One of the most important things I learned in Taiwan was to follow the locals to the best Taiwanese street food. It was a revelation that came early in my visit, thankfully, and led to a deep appreciation of Taiwan’s rich food culture.

A little advice about street food

I’d read that Taiwan is the ultimate destination for Asian cuisine, with perhaps the best night market scene in the world. As a result, I expected endless opportunities for culinary escape.

It bears mentioning that I approached my street food journey with Anthony Bourdain at the helm. He didn’t convince me to try stinky tofu, but I used his advice as my compass:

Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafés and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once. 

Is street food safe? Vendors wouldn’t be in business for long if their food made customers sick. Unlike meals prepared behind restaurant walls, street vendors prepare food in plain view. Customers observe how food and cookware are handled, and long lines attest to the quality of what’s on offer. Popular stalls also mean that there’s a high turnover of ingredients that need to be purchased daily to keep up with the demand.

My experience with Taiwanese food reminded me of the words of Mark Twain. He said,

Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

The only time food fought it out with my insides was after a sit-down meal in a Taipei restaurant. On the other hand, street food and I were highly compatible. Actually, it was more like a two-week Taiwanese love affair.

Take a walking food tour

My advice is to put yourself in the hands of an expert and take a walking food tour. Before leaving Canada, I made a booking with Taipei Eats. It provided a wonderful orientation early in my visit, and introduced some authentic standouts. In addition, I received lots of recommendations on continuing my own self-directed gastronomic journey.

Figuring prominently in that adventure were night markets.

Night markets

Night markets are a pivotal part of the dining landscape. They’re fun, and cheap. The food is exceptional. Unlike restaurants, each vendor tends to serve just one dish or type of snack. Over time, recipes and cooking methods are perfected. A long line usually means that you’ve found the best of the best. Join it if you can.

Part of the allure of night markets is wandering from cart to cart, cobbling together a meal of “xiaochi,” or “small eats.” Another is to people watch while feeding off the energy of the crowds. At most night markets, some vendors have tables and chairs for patrons to grab a seat for a quick bite before moving to the next stall.

Ningxia Night Market

Taipei Eats recommended the smaller, but popular, Ningxia Night Market. The absence of crushing crowds that were a feature of larger markets made this my favourite. That, and the food, meant it warranted multiple visits.

Soil and sea come together in this classic symbol of Taiwanese street food: oyster omelette. Join the long line outside Lai Ji’s shop on the fringe of Ningxia Night Market. The basic ingredients are a generous quantity of oysters, green leafy vegetables, eggs and starch. The sweet potato starch is mixed into the egg for a thicker consistency. The dish is doused with savoury chilli sauce for added flavour. Ask for sauce on the side in the event you might prefer the sans-sauce version. I did.

Another popular snack is fried baozi with oyster and egg filling. Or, opt for shrimp if you prefer them to oysters. Or both. Baozi, a bread-like dumpling made with yeast, is the Asian equivalent of sandwiches. In fact, it feels like eating a Taiwanese version of an oyster omelette sandwich.

The stronger personality of cheese failed to overwhelm the clam in this tasty grilled clam in the shell. Pairing seafood and cheese worked. They played together nicely to create a creamy goodness with a delicious cheese crust.

Considered by some to be the stars of the Ningxia Night Market, Liu Yu Zi’s deep fried taro balls attract a long line. Customers wait for 30 minutes or more for this popular snack. The taro is shaped into a hollow ball, stuffed with pork floss (dried pork) and salted egg yolk before being cooked in vats of oil.

Street food indulgence doesn’t have to consist exclusively of deep-fried grease bombs. Custard apple makes for a welcome break and healthy interlude. I grew up in Brisbane, Australia where my grandmother had a huge tree in her inner-city garden. It had been years since I’d tasted the deliciously sweet creamy taste. Thank you, Taiwan for a nostalgic encounter with an old favourite.

Lian’s sugarcane juice is located near the entrance to the Ningxia Night Market. They’re famous for mixed juices. One can opt for sugarcane with star fruit, lemon, or Yakult.

Tamsui Old Street

Tamsui (Danshui) Old Street is an interconnected network of streets and alleys. It’s just steps away from the last stop on Taipei metro’s red line. Old Street, and the parallel riverside promenade, are sprinkled with stalls specializing in traditional local snacks.

Grilled squid is a popular street food in Tamsui. This particular vendor offers three different sizes of whole squid, basted with a mouth-watering sauce at strategic intervals. Last of all, it’s cut, sprinkled with seasonings, and tossed in a bag with a serving stick. I was asked if I preferred it spicy. Why not?? The first bite unleashed a bar brawl on my tongue. It had quite the kick. No worries, reach for a can of Taiwan beer. As for the squid, the meat was moist, and the taste and texture were perfect. In fact, I went all the way back to Tamsui for a second encounter. It was that good.

Octopus balls are a Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. They’re typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and scallions. These were topped with shavings of dried bonito, and washed down with Taiwan beer. We went back for seconds!

Also lining the waterfront are countless seafood restaurants serving Tamsui specialties. These clams were stir-fried with scallions, garlic, ginger, basil, chilli, and soya sauce. It was an explosion of taste, unmatchably delicious.

A smorgasbord of other possibilities

Sidewalk and night market vendors do a thriving trade in wheel cakes. Pancake batter is poured into hot metallic moulds to be cooked into small round cakes containing various fillings. Countless variations exist, from cream to peanut butter to red bean paste.

A mainstay of night markets, pig’s blood cake is made from glutinous rice and pig blood. It’s usually cut into a rectangular piece and served on a stick, after being dipped in soy sauce and coated with powdered peanut and cilantro. These were a popular snack at the Xindian Night Market. Not my favourite, I’m afraid.

As the name suggests, iron eggs are tough. Chicken, quail, or pigeon eggs are boiled, then peeled and stewed for hours in soy sauce or strong tea before being air dried. The process is repeated over several days until they acquire the desired level of chewiness. This vendor is at Beitou, on the path to the hot springs at Thermal Valley.

Fatty pork Taiwanese sausages have a mild sweet taste and are often served on a stick. This vendor is at Shifen Old Street. If you’re partial to sausages, give them a try.

One of the attractions of Táng cōng (sugar onion candy) is watching how it’s made. This young worker at the National Centre of Traditional Art in Yilan made it look easy as he repeatedly pulled, twisted, stretched, smoothed, and folded the candy mixture over and on itself multiple times.

For more Taiwanese specialties, have a look at some of the tastings on the Taipei Eats tour, and our seafood extravaganza at Yehliu. You’ll find them at:

• Discover Taiwan’s culinary treasures with a Taipei walking food tour
• Yehliu Geopark: bizarre rocks and succulent seafood

Might you be interested in my other posts on Taiwan? If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll fall in love with the country and its people.

• Discover Asia’s best kept secret: Include Taiwan in your travel plans
• A guide to visiting Taipei’s Beitou Hot Springs
• Cycling Taiwan’s Taroko Gorge
• Hiking Taroko’s Old Jhuliu Trail

 

Care to pin it for later?