March 11, 2017

We arrived late in the afternoon in Taipei after our wonderful trip to Yehliu. We had the bus drop us off at Zhongxiao Road and we just walked through the streets.

We found this street by Zhongxiao Road that looks like a temporary market selling trendy clothes at low prices. You can’t try the clothes on though so you have to take a chance when buying. I’m not sure if they’re only there during weekends but it’s definitely a nice area to buy cheap clothes.

After going through Zhongxiao Road, we took a train to the Raohe St. Night Market. I read somewhere that this is the best night market in Taipei. I loved this market more than Shilin Night Market because it’s more organized and it’s all in one street. I found Shilin to be a little chaotic.

There were a lot of people in the market that night. We literally rubbed elbows with everyone especially that we went on a Saturday. It’s really a market where people, both tourists and locals go to eat so rubbing elbows with others is part of the experience. Below are some of the food that we ate at the market:

1. Torched Beef Cubes – TWD 100

I love steak so this was definitely the first one on my list! The beef is sliced into small cubes so it’s easy to eat and the flavor sticks to every cube. I was asked to pick from different seasonings and I picked rose pink salt. It’s definitely a must try for steak lovers!

2. Tarts 

This stall caught my attention the moment I saw these perfect-looking tarts! They have a lot of flavors to choose from. I’m can’t remember all of the flavors but what I can remember is that they had chocolate and matcha aside from their original flavored tart. Loved them!!

3. Scallops – TWD 90

This stall was grilling scallops so I thought I’d give it a try. I actually loved it but I think that TWD 90 was too expensive for three small scallops. But if you love scallops, this is definitely a must try. 🙂

4. Chicken Wings

My boyfriend and I actually split up while I was waiting for the scallops to be cooked. When he got back, he already had chicken wings with him. lol They were normal chicken wings but it tasted really good.

5. Pork Bone Soup with Braised Pork Rice – TWD 95

We needed to sit down for a bit after walking for too long. The stall selling Pork Bone Soup had tables and chairs so we just tried the soup for us to be able to sit down. I think the soup tasted like Singapore’s Bak Kut Teh. We just shared one but it still made us full because of the braised pork rice that comes with it.

Sorry for the blurry photo! 😀

6. Shaved Ice – TWD 140

After getting a little full from all the food that we ate, we had to finish it off with some Taiwanese shaved ice! We had Strawberry and Mango with Milk and look how good this thing looks. I love the strawberry but the mango tasted a little different fmon how mangoes taste like in the Philippines. But it was still good! There’s a lot of flavors to choose from and you may also choose to put milk on it for an extra TWD 30.

7. Takoyaki

We got so full after eating all the food that we ate but when we saw this, we got hungry again! lol We had to buy one! 😀

8. Fuzhou Shizu Pork Pepper Buns – TWD 50

We actually had this the next day, when we visited this market again. (Yes, we visited this market twice :D) It’s near the entrance of the market and there’s a super long line so you won’t miss this stall! The buns tasted really good. The bun is crispy and there’s a lot of juicy meat inside. Beware though that it’s super hot and it might scald your tongue if you eat it immediately, so just open the bun and let it cool for a few minutes before eating.

Here are some other stuff that you can buy at the market. Everything’s being sold in this market from food, shoes, clothes, accessories, jewelry, cellphone accessories, souvenirs and so much more!

Took a selfie at the night market entrance :b

Also, we made sure that we drank all the milk tea that we can find 😀

We definitely had a full packed day from traveling to Yehliu, to visiting the geopark, to visiting the bustling Raohe Street Night Market at night. We had another full day the day after, as we visited the Jiufen Old Street and Shifen Station. That’s up next! :b