Why You Need to Visit The Best Night Markets in Taipei

Taipei Night Markets

Visiting Taipei means you’ve arrived at a foodie paradise and or mouth heaven. During our week here we really did some damage to our waistline and it was all worth it. Thanks to the different Taipei night markets we never went to bed hungry. If you love food then planning your next vacation to Taipei might just be in order for you.

Check out our 5 reasons why you need to visit Taipei’s night markets for yourself!

1. Taipei Night Markets Have The Best Food

taipei street food
Taipei night markets are foodie heaven. Every single food we tried was absolutely delicious and almost every food we didn’t try looked absolutely delicious. It was really hard to choose what to eat sometimes. You will leave with a happy belly after a night in one of these markets.

Some of the most famous dishes to try at Taipei night markets include fried pork chop on rice, thick oyster noodles, and sticky red braised pork feet, Gua Bao, soups, sausages cooked on an open flame, and our favorite the black pepper buns.

You can also find tons of other dishes like fried calamari and even sweets and boba tea. It’s almost better to come with a friend so you can split and sample way more dishes than you could do on your own.

2.It’s Easy to Taste Around

taipei street food

Since the portions are mostly snack size you are able to go around and sample multiple different foods from various Taipei night markets! We like this because we hate trying new things if we have to commit to a large portion of it. We hate wasting food and hate eating food we don’t like. If you have a friend or two even better, you can all share and try more dishes by having bites of each dish! Once we found a food we really liked we would go back and get seconds! This makes it much easier to try scary foods like stinky tofu…

3. Taipei Night Markets Have Great Shopping

Taipei Night MarketWith all the food around there’s also some great shopping! Many of the Taipei night markets also offer shopping of clothing and accessories. These are most common to find at night markets that are near universities and usually have a more youthful clientele. You can find trendy clothes and accessories all while getting your fill. As you can imagine, Taipei night markets are a great hang out and meeting place for this reason.

Many of the Tapei night markets also have arcades and even games to play. There are even some vendors mixed in with the food vendors selling small useful knick knacks. This means you can shop and eat until you drop all in one place!

4. Taipei Night Markets Are Inexpensive
street food taipei

Another one of the best parts of Taipei night markets is that they are a delicious and inexpensive way to eat some of the best food in the country. We were able to fill our bellies full on less than $6 USD combined.

That’s really reasonable considering how much delicious food we were eating and honestly, where can you feed two people that cheap?! The prices of the foods we were eating were anywhere from $.66 to $3 USD. This is music to any budget traveler’s ears out there!

5. The Atmosphere of Taipei Night Markets is on Point

Taipei Night MarketAnother thing we loved about Taipei night markets was the buzzing energy filling the streets full of food, shopping, and entertainment. Even though there are times you’re so crowded you’re sweating there is so much going on around you it’s impossible to be bored.

We’ve seen dogs with crazy haircuts, fortune tellers with birds, people getting their eyebrows threaded on the streets, and people getting tattoos inches away from the crowds. Everyone around is trying food and there are all kinds of smells and aromas in the air.

Taipei night markets just are an experience of their own.

Best Taipei Night Markets to Visit

Taipei Night Market

There are a ton of Taipei Markets to visit, 17 to be exact within Taipei city and a few extra like Jiufen (mentioned below) that are all great for your fill. Here is a breakdown of each of the Taipei Night Markets you can visit.

  • Dalong Night Market – a smaller night market that is not so frequented by tourists and close to the Confucius and Paoan temples in Taipei.  
  • Gongguan Night Market- The biggest night market in Taipei’s south district, this night market isn’t just for great food there’s also alot of shops and cafes in this area. Located in a business district and located near a university there’s a younger vibe here.
  • Guangzhou Street Night Market- A great night market close to central Taipei and near Longshan Temple. This night market has some great games and food. Also commonly known as BangKa Night Market and connected to the HuaXi Night Market. 
  • HuaXi Street Tourist Night Market- This is considered the first tourist night market in Taiwan! HuaXi Street market as mentioned above is connected to Guangzhou Street night market and next to Longshan Temple and the Bopiliao Historical Block. What’s great about this market is that is traditional and open all day long inside the red, palace looking archway with stalls on either side.
  • Jingmei Night Market- A night market in the south of Taipei is frequented by locals. During the day this is a traditional Chinese market and by night where locals can buy produce and groceries, by night it opens up stalls and is a great place for a fill. 
  • Liaoning Street Night Market- One of Taipei’s smallest markets in the Zhongshan District and only covering one street. There’s not as much shopping here but still some great food. This is also where the Heysong Museum is located.
  • Linkou Night Market- Located in the Xinyi District with a beautiful backdrop of one of the best Taipei attractions; Taipei 101. This street night market is a newer market and only open on Wednesdays and Sundays.
  • Nanjichang Night Market- Located in Wanhua this is another night market to go if you want to experience a night market that is not frequented by tourists. This market is also open during the day, but most vendors and visitors come out at night.
  • Ningxia Night Market- This is one of the oldest and historical night markets in Taipei. Even though the night market is relatively small with around 20 stands its considered one of the best for Taiwanese food and even dubbed as the ‘Stomach of Taipei’
  • Raohe Street Night Market- The oldest night market and one of the best Taipei attractions in our opinions is the Raohe Street Night Market. The food here is divine and the market is located right next to Ciyou Temple. Don’t miss the pork buns right by Ciyou Temple, you will be able to tell which one it is by the line.
  • Shida Night Market- Located in central Taipei city and near universities this is one of the best night markets in the city for food and shopping for clothing and accessories. This is a popular place for university students to hang out.
  • Shilin Night Market- This is the biggest and most famous night market in Taipei. If you only have time to visit one night market, this is a good choice as there are tons of food stalls, shopping, and games with a great location in the city.
  • Shipai Night Market- Located in Beitou this is another great night market for some of the best local Taiwanese food. This night market opens late afternoon but if you want to be here during the peak times come after 7 pm.
  • Shuang Cheng Street Night Market- This night market is for those who are looking for just food! There are no shopping options here but people love coming here for the variety of food stalls. Another perk about this market is that it’s not overpacked with visitors like some of the other more popular and larger markets in the city.
  • Tonghua Street (Linjiang Street) Night Market- A small but mighty and fun market right next to Taipei 101. This is a great option if you are exploring this area to see some of the best things to do in Taipei.
  • Yansan Night Market- Located in Datong, Yansan Night Market is another that isn’t frequented by tourists so it has a more local feel to it and is less crowded.
  • 737 Night Market- Located in Neihu District in a residential area this is not a popular night market for tourists due to its location. However, this small night market is packed full of flavor even with its small size. If you have the time be sure to visit.

Taipei Night Markets We Visited

Shilin Night Market

Taipei Night MarketKnown as the mac daddy of night markets in Taipei, this night market is the biggest and most famous in the city. Shilin invites the biggest tourist crowds to get lost in it’s alleyways of food stalls and shops. Our favorite dish here was the tempura squid bucket. Our friendly chef added a delicious spicy seasoning to give each bite a savory little bite of heat. The only thing we would have added was a squirt of lemon juice, but even without that bit of citrus this meal was divine.

Address: No. 101, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City

Raohe Night Market

Taipei’s oldest night market and a favorite of ours. Spanning a half a kilometer long, this street is lined on both sides with food stall after food stall and shops. It was easy to see every stall in this market and comfort yourself by knowing you saw all the food options before making your purchases! Our favorite food we ate in all of Taipei would come from this market! At the very beginning of the market next to Ciyou Temple you’ll find a long line for dumplings. These aren’t just ordinary dumplings, they are cooked in a wood fire pit and have a delicious bready consistency and perfectly seasoned pork and green onion filling. We will spend the rest of our lives drooling everytime we think of those pork dumplings.

Address: Raohe Street and Sec. 4, Bade Road and Fuyuan Street, Taipei City

Tonghua Night Market

dragon fruit ice creamA small, but mighty night market! This was our first night market and was super convenient given it’s close location to Taipei 101. This is where we first realized we couldn’t really go wrong no matter what we ate. Each dish was better than the next. It’s hard to crown a winner here as we tried some delicious assortment of double battered fries ranging from sweet potato, regular potato, and taro. We also nibbled on a juicy sausage (haha), ate some delicious deep friend rice, and finished off the evening with a perfect bowl of dragon fruit ice cream. Everything was delicious.

Address: Linjiang Street, Da-an District, Taipei 106

Jiufen Old Street

Jiufen Taiwan

Located in an old mining town about an hour outside of Taipei, Jiufen is worth visiting for more than just it’s food. This magical village looks straight out of a storybook because it is! It was the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away animation. The food here is worth putting this place on the map alone. Our favorite dish of the day ended up being a green onion pancake with egg, ham, and cheese wrapped up like a burrito. We loved it so much we went back for seconds right after. You can find this stall towards the end of old street towards the view point overlooking the coastline!

Address: Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 224

Taipei at night

For more street foods to try in Taipei check out Grrrl Traveler and to help you plan your trip check out this Taipei itinerary!

Found this post on Taipei Night Markets helpful or interesting? Bookmark for later or share the love below on Pinterest.