not Taipei: LUO DONG NIGHTMARKET in YILAN

LUO DONG NIGHT MARKET
at Chongcheng Rd. and Xindong Rd.
Yilan, Taiwan

I LOVE night markets. It's something that you must try if you're visiting Taipei and it's something that I don't get to do often enough now that I live here. It's usually the case right? There are tons of people who live in LA that don't go to Disneyland or to Mann's Chinese Theater. How often do we get to play tourist in our own city? It's something that we should do more often.

I often get asked, where else can I go to besides Taipei? And now I can include Yilan and Luo Dong nightmarket on the list. Sprawling and packed like many other night markets, Luo Dong night market is quite large with lots of food vendors, and one section that has rows of numbered stalls. At the center of the night market is the Luodong Chungshan Park, which some people take their food to sit and eat at.

I saw a line and I had to stand in it. But it was a bit confusing- the vendors said, there's no need to stand in line, just tell us what you're ordering. So I ordered 1 box of takoyaki and waited as they poured the batter and intricately cooked up rows of octopus filled balls.

Topped with mayo and wasabi...

and bonito flakes... 

Not as mind blowing as the airy and crispy takoyaki from Japan Boat at the Gongguan night market, but a good rendition.

I also was fascinated by the guy making the oyster omelettes and was mesmerized at the assembly line production while I was waiting for my order. Imagine the number of eggs he goes through every day.

And no visit to the night market is complete without some shaved ice. Snowflake ice is creamier than the regular shaved ice and this was mango flavored ice paired with fresh mango and condensed milk.

Another thing to look for is a stall selling tapoica balls with red beans stuffed inside with shaved ice topped with honey and condensed milk. It was too crowded for me to get on this night, but I loved it when I tried it at their other location, in the food court at the Luna Plaza mall.

Wander around, explore and eat until you can't eat anymore.

japanese/snack: i strongly recommend JAPAN BOAT TAKOYAKI at GONGGUAN NIGHT MARKET

JAPAN BOAT TAKOYAKI
or ZI CHUAN
at Gongguan Night Market
at Luo Si Fu Lu or Roosevelt Rd, Sec. 4

MRT: Gongguan

website: japanboat.com.tw

kid friendliness: kids might like this, but be careful it's hot!

visit reviewed: 4/3/2011 (all pics from iphone 4)

If you've never tried takoyaki before, it might sound kind of strange. Little fried balls of batter with pieces of octopus, covered with drizzling of mayo and bonito? There's even a takoyaki pizza at Taipei's Pizza Hut that has the same effect, with bits of octopus, zigzags of the sweet japanese mayo that catch the bonito fish flakes from flying away.

There's something mesmerizing about watching takoyaki being made- the batter poured in long rows, quickly being cooked and masterfully flipped over to brown the both sides. Think of it as a grilled hush puppy or savory donut hole.

And to eat it hot off the griddle is a must- the takoyaki (NT$40) from this vendor at Gongguan night market is perfect. Crispy, hot, airy, starchy, chewy, with touches of sweetness from the mayo, spiciness from the wasabi (optional) and fishiness from the bonito flakes. The box design is kinda brilliant too- it's shaped like a boat, with crisscross ventilation on the cover so the morsels don't steam and get soggy when you're taking it to go.

There's lots to explore at the Gongguan night market too, which has two long rows of stalls of goodies- sticky rice and chinese sausages, spring onion cakes (which has a crazy long line), giant fried chicken... I even spotted some Vietnamese sandwiches banh mi. But the takoyaki is not to be missed- you're gonna want your own box!

Japan Boat is actually a franchise- so you might be able to spot it at other night markets, as well as other countries- including Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong- but this is the first time I've seen/had it.

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night market/dessert: i strongly recommend TONG HUA NIGHT MARKET

TONG HUA NIGHT MARKET
Linjiang Street between Tong Hua Street and Keelung Road

$

Kid friendliness: crowded but lots to eat on the go

Visit reviewed: 5/2/2009



This should be a familiar sight to those of you who read my blog. Night market crowds and lots of food vendors. Fresh fruit, fried foods, meats on a stick...





One surprising thing I had was good gelato from Seven Nine Gelato. The cheeful vendors happily handed out lots of mini spoons of samples and big scoops of your favorite flavors.



And it was so good, I ended up getting two scoops for the bargain price of NT$60.



It's too bad I was too full from dinner, otherwise I would have love to have sampled the Chinese sausage and sticky rice or the candied sweet potatoes I saw at the end.





I'd love to explore Tong Hua night market more, which is a great location for those living near 101/Xinyi or DaAn area and don't want to trek all the way to Shilin.





For those of you who have been to Tong Hua, what's the best to eat or shop there?




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PS. Found this cool little shortlist guide of Taipei nightmarkets.

night market/taiwanese: i strongly recommend LEHUA NIGHT MARKET

LEHUA NIGHT MARKET
Yonghe Road and Zhongshan Road

MRT: DingXi Station

website: Public Health Bureau gov.tw
hours: 4 PM- 1 AM

$

Kid friendliness: lots to eat and play, though can be crowded

Visit reviewed: 5/20/2009



Stinky tofu- check!



Shaved ice- check!



Cute animals to gawk at -check!



Cheap goods to bargain for- check! And rows and rows to shop and eat- check.

Now you know you are at a Taipei night market.



When I first came back to Taipei after 17 years for the infamous Love Boat, the only night market I knew about was Shilin. After all, that was the closest one to campus and easy to get to. It was the biggest and the best, so there was no need to discover any others. But since living and eating in Taipei with it being my home, there's an abundance of awesome night markets here.

Lehua Night Market has all those things, plus a few variations of the familiar, located in Yong He, a suburb which is a bit southwest of downtown Taipei city. I have an aunt that lives in Yonghe, so she is always wanting to take us there to eat, but I've only been there twice. It's definitely worth visiting.



It's the first time I had Snowflake Ice or "Shue Hua Bing" which is shaved ice with milk in it already, which my aunt delighted in being the first person to introduce it to me and my sister. "What?! You NEVER had shue hua bing before? Never?" she exclaimed in shock to both of us, in Mandarin.



Nope, never. But it was pretty fantastic. The ice itself is superfine, like how you would imagine sticking out your tongue and eating freshly fallen snow. It's also a bit sweet, since the ice has milk in it instead of water. Then of course, you dump more condensed milk ontop and your choice of toppings- pudding is pretty good- to eat before it melts on a hot summer night.

Or you can opt for Aiyu bing or a lemon jelly with chunky ice that we got with boba. But I'd pick the snowflake ice!



After the sweet, we had some salty, or should I say stinky. Apparently, this vendor is pretty famous and has the newsclips to prove it.



The stinky tofu had some of the crispiest skin I'd ever tasted, like a crunchy shell to the spongy pungent inside. Complete with a heap of pickled cabbage and sauce, the guy deserved his newsclips- it was some of the best stinky tofu I've had.



So wander over the Lehua night market if you've never been. It's oh so sweet and stinky.


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CLOSED! dessert/frozen yogurt: i strongly recommend YOFROYO

CLOSED!

YOFROYO
at Shida Night Market
No.9, Ln.59, Shida Rd.
Jhongjeng District

(02))2365-0188

MRT: Kuting

website: yofroyo.com

$

Kid friendliness: lots of free samples and kid pleasing marshmallows, mochi and sprinkles!

Visit reviewed: 5/18/2009



Everyone in LA has heard of Pinkberry. Maybe even heard of Red Mango, Yogurtland and the Frozen Yogurt Wars.

But in Taipei, the frozen yogurt wave is just beginning... there were some attempts here and there, but none that really seemed that they would take off until now. A few years ago, I even daydreamed to open a Yogurtland-berry-ish froyo place here and eat free frozen yogurt whenever I wanted, the way I wanted, but luckily for us, the founders of YoFroyo actually went ahead and did it.

YoFroyo is located in an alley off of the busy Shida Night Market, across from Subway. I would have never ventured there but for an email invitation letting me know about their Grand Opening. I couldn't make it then, but the call of tarty frozen yogurt (or fro yo, for short, hence the name YoFroYo) was too strong to let me wait too long to check it out.



And I'm glad I did. First off, next time I'd come with an empty stomach to the Shida Night Market since there are so many alleys full of street eats to sample, such as "gua bao", pan fried dumplings, crispy fried chicken cutlets or "G-pai" and sausages, just to name a few.

But if you are headed just for the frozen yogurt, you have a lot to choose from. There's an array of toppings, flavors and combinations. Most importantly, there were berries, or at least strawberries, and mango. They also have other confections- gummy bears, marshmallows, crumbled cookies, diced fruits, chocolate chips and even baby cream puffs to decorate your dessert. They also have freshly made baby mochi balls to choose from and quite a number of flavors (original, guava, taro, black sugar, blueberry, mango and lychee) to match whatever yogurt flavor you choose. The combinations ar endless. It's probably easier for locals to get the concept, since it's quite similar to picking and choosing your sweet toppings on shaved ice, which also comes in a plethora of colorful shapes and sizes.



If you've never had Pinkberry, the whole phenomenon came from the frozen yogurt being tart and sweet, rather than just overly sweet. Being a "healthy" dessert with fresh fruits, Pinkberry was even nicknamed "Crackberry" for its addictiveness. From that sprung entrepreneurial copycats with a twist, such as Yogurtland, which provided "pay as you weigh" and self service with 8-12 flavors of froyo to choose from. YoFroYo borrows a few elements from each and makes it own hopes of an Asian franchise- a shiny and hip plastic white and silver decor, a range of six tart to sweet yogurt flavors that can appeal to all ages and tastebuds, and putting an Asian influenced spin to it.

And it works. I really liked the green tea frozen yogurt with a dash of azuki red beans sample that I had. I liked the soft and squishy bite sized mochis that I tried.

All the choices can be a bit overwhelming and with all the signs to read (thankfully in both English and Chinese), I was a little overwhelmed at what to order.



But they try to make it easy for the newbies by giving you large samples and providing a list of wryly named Froyo creations like Tokyo Reverie, My Blueberry Night, Barbie Doll or Cookie Monster if you can't decide (which maybe would be easier to drool over if there were pictures to look at like Coldstones?)



But maybe most importantly, the portions are sizeable and the prices are great (perhaps a happy result of needing to be competitive with other night market eats and being near a university). A regular at NT$55 is totally shareable with 2 or 3 people, or large at NT$75 if you're really hungry.

And if you're not a fan of the tart or fruit flavored frozen yogurt (they currently have original tart, mango, blueberry, lychee), then you can get chocolate.



They even have a suggestion box for future flavors. I'd put a vote for peanut butter or strawberry, and white chocolate chips or yogurt chips toppings and of course, raspberry or blueberry toppings when they are in season. The founders are from UC San Diego and set on making it So-cal authentic.

As the weather gets hotter and word of mouth spreads, I'm sure we'll see more signs of a Taipei Yogurt War. Maybe you can be the "cool" one in your group to help your friends discover tarty frozen yogurt the next time you're tired of shaved ice.

What do you think? Is Taipei ready for tart froyo? Will you be checking it out?


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street food/taiwanese: i strongly recommend XIN YI MITSUKOSHI STREET FAIR

XIN YI MITSUKOSHI STREET FAIR
at parking lot/sidewalk outside A8

hours: Some weekends. Not all the time! :)

$

Kid friendliness: lots of room for strollers and lots of finger foods

Visit reviewed: 4/18/2009



Finally, finally! I see these bright red and white tents pop up on occasion near the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi malls in Xin Yi, but I never have the time to eat there. I usually spot it after I've eaten, but this time, I saw them setting up and made a mental note to save all of my stomach to have a little sample-fest.

Basically, if you like night market food, you'll like the food here. If you've never had night market food, then it's a good place for you to explore and see if there's anything you dare to eat.

I started from one end and walked to the other and just bought whatever looked good. These are my favorites:

1- Indian wrap (beef) NT$60



Someone has gotta tell me if this is something that is actually from India, or something like Indian Taiwanese food- a wrap filled with curried ground beef, chicken or lamb or vegetables- sort of like an indian wrap, roll or burrito. I've spotted it at Rao He Night Market, Shih Lin Night market and now here (but never in the states.)



This vendor has probably been doing this for a long time, as he attracted customers by calling out in Chinese and flipping up his paratha like pizza dough before letting it bake on a hot, curved oven.



There's even dessert options if you feel like having peanut, chocolate or butter- kind of like a crepe, I suppose.



2- Fried Mushrooms NT$50

There were quite a few vendors, but this is the first one I saw. I got a mix of the two- I think abalone and chantrelle. They weren't hot off the frier, but still warm and crispy.




4- ren bien or Taiwanese summer roll/wrap/burrito



This vendor was very efficient, wrapping multiples at a time. It was very fresh, as you can see the man making fresh skins to wrap all the vegetables and meats, and she was also stir frying the cabbage.



There was quite a few different vegetables, including something pickled, so there was a crunchy as well as a soft texture; sweet from the ground peanuts as well as salty. It's not as refined as the ren bing from Shin Yeh, but just as tasty.




3- Sausages on a stick. 1 for NT$35 or 3 for NT$100



4- Stinky tofu

Okay, finally stinky tofu that was tooo stinky for me. One bite and I felt sympathy for all the people who didn't enjoy stinky tofu. Probably because this was boiled and then grilled, stuffed with a bit of pickled vegetables. With two sticks, I didn't even know how to begin to shove this in my mouth, but after one pungent bite, I gave it to my friend.




And some stuff I saw but didn't eat

Dim Sum



Sugar cane juice




And a lot of other stuff like fishballs on a stick, sausages stuffed in sticky rice (yum!), watermelon juice and squid vermicelli soup. I can't tell you when or when the street food fair happens, but sometimes you can spot them setting up Friday night or Saturday morning and they stay up through the weekend. Stop by for just a snack, or gorge on street eats the whole night for a meal.

There was a whole other section I didn't get to (between A9 and A11) but last time I spotted the tents, there were quite a few carnival style games for prizes for kids and kids at heart.



Happy Earth Day by the way!