VIBE

A classic Taiwanese experience. Taipei is dotted with festive night markets where, after sundown, lively crowds of locals gather to snack on traditional eats, shop for handicrafts and other trinkets, and even indulge in traditional reflexology. Our favorites include Tamsui Night Market in the cute waterfront village just outside of the city and HuaXi (Snake Alley) Night Market, a former red light district turned bustling market where snake-based delicacies are the specialty (don’t worry, there are plenty of other less exotic eats too!).

GO HERE WITH

Foodies; friends

WHY WE LIKE IT

Taking a turn through a night market is a great way to start the night or simply to drink in the local color. We usually can’t resist stuffing ourselves silly on Taiwanese eats and shaved ice.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

Some of the markets cater a bit too much to the tourist crowd.

GOOD TO KNOW

The most famous of the night markets (YuanHuan and ShiLin) have unfortunately been taken down and relocated into newly constructed buildings, retaining very little of their former charm. (We don’t recommend those for the authentic night market experience.) Famous Taiwanese eats to look for (and please excuse our rough romanization of their Mandarin/Taiwanese names) include: fried Taiwanese “sausage” (gei-gen); pan fried oyster omelettes (oh-ah jin), pepper buns (hu jiao bao), fried shrimp rolls (xia juan), stinky tofu (chou doufu), and oyster noodles (oh-ah mee-suan).

CLOSEST COMPS

Wangfujing (Beijing)