Day 16: Taipei — The Foods Come Out at Night

When the sun goes down in Taipei, the city is transformed into a street food Mecca. In many areas around the city, you’ll find night markets that spring up in their designated places every night from around 5-11 PM.

A truly genius idea if you ask me; they’re doing it right.

While the night markets center around food, they also seem to have a deep cultural importance. Kids can be seen playing near the stalls. Families meet to have a meal together and enjoy the night. Teens meet up to have some food and hit the arcade. It’s a place where one can be carefree and simply enjoy the ambiance. Luckily, tourists like me get to temporarily participate in this nightly ritual.

While I was visiting one of the markets, I even got the opportunity to witness a Taiwanese celebration of sorts. I’m not entirely sure what the occasion was, but a full-scale parade invaded the middle of the night market alley to play traditional music and have performances. It was quite an unexpected experience and gave more insight into how food and culture are deeply intertwined here.

I went to four different night markets during my time in Taipei, and my stomach was quite happy at each. These markets are popular with locals and tourists alike, young and old, rich and poor, and are buzzing with energy. While perusing the pedestrian-only streets, you can find treats that go for just a few USD each: Grilled meats, dumplings, oyster omelets, Taiwanese fried chicken, frog eggs, octopus, lu rou fan (braised pork belly over rice), and of course, the infamous stinky tofu.

Stinky tofu is tofu that has been fermented. And they call it “stinky” for a reason, you can smell this stuff being cooked up outside from a few streets over. The odor most closely resembles an uncleaned horse stable.

So naturally, I had to try it.

While the smell is quite strong, the flavor isn’t nearly as potent. It tastes like typical fried tofu only with a slight twang. Not too bad, I ended up eating it several times in Taipei.

Aside from this, you can find many more foods in Taipei’s many night markets that I didn’t have the chance to try or still don’t know about. I also noticed that there were a few food stands that were experimenting with new flavors and fusions, which I also found exciting. I felt like a child walking down the long aisles of food stalls, in a complete daze by all the lights, smells, and sights. The night markets seem to be an important part of the culture here, and they serve as social spaces for people to gather and enjoy good food.

Taipei is an innovative and food-centered city that can easily quell your hunger. Its distinctive cuisine will pique your interest; you’ll want to try something new here, just don’t mind the smell.