Taiwanese food is characterized by its abundant food culture at Shilin Night Market street food.
You will see carts and stalls occupying an obscene corner. The selection of food and variety is cheap and plentiful.
There is so much to try to eat that you can find some snacks to munch on at any time of the day.
You can have street food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every hour.
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What can you expect at Shilin Night Market Street Food?
Every tourist in Taipei has the largest night market, Shilin Night Market, as the mandatory pit stop on their street food itinerary.
Popular for its variety of instant gratification street food, the eating street in Taiwan comes to LIVE!!!
Crowded streets are lined with open-air stalls selling a wide range of Taiwanese fashion, from cute and quirky to the trendiest items, drawing crowds of people three persons thick.
Hundreds upon hundreds of eating stalls sell many local popular street foods to tempt or revolt, depending on your sensitivities.
If you’re a vegan, you may be shocked to find a giant squid’s tentacles skewered on a stick right next to a whole roasted baby piglet or a boiled capon!
As I discovered later, a CAPON is a rooster the size of a turkey!
History of Shilin Night Market
The market was built as early as 1899 and is famous for various snacks and eateries.
Location of Shilin Night Market
The market is centered on Yangming Theater and Cicheng Temple.
Many prosperous shops on Wenlin Road, Dadong Road, Danan Road, etc form the night market.
Shilin Market was built as early as 1899, and the market is famous for various snacks and eateries.
How to maneuver the Shilin Night Market?
The night market encompasses two distinct sections.
Food vendors and small restaurants
Shops selling nonfood items
The old Shilin Market building has a food court with 539 stalls, making it a paradise.
If you are driving, you can park on the second floor, with a parking lot for 400 cars.
Taiwanese Fashion
The most exciting part of the night market is the side streets and alleys, which are lined with storefronts with plenty of cheap, trendy clothes, shoes, accessories, watches, toys, and souvenirs.
These goods are inexpensive (some of questionable origin). It looks like the real thing but might not be, given the low prices.
It will be fun if you love bargaining and have some skill.
The bargains are enough to plan a second visit – you can never get enough!
Shilin Night Market Street Food
Roadside food stalls.
The maze of alleyways is filled with various local and traditional Taiwanese cuisine that attracts locals and foreigners alike.
Taipei’s street food is a trendy dinner or supper activity, and tourists are looking for nighttime activities.
For night entertainment, you can find cinemas, video arcades, and karaoke bars nearby.
The night market has been popular with tourists recently due to the opening of the Taipei Metro system.
The Jiantan Station on the Tamsui–Xinyi line (Tamsui/Red Line) is 70 meters from the market and is visible from the station platform.
What are Taiwan’s traditional foods?
The food is generally street food or fresh fruit, with plenty of bubble tea stalls and cold beer.
The friendly Taiwanese are eager to let you taste the unique flavors of their traditional recipes of delicious Taiwanese street snacks.
- Giant Fried Chicken Steak
- Tempura
- Bubble Tea
- Oyster Vermicelli
- Oyster Omelet
- Fried Buns
- Stinky Tofu
The most popularly recommended food in Shilin Night Market is the Oyster Omelette (é ā jiān), which I didn’t try.
The stalls were packed, and the waiting time was over an hour, so we decided to miss this.
So if you want to taste this unique dish, get there early!
Tip: The food price is not low compared to the restaurant, which provides services and a proper table.
How do I know if the food is good?
This market is massive, and there is plenty of exciting street food.
Generally, anything with a long line is most likely to be good.
Another indication is to watch other customers’ expressions as they bite into the food.
Here’s the list of items to try street food items at Shilin Night Market
Famous Taiwanese Fried Food
- Small sausage in a big sausage
- Taiwanese sausage on a stick
- Fried chicken
- Guabao
- Oyster omelet
- Taro Balls
- Fried Taro Ball
- Ba-Wan (Taiwanese Meatballs)
- Taiwanese Sticky Rice Sausage
Taiwanese Famous Snacks
- Pineapple Tart (the best are found at the airport!)
- Xiao Long Bao
- XXL Fried Chicken
- Grilled Taiwanese Sausages
Unusual Taiwanese Delicacies
- Pig Blood Cake
- Stinky Tofu
- Small bun in a big bun
- Iron Egg (Tie Dan)
- Duck Blood Stew
Taiwanese Duck Blood and Chives Spicy Stew.
Delicious Taiwanese Desserts
- QQ Bubble Tea
- Shaved Ice
- Ice Cream
- Natural Aiyu Jelly Drink
- A-Zhu Peanut Ice Cream Roll
- Crispy Spring Onion Pancake
We enjoyed the food we tried, walked around and did a bit of shopping.
The touristy setting and waves of large crowds of people walking towards you can be overwhelming!
What I found best is to stand still and let the crowds pass you by.
That way, you won’t “lose” your friends.
The bowl is covered with a plastic bag so you can eat the street food!
Notoriously Stinky Tofu at Shilin Night Market Street Food
We were bent on tickling items off our bucket list as we weaved through the massive crowds and stalls.
Perhaps a little too adventurous, judging from the No.1 item on our list! The STINKY TOFU!
I was told there are up to eleven levels of stinky tofu in Taiwan. Level 11 is the top grade that only elderly connoisseurs will appreciate.
A form of fermented tofu, you could sniff out these soya cubes from quite a distance!
I was once trapped in a private room in a Taiwanese restaurant with a huge platter of stinky tofu served steamed and passed from one table to another.
Generous Taiwanese friends who had a great time laughing when the Malaysians gag on it hosted the dinner.
Street pushcarts sell these notoriously stinky but popular deep-fried cubes in the night markets.
Oh yes, the smell.
If you follow your nose, you’ll probably be assaulted about 6 meters away by a smell described as a cross of all the nasty, bad smells.
You could buy a bag of these for a few dollars. They are deep-fried to crunchy cubes and served with lashings of chili, vinegar, and soy sauce and a sprinkling of spring onions.
They look deceptive and tame, just like any fried tofu.
Pinch your nose and breathe through your mouth.
Here’s how to TRY eating Stinky Tofu…
Pinch your nose and breathe through your mouth as you use one of the bamboo skewers to pick up a hot fried cube and pop it in.
After you bite through the hard, crunchy skin, the texture is smooth and creamy inside. Taste-wise, it’s a little bland, just like any ordinary tofu.
Presumably, you’re still holding your breath up to this point. You swallow.
Then, you breathe in through your nostrils. That’s when it hits you HARD! Like an open sewer.
Conclusion: No one in my group could stomach any.
I chowed down on 3 cubes of Level 2 Tofu and survived!
Grilled Stinky tofu is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor.
Xiao Long Bao
There was a busy stall at the Shilin Night Market Street Food. We couldn’t wait in the queue, so we skipped it.
We wanted to experience the no. 1 delicacy bestowed with 1 Michelin Star in Taiwan.
Din Tai Fung’s famous branch at Taipei 101 Towers was the ultimate for a taste in artistry and a feast for the eyes in the pleating of the tiny folds of these delicious little Xiao Long Bao dumplings.
They are served in small bamboo trays lined with a white cabbage leave.
Steamed upon ordering, these little pockets of minced pork can be addictive.
It requires chopstick skills to lift these plump bags filled with meaty hot soup supported by your porcelain spoon.
Dip the Xiao Long Bao in the young julienne ginger in black vinegar, nip a little of the skin to sip the soup, and then peel it back to eat.
And watch the empty bamboo trays stack up like conveyor belt sushi plates!
It is common to see many chefs make the Xiao Long Bao together.
Xiao Long Bao
Taiwanese Pineapple Tart
Maybe it’s the mahjong tile shape that’s so arresting. Or love for all things rectangular.
Spongebob Square Pants quickly come to mind when craving Taiwanese Pineapple Pastry Tarts, which taste like shortcakes with jam infill!
Taiwan probably has the art of making pineapple tarts down pat.
Arguably one of the best.
I can’t tell whether some bakers have substituted pineapple with winter melon to make the jam less tart or acidic and give the filling a less fibrous texture.
However, we tasted the many brands available.
Whatever it is, the taste of Taiwanese Pineapple Pastry Tarts makes these so darn good, with the pastry’s varying sweetness levels and buttery flavor.
I guess the truth is out there somewhere.
So, which pineapple tart should you buy at Shilin Night Market Street Food?
What to buy, which to buy, and the price to pay? That’s up to your taste and budget.
This box of premium Taiwanese Pineapple Pastry Tarts (found at the airport) is a great souvenir to bring back home.
As usual, fast food addicts find it hardest to choose between grilled or deep-fried meats, between sinking our teeth into juicy, crunchy fried chicken or meaty grilled sweet sausages.
Here, we’re being taunted by Taiwanese sausages and XXL fried chicken the size of steaks.
Well, make those plates!
Eating fat is not an excuse for being fat, right?
The best way to enjoy a pineapple tart is with hot Chinese tea.
Taiwanese Pineapple Tart.
XXL Fried Chicken
These are breaded, deep-fried in hot oil, and sprinkled with white pepper, chili, and fried basil powder.
The chicken is crunchy on the outside and still slightly sweet and moist inside.
So be warned.
It’s addictive if you’re not counting calories.
XXL Fried Chicken
Grilled Taiwanese Sausages
The faint smell of grilling red pork sausages is delicious—one pleasantry of life.
Up close, the obsession is primal. It descends to the chant of man, meat, and fire.
They make the sausages from a proper ratio of shoulder meat and fatty pork.
Sausages may be barbecued, pan-fried, or steamed. But in the night markets, they are grilled over hot coals.
The sweetness of Taiwanese-cooked sausages is robust, chewy, and juicy.
Once cut up into small pieces, they serve these with raw garlic.
The perfect beer food.
It makes that limp Malaysian version of vacuum-packed chicken sausages fried with onions and bird’s eye chilis pale.
Grilled Taiwanese Sausages
Shaved Ice
The kids would not share with eating an enormous bowl of shaved ice with their chosen toppings.
The treat was a great marriage of technology and magic.
The ice had a cotton candy texture that melted in your mouth like cool air.
I kid you not.
We ordered two types.
How could we resist Taiwan’s Ai Wen Mangoes, best known for their sweet juiciness and summer flavors?
The topping had all kinds of jelly, custard, and mushy red beans.
The entire bowl is doused repeatedly with syrup and extra-condensed milk.
Now you know my secret sin. It’s called sugar addiction!
Taiwanese shaved ice is a staple in Taipei.
QQ Bubble Tea
Non-alcoholic and non-carbonated, this milky tea is hard to push on to the uninitiated. QQ bubble tea fans will extoll the virtues of the giant black tapioca balls “bubbles.”
Most enjoy freshly brewed milk tea with ice.
The giant black QQ tapioca pearls are the main ingredient that transforms a plain, tasteless milky tea drink into a drink worth lining up for, even if it means being 10th in line!
But which stall?
The length of the QQs or queues (pun intended) seems to rival each other.
The “QQ” texture is translated as chewiness or springiness.
The tapioca balls are quite addictive to bite on.
Many of these is a lifestyle rather than merely drinking tea; it’s worth a try in its birthplace even though it’s now available almost worldwide in cities since its invention in Taichung, Taiwan, in the 1980s.
What about drinks?
My favorite drink is the brown sugar bubble milk drink. Look out for the stalls where you see the creative Boba Tea Flambé.
Boba Tea.
Natural Aiyu Jelly
Aiyu Jelly is an authentic Taiwan dessert. This is a natural jelly and not made from seaweed or gelatin (derived from animals).
They make this jelly from the seeds of a climbing plant of figs. This plant grows in the high mountainous areas of Taiwan. Primarily found in the Alishan area.
A popular refreshing summer dessert. The Aiyu Jelly is served cold with lemon juice or honey.
What to wear to Shilin Night Market?
As you walk around, eat, and shop, wear cool clothing (depending on the weather) and comfortable walking shoes.
How long do I need to spend here?
If you are not interested in shopping and only want to browse and try street food, you will spend two hours here.
When the market is packed, it takes longer to walk around, and you will need to wait for your food.
Is Shilin Night Market overpriced?
There have been many allegations of vendors at the night market overcharging foreign visitors and overpricing fruit.
Taipei is very concerned about the impact on the reputation of the night market, one of the city’s top tourist attractions.
Steps are in place for
- Vendors must clearly label prices,
- Inform consumers of their unit price and weight, and
- Confirm with buyers before slicing and packing fruit.
In 2012, several fruit vendors signed a pledge to use price tags and electronic scales to ensure transparency in pricing.
Tip: If you don’t see label prices, you can choose not to buy.
What’s the area like around Shilin Night Market?
Shilin Night Market is located in Taipei’s culturally rich area near major shopping areas and hot springs.
If you are looking for a place to stay, you’ll find many hotels and other accommodations within a mile.
Hotels near Shilin Night Market:
(0.62 km) UiNN Business Hotel
(0.74 km) Renaissance Taipei Shihlin Hotel
(0.21 km) Grandee Taipei Resort
(0.49 km) Papersun Hotel
(0.57 km) Tango Inn Taipei JiHe
Review of Shilin Night Market
Shilin Night Market Street Food is the biggest and busiest night market for Taipei visitors not to miss.
The night market has hundreds of food stalls both indoors and outdoors.
If you want to try street food, you must walk and wait in line for your food to be cooked.
We didn’t get to explore the entire market as we only had a few hours after dinner.
Even when we started in a group, we split up to explore due to its massive size.
This can be challenging as the selection is wide and varied.
Eating your food without waiting for a long time is almost impossible.
We circle back to meet several times.
Each one of us bought packets of street food to try.
We didn’t even come close to trying all the food available.
Ultimately, we just left the tables to walk around ordering food. It was hard to eat and walk.
You will love this night market if you like a carnival atmosphere with games.
It is not really for tourists who want to shop for souvenirs.
We only found the underground food court with cheap restaurants with actual chairs and tables one could sit at.
Shilin Night Market is well worth a visit if you love food!
Shilin Night Market Street Food | Near Dadong Road, Danan Road, Wenlin Road, and Jihua Road, Taipei, Taiwan | Jiantan MRT station
Shilin Night Market Opening hours: 5 pm – 2 am daily
How to get there by MRT
Take Red Line 2 to Jiantan Station (劍潭), not Shilin Station. After leaving Exit 1, enter the night market diagonally across the street to the left.
Don’t worry. It’s marked out from when you exit the metro.
You will reach the market within a 2-minute walk from the station.
Other Night Markets to Check Out
Raohe Night Market
The north end of Kee Lung Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Song Shan Station Exit 5
Gongguan Night Market
Between Roosevelt Rd and Tingzhou Rd Section 3
Gongguan MRT station exit 4
Comment if you have other favorites besides the 8 Best Street Food At Shilin Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan.
We would love to try that on our next trip to Taiwan!
Taiwanese 7-Eleven
If the night markets overwhelm you, don’t worry. Taiwan 7-Eleven is open 24/7.
There are lots to eat if you get hungry in the middle of the night.
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