Taipei, Taiwan for a game-related interview, so I went to the night market. I would like to take this opportunity to present you with a report on Taipei's night market gourmet food from one person's perspective.
Japan's 3.44 yen is 1 Taiwan dollar (as of June 1st). Prices in Taiwan are low, especially subway train fares and taxi fares, which are much cheaper than in Japan, so I was happy to have the option of taking a taxi rather than getting lost.
“Raohe Street Tourist Night Market” is a long road with countless stalls.
There are many night markets in Taipei, but on the second night of my stay, I went to the Raohe Street Tourist Night Market, the second largest in Taipei, which is close to the nearest MRT station to my hotel, Nanjing Sanmin. Night markets may have a strong image of gourmet food, but they are packed with a variety of stalls that sell not only food, but also souvenirs, fortune-telling, clothes, smartphone cases, and more.
Each stall has a different opening time, and there is no clear closing time (generally speaking, if you go after 5:00 pm, most stalls will probably be open). Each night market has its own characteristics and different popular gourmet foods, so it will be fun to visit a different store every night during your stay in Taipei. Also, there are basically very few food stalls that sell alcohol. You can purchase it at convenience stores, food courts, and other shops other than food stalls. There are also stalls selling beer for tourists.
・Papaya milk juice
When I go to Taiwan, I try to drink papaya milk juice, which is a mixture of papaya and milk. In Taiwan, there are fruit stands all over the city, and you can easily drink a variety of fruit juices.
Among them, this papaya milk juice has a mellow taste and a gentle feel that goes down your throat, giving you a moment of bliss. Because it takes advantage of the sweetness of the ingredients, it has just the right amount of sweetness even with less or no sugar. There are many fruit stands dotted around the night market, and you can get a drink for basically 60 Taiwan dollars (approximately 206.4 Japanese yen), so why not try it during your meal break?
Even within the same fruit stand, there are many different types, such as those selling a variety of fruits and those selling just one papaya. There are places where you can buy it for less than the average NT$60. However, the place I went to that offered it at a price of NT$40 seemed to have added a lot of sugar to compensate for the poor quality of the ingredients. Please choose where to buy.
・Fruit mix milk shaved ice
Isn't there a lot of people who go to the night market just for this purpose? For the shaved ice, I paid an additional NT$30 and they shaved frozen milk instead of water. The devilish idea is to blend condensed milk with fresh, sweet Taiwanese fruits, shaved milk that has a texture like powdered snow.
Taiwanese mangoes are delicious, so I chose mangoes as the fruit of my choice. At this time, my stomach was already quite swollen, but it was a completely different belly. I was surprised at how cheap it was at 120 Taiwan dollars (approximately 412 Japanese yen).
・Chicken thigh roll
At the night market, you can enjoy a wide variety of thick, long intestine-stuffed sausages. However, the one I ate was chicken thigh rolls, each costing an average of NT$35 (NT$120.4). You can choose one type of spice of your choice.
・Assortment of Shumai
Taiwan is famous for its delicious dim sum dishes, such as xiao long bao, and there were also stalls at night markets where you could choose from a wide variety of shumai. You can choose as many as 7 items for 100 Taiwan dollars (approximately 344 Japanese yen). There are mainly seafood dishes, rice-based dishes, and sweet manju, all of which are delicious. This alone will fill you up, so we recommend sharing it with your friends.
・You can buy various pineapple cakes as souvenirs at low prices.
At the night market, you can buy various kinds of pineapple cakes (actually, not all pineapple cakes are made with pineapple because the filling is different) for cheap. It's cheap at 70 Taiwan dollars (approximately 240.8 Japanese yen) per box, so I think it's in demand among people who buy a lot of souvenirs.
However, if you go to Taiwan, I would like to recommend the ``moon cakes'' that can be purchased at specialty stores. The type with dried egg yolk and red bean paste is especially delicious. If you buy it at an airport shop, it will cost 300 to 400 Taiwan dollars (approximately 1032 to 1376 Japanese yen) per box, but it is worth it.
Next, we will introduce Taipei's largest "night market"