Night Markets in Taipei - Shilin 士林夜市，Shida 师大夜市 and Raohe 饶河夜市

No trip to Taiwan is complete without visiting its well-known night markets. There are a number of night markets in Taipei and we visited three popular ones.

Shilin Night Market 士林夜市

The most popular, largest, and where most tourists go is Shilin Night Market. The place has been revamped the last few years and it now has a 2-storey sheltered or roofed building featuring shops and food street. This is meant for tourists, I mean particularly those from tour groups. This part is just directly opposite the Jiantan MRT Station. 

I would opt to go for the non-sheltered market, which is further up north, just 3 minutes walk up. This is a  bigger area where the locals visit. You find a younger crowd at this area as well. 

No trip to Shilin is complete without the fame chicken cutlet - 毫大大鸡排. However, there are so many other options of fried chicken which taste just as delicious. 

Shilin Night Market
Take the red line and exit at Jiantan MRT Station

Shida Night Market 師大路夜市

I would say that Shida is less of the typical Taiwanese night market. It is definitely smaller than Shilin Night Market and has a distinguished character.

As Shida Night Market is located near two universities - Shida 师大 and Taida 台大, hence, this night is packed with university students and young people.

Rather than hawker stall style, you find the stalls here are more organised and most have a shop space.

There are a number of shops selling nice fashion for the young.

I bought a dress here, and this was the only piece of clothing I manage to buy in Taipei. Wufenpu was such a disappointment for me.

Shida Night Market
Take the green line to Taipower Building MRT Station, Exit 3 and walk for about 5 minutes.

Raohe Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市

Raohe Night Market is another famous night market for tourists. It is much smaller than Shilin Night Market, but it is probably one of the cleanest, most organised night market. 

As you enter the night market, you will see the pepper meat bun, known as 胡椒饼. You can't miss this stall there's always a queue right at the entrance.

The "must try" in Raohe Night Market, is the Pork Rib Soup - 藥燉排骨. So far, I only see this available at this night market. It's like Taiwanese version of Bak Ku Teh (BKT). However, the taste of the herbs is pretty strong and people go more for the ribs, then the soup. I don't think you can top up the soup like you do in Singapore. Anyway, one bowl of pork rib soup cost NT70 (S$3). Very reasonable compared to a bowl of BKT in Singapore. 

The other interesting shops that I came across here are the handphone accessories, shops selling different types of masks and fruits. The fruits at this particular stall really look fresh and yummy!

Raohe Night Market, although smaller in scale, but definitely worth a visit as it offers quality experience and products not commonly found in other night markets. 

Raohe Night Market

Take the train (not MRT) to Songshan Station. Don't mix this up with MRT. 

This area is also a 10-15minutes walk from the Wufenpu, which is the wholesale market for clothes. 

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Yongkang Street 永康街, Taipei

Yongkang Street 永康街 is famed for the street that housed the "original" Din Tai Feng 鼎泰丰。It's a "must go" place for most Japanese tourists.

Papa Snew insisted that a trip to Taipei is not complete without a meal at Din Tai Feng 鼎泰丰, although it's so common back home. We have heard that the queue at this particular store, or any others, could go up to more than 1 hour. 

The comforting thing is, Yong Kang Street is across the road from our hotel - Hotel 73 that we stayed in Taipei. We skipped the breakfast at the hotel and went to queue for Din Tai Feng before lunch time, and we managed to get a table within 20 minutes. 

You must be wondering why I took only 1 single Xiao Long Bao 小笼包 instead of the entire basket. That's because Papa Snew was so hungry for it and before I could take a photo, he has already eaten a few! 

For some strange reasons, I got to say that Din Tai Feng in Taiwan still taste the best. 

Our hotel receptionist recommends the other eateries along Yong Kang Street instead. I guess the locals do not really fancy Din Tai Feng. The other eateries such as 高记, 度小月 serves similar food and frequented by the locals. 

We came across a stall that forms a long queue. This stall sells one of the best Fried Spring Onion Pancakes - 葱油饼. The Chinese version of Roti-Prata containing spring onions. This one is really yummy, fluffy and crispy. Really worth the queue. 

The longest queue at Yongkang Street is the Yongkang Beef Noodles. On the Sunday that we visited, there was a long queue outside the shop. Infact, it was the long queue that caught our attention that the beef noodles must be good.

We went back the next day to try the beef noodles. It turned out to be the best beef noodles I had. The beef was just tender, and the soup was full of beef flavour. That really explain the queue.  

Location of Yong Kang Beef Noodles as below. 

Snew's Rating: 4.8 / 5

Yongkang Street, the "must go" place in Taiwan. Great restaurants with great food. Quaint branded boutique with prices that aren't exactly cheap. "Must Try" is the Yongkang Beef Noodles. Avoid lunch hour and weekend as the queue can get insane. 

Yongkang Street

MRT Station: Dongmen Station (Yellow or Xinzhuang Line)

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Tea at Maokong 猫空, Taipei

Maokong 猫空, literally translated as "No Cat" in Chinese, is located on a hill in the Southeast corner of Taipei City. It doesn't mean that Maokong has no cats, but a name that has been derived from "Niao Kang" in native Taiwanese dialect. 

Maokong today is famous as a place for drinking tea, as it was a district classified as tourist tea plantation. Tea plantation is the main draw for tourists to Maokong and the area is now also famed for its beautiful quiet scenery. 

Getting to Maokong is not difficult. However, the journey does takes a bit of time. Take the blue MRT line to Zhongxiao Fuxing 忠孝复兴 to change to brown line to Taipei Zoo 动物园. Taipei Zoo is the last station in the brown line. It takes about 30 minutes to reach Taipei Zoo from Zhongxiao Fuxing Station.

From Taipei Zoo MRT Station, follow the sign to the Maokong Gondola Station. It's a short 5 minutes walk away. To travel to Maokong, you will need to transfer to the Maokong Gondola.  A separate fare for the Maokong Gondola is payable. It cost 50NT per way, which I think is a very reasonable fare.

We did choose the Crystal Cabins as Papa Snew and myself feel that our weak hearts couldn't take the glass bottom cabins. The entire journey is a total of 4KM, lasting a good 30 minutes. The journey include 2 stops in between. However, the destination for most passengers is the final stop, Maokong.

It started raining slightly as we got up the Maokong Gondola. I was really disappointed as I have done some checks on the weather forecast, and was forecast to start rain only at night, Hence I change the schedule to travel to Maokong in the afternoon. However, the rain started just as we reach Maokong Station just around noon time. The views were all camouflaged under the misty rain.

As we exit from the Maokong Gondola Station, we walk towards the left and we found a stretch of tea house. The one recommended by friend, "Ms Taiwan", is 大茶壶茶栈二楼。

It's in a old shophouse, about 10 minutes walk down the road. Apparently the tea house on the ground floor is a different one from the second floor. The one that "Miss Taiwan" recommended to me is on the second floor.

"Ms Taiwan" recommended the "must try" dish as the Caipo Chicken Soup 菜脯鸡汤。Drinking Chinese tea and Chicken Soup doesn't seem to go together in Singapore. I would think it as too much liquid intake in the warm and humid weather. However, it was the perfect combination over in Taiwan. With the weather chilling up after a slight rain, having hot tea and soup with side dishes is just perfect.

It was our first try at brewing chinese tea the correct way. The staff were very friendly and showed us how to brew tea. Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha) 铁观音 is locally grown over at the plantation at Maokong. However, we decided to try a combination tea of Osmanthus with Pu Er 桂花普洱。I like the Osmanthus scent mixed in the tea with a nice flavour that is not too strong.

We spend a good 3 hours chilling there and slowly savouring the aroma of the tea. I guess the rain also kept us there, and finishing a whole pot of chicken soup for 2 person and cups after cups of Chinese tea just makes time pass really fast.

The sky managed to clear up as the rain  finally stop after 3hours. We finally managed to get a better shot of the scenery.

Even though we spent 3hours enjoying the tea, we couldn't finish brewing the tea leaves. The staff vacuum-packed the reminding tea leaves in a packed. We were told to consumed it as soon as possible so as not to lose the flavour of the tea leaves.

We strolled back to Maokong Station to meet our friends for dinner. We were late for our dinner appointment with our friends. To get back to Taipei City, the journey takes about 1 hour. That is not taking into consideration the time to walk to Maokong Station and to change from the Gondola Station to the MRT. A safer time would be to account about 1.5-2 hours if you have dinner or other plans back in the Taipei City.

In anyway, the trip to Maokong was worth it. It was a nice chill out place for tea and to be away from the city.

Before I conclude, 大茶壶 is split into two levels and operated independently now. Apparently, there's some politics between the family and they split the tea house into two. The one that we went is on the second level, and it's open till 6am in the morning. You can enjoy sipping tea with a cool scenic view. If you are lucky, the clouds may hover in, creating a feel of "sipping tea in heaven"!

大茶壶茶栈二楼

台北市文区指南路三段38巷37号之1， 2楼
Tel: + 886 2 2939 5-57
Opening Hours: 10am - 6am


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Jiufen 九份, Taiwan

I have heard so much about Jiufen. Missed visiting it on our first trip to Taipei. Hence, I decided that we not only needed to make a trip there, but also spend two nights at the Mingsu 民宿 (bed & breakfast).

Jiufen 九份, sometimes spelled as Chiufen or Jioufen is about 1 to 1.5hours from Taipei. There are two ways to get to Jiufen from Taipei. One way is by Keelung 基隆 bus 1062, heading towards Jinguashi 金瓜石 outside Zhongxiao Fuxing 忠孝復興 MRT Station Exit 1. Travelling by bus would probably takes about 1.5hours. 

The second way is taking a 45-minute train journey from Taipei Main Station and then change to a 15-minute bus ride from Ruifang Station. This is a faster way, and the route we took. For more information on how to go about this route, refer to my post on Ruifang 瑞芳.

It was raining slightly when we reached Jiufen. Like what most other tourists did as they alighted the bus, was to buy an umbrella at a stall just infront of the bus-stop. A long umbreall was only NT100 (S$4). Armed with the umbrella and luggage, we proceeded to look for our Mingsu 民宿 at Windsor B&B 温莎堡景观民宿 (which I will blog on separately). Because of the rain, there was not much of a view, only misty and foggy sight. Luckily, I manage to shoot a better shot of  Jiufen when the weather clears up.

We started exploring Jiufen after taking a short rest. Jiufen is characterized by it's windy streets and steps with shops and eateries on both sides.

If you are staying overnight at Jiufen, I would recommend to leave the suitcase at the Taipei hotel and just bring a hand luggage with necessities for your stay at Jiufen only. You wouldn't want to be carrying big luggage up and down the narrow streets and flight of steps.

Some of the interesting street food:

These two shops - 九份传统鱼丸 and 九份老面店 is recommended by Windsor B&B.

The beef noodles served at 九份老面店 is not bad. We mistaken the first corner shop at the start of the Jiufen street to be the shop that was recommended. Although there were many tourists in that shop (probably due to its prominent location), it was not as good this one. However, the best beef noodle in Taipei is at Yongkang Street (which I will blog about it later).

Up next is the battle of Taro Balls 芋丸. The Taro rice balls is something similar to Singapore glutinous rice balls 汤圆. The Taro Balls here are smaller in size, serve in a mixture of sweet potato and taro balls, cooked in sweet soup, instead of ginger or peanut soup. The texture of the balls is also different, which is difficult to describe in words. So, the only way is to try it!

First is Lai Ah Po Yu Yuan 赖阿婆芋圆. This is a very popular shop, occupying 3 shop space at the main Jiufen Street.

The other popular one is Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan 阿柑姨芋圆. This is a staircase up from the main Jiufen street, in what looks like a dilapidated shop.  After we enter the shop and purchase a bowl, we have to walk deeper into a path, leading to the seating area.

So VERDICT?? Both selling at NT50 (S$2.20), I prefer Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan 阿柑姨芋圆 for the richer yam flavour. However, Papa Snew prefer Lai Ah Po Yu Yuan 赖阿婆芋圆 as he prefers just the rice balls to be colourful, and doesn't have an over-powering yam taste. So, I guess it's individual preference. In anyway, Taro Rice Ball is now a signature street food in Jiufen. So, it's a MUST TRY!

Some other interesting street food:

Top Row is Century Egg and Red Meat Dumpling 紅糟肉圓.
Bottom Row showcase an assortment of Balls - Octopus Balls and Meat Balls.

Snails anyone? I don't think this is escargot.

We saw a shop selling braised 卤 dishes - an assortment of meat and vegetables. There were many people patronising this shop. When we walked passed it again during a Saturday morning, the queue was up to the steps. I wonder if it's really that good. For NT30 a dish, I guess this also partly explain the queue.

Most of the shops at Jiufen close around 6+pm in the evening. Windsor's owner recommended a few tea houses -  that opens till late. We choose the famous Ah Mei Tea House 阿妹茶楼 which is known for its crowd on weekends. A must-go place for Japanese tourists.

The favourite spot for every photographer.

Other than tea, the place also serves alcohol. I guess this is to cater to the Ang Moh tourists?
I do really like the rustic interior decor.

Well, I must say the food is not too bad. Can't complain since this is one of the few place that is open at night. I must agree with comments over the Internet that the prices are pretty steep. Averagely, the tea starts from NT500-NT1000.

A touristy place that guests visit for tea appreciation with good seaview. But guess what? There's not much of a view at night. So, to us, it's one of the places of "been there, done that". We'll probably try the other tea houses the next time we visit Jiufen. Below are a few other interesting ones that we saw.

I would really recommend visiting Jiufen to anyone who is going to Taipei. In fact, if you are able to spend at least one night there, it will be perfect. The rustic and nostalgic atmosphere would bring out the other side of New Taipei. THUMBS UP JIUFEN 九份!!!

One thing to note, I would not recommend going to Jiufen on a weekend or holiday season. It's so crowded that you may not even get a seat up the bus, and you wouldn't want to squeeze through the crowd in the already narrow street. Would you?

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Ruifang 瑞芳，Taiwan

From Taipei, to travel to Jiufen 九份 by train, you would need to pass through Ruifang 瑞芳. Ruifang is a small township and a district in New Taipei City. It is also the gateway to Jiufen and Jinguashi 金瓜石, which used to be a Gold mining area. I heard that there are still some Gold beneath Jiufen and Jinguashi! But forget trying to dig the ground when you are there.

The train journey from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang Station 瑞芳车站 takes about 45 minutes. I would recommend to book the train journey in advance and get a reserved seating which is pretty comfortable. Cost about NT59-NT76 (S$2.50-S$3.30). My friend travelled on a peak weekend and the train was so packed that she hardly even have a space to stand!

From Ruifang, we transferred to a Keelung Bus to Jiufen. The bus stop is just outside the train station, at the corner of the road, just few steps away from the Welcome 顶好 Supermarket. Both bus 1062 (which is the same bus from Taipei) and bus 788 would stop here and proceed towards Jiufen. The journey takes about 15 minutes uphill and we could just tap our store-value EasyCard. You will be amaze by the skillfulness of the driver on how he maneuver the huge vehicle through the narrow and windy path uphill.

Bus Service Information

If you have luggage or just too lazy to take the public bus, you can try taking a taxi from the taxi terminal on the left once you exit the train station. The taxi standard rate to go Jiufen is NT180 and will stop just outside the 7-Eleven at Jiufen. However, if you want them to take you right to the doorstep of your Mingsu 民宿 (bed & breakfast) at Jiufen (we stayed at Windsor B&B 温莎堡), it will cost NT200.

You could also tour the nearby attractions around Ruifang District by taxi. The listed price are all stated clearly on the board. For us, we still prefer to rent a vehicle with a driver who act as our guide on a road trip along the North East Coast (which I will blog later).

On our journey back to Taipei, we had some time before the train departure timing. Hence we walk around the popular Ruifang Food Street 瑞芳美食街. The night food street was more bustling than the day. We passed by it our our bus journey to Keelung Night Market one of the nights.

This is a covered food street with stalls. It was in about 2+pm and the stalls were just preparing for their business with not much customers yet. 

There was a long queue at the this street stall 阿霞龍鳳腿, selling 龍鳳腿 (literally translated as Dragon Phoenix Drumstick) just outside the covered food street. They are selling Fried Glutinous Rice Rolls and "Dragon Phoenix Drumstick" - which is a combination of fish paste and minced pork wrapped in bean curd skin. There were photos of celebrities patronising the stall on the street cart.  It's really yummy and only cost NT10 (S$0.50) stick. Regretted only buying 2 sticks and not more! 

I would recommend to walk through the food street, especially as a night market. It would be a good place to find dinner if you are spending the night at Jiufen as most shops at Jiufen closes in about 6-7pm.

Below are some interesting sights at Ruifang. The first picture on the right are spring onions. They are really much bigger and "healthier" then those found in Singapore. The right bottom picture shows the root of some plant that a hawker is peddling. I'm not sure what the root is meant for. Is it to brew soup? Do drop me a comment if you do know.

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