Explore a Night Market

As described, Taiwan is synonymous with night markets. It’s one of the biggest reasons why food-obsessed travelers like us keep going back to Taiwan.

A Taiwanese night market is essentially an open-air gathering of vendors selling a plethora of Asian street food, clothing, accessories, and other knick-knacks. If you’re into shopping, then you can find good bargains at night markets but people come mostly for the food.

Night markets are such an important part of local life and culture that you’ll find at least one in every major city in Taiwan. In the biggest cities like  Taipei, Taichung or Kaohsiung, you’ll find two or three, often more. We’ve explored many parts of the country and have written this guide of the best night markets in Taiwan.  

As the term suggests, night markets are open only at night, usually from around 5PM till midnight. They’re such a fun source of cheap food and entertainment that we often find ourselves forgoing restaurants and having dinner at night markets in Taiwan. It’s like a DIY Asian street food degustation experience.

One of our favorite dishes to eat at night markets is this flame-torched beef. Cubes of tender beef are cooked over a grill before being blowtorched and sprinkled with your choice of seasoning like salt, pepper, teriyaki powder, or cumin. It’s so good.

We had this at Raohe Night Market in Taipei but you can find flame-torched beef at any night market in Taiwan. Be sure to try this and other Taiwanese night market favorites like pepper buns, fried chicken chops, qq balls, and tanghulu.