Shilin Night Market and Shida Night Market, Taipei, Taiwan

Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)

On to the last part on Taipei! (Many more to come after that…) The last instalment on Taipei is about… food! You know food’s my favourite, so I’ve definitely saved it for the last 😉

Taiwan (not just Taipei!) is popularly known for its night markets. The night markets are visited not only by the tourists, but also the locals. You can find lots of local snacks, clothes, accessories and souvenirs in night markets, but when we were there, we usually just go for the food.

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle / Ah Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗麵線), taken at the Ximending Store (西门町)

The snack that I must always have (almost on a daily basis in Taipei) is definitely Ah Zhong Mian Xian. Mian Sian, aka mee sua (or misua or miswa) is a thin variety of salted Chinese noodles made of wheat flour. The noodles are cooked in a thick broth served with generous servings of pig’s intestines (which is one of my many favourites).

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle / Ah Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗麵線)

I love to add extra black vinegar into this bowl of yumminess, and thankfully I don’t have to request that from the staff as black vinegar and chilli oil is placed next to the store so we can add as much as we want. There are two branches in Taipei, one in Ximending (西门町) and one in Shilin Night Market (士林夜市), so do remember to try it when you’re there!

Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken (豪大大雞排)

Everyone loves fried food, and I believe we should always eat things that are worth spending our fats on, and Hot-Star is worth it. Hot-Star is very popular for their fried chicken cutlet, and it was really good.

My big, fat, juicy Hot-Star fried chicken cutlet, bigger than my palm!

Guo’s Scallion Pancake (郭家蔥油餅)

Scallion pancakes are flaky, non-leavened flatbreads with minced scallions (kind of like roti prata). Most have the addition of egg (my favourite) and I love the salty sauce and the chilli that they brushed onto the pancakes. You just have to eat it to know 😉

My pancake with egg!

Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)

Address:	Around Wenlin Road (文林路) and Dadong Road (大東路)
Opening hours:	Not very sure, but best to go after 6pm to 6.30pm.
How to get there:	MRT to Jiantan Station (劍潭站).
What to eat:	1) Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle / Ah Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗麵線) – NT$35 for small; NT$40 for biga) XiMenDing Branch: Ximen Station, Exit 6. No.8-1, Er Mei St., Wanhua District. (台湾台北市万华区峨嵋街8之1号(近西门町))b) Shihlin Branch: 1F., No.24, Lane 101, Wenlin Rd., Shilin District, Taipei City (台北市士林区文林路) 2) Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken (豪大大雞排) (website) – NT$55 a) Main outlet address: Shilin Night Market, Yangming Theatre (士林總店: 士林夜市陽明戲院) b) Jihe Road next to Shilin Market Entrance (基河路士林夜市新市場旁) 3) Guo’s Scallion Pancake (郭家蔥油餅) – NT$17 for plain; NT$25 for egg) No. 113, Wenlin Rd (台北市士林區文林路113號,陽明戲院前)
Others:	There are many other food to eat in the night market, just have an open mind and just give almost everything a try!
Note:	There is also a basement food court located directly across the street from the station with the rest of the night market spreading out to the north. The last MRT train leaves Jiantan Station(劍潭站) around midnight, though the crowds last well past then.

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Shida Night Market (師大路夜市)

Ar-Nor Crepes (阿諾可麗餅)

Shida Night Market is located near a university in Taipei, hence it’s a very popular place for the university kids to hang around as well. This night market does not offer as much food choices as Shilin Night Market, but it does offer a lot of youngster’s stuff, like clothes and accessories etc.

Ar-Nor Crepes is very popular in Shida Night Market and we waited for at least 15 minutes before we got our crepes. And the crepe, was huge!

Our huge crepe!

Luckily we both shared one crepe, otherwise we might not be able to finish it! Ar-Nor offers both sweet and savoury crepes, and we were more in the mood for sweet one that night.

Deng Long Lu Wei (燈籠滷味)

Deng Long Lu Wei, which translates to Lantern Braised Stew, is a really popular store. You can definitely see it with the two huge lanterns hanging at the cart store. It’s really easy to order – pick a basket, choose whatever ingredient you fancy and the boss will heat it up for you. There are meat, innards, vegetables, noodles… well, just see it for yourself below!

The huge variety of food to choose from!

Our plate of deliciousness.

We chose to dine in, and there’s a shop with seats just behind the cart store, but do note that you’ll need to buy a drink (per person) if you decide to dine there. Otherwise, you can just order takeaway and eat it somewhere else.

Stinky tofu

Stinky tofu is one of my ultimate favourite Taiwan snacks. We were in the hunt for the crispiest and smelliest tofu in Taiwan and this comes close, but still not the one. It’s really crispy but not as smelly as we want it to be, but it’s definitely worth a try. I forgot to take photo of the shop, but it’s located very near the Deng Long Lu Wei.

Shida Night Market (師大路夜市)

Address:	In the small streets near Shida Road (師大路)
Opening hours:	Not very sure of the exact opening hours, but since it’s a night market, it’ll stay open pretty late.
How to get there:	Take MRT to Taipower Building Station (台電大樓站). Take Exit 3 and walk for about 5 to 10 minutes before reaching the night market.
What to eat:	1) Ar-Nor Crepes (阿諾可麗餅)No. 20, Lane 39, Shida Road, Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan (台北市大安區師大路39巷20號)2) Deng Long Lu Wei / Lantern Braised Stew (燈籠滷味)No. 52, Lóngquán Street, Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan (台北市龍泉街52號)

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And that’s the end of Taipei! The next few travel posts will be on Hualien 🙂 For the rest of the posts on Taiwan, see our Taiwan travel itinerary here!

If you are planning a trip to Taiwan, you may want to check this out: