Taipei is well known for their night markets and in this part of the world night markets are not just about the food, it is a way of life. Today I want to take you on a little food tour of one of Taipei’s most popular night markets, Raohe Night Market which is home to not one but FIVE Michelin rated Stalls
I will be including some special tips such as the names of the flagship dishes at each of these Michelin stalls in English and Chinese so you can order despite any language barriers!
Basically by the end of this article will be navigating yourself through the Michelin stalls at Raohe Night Markets like a seasoned pro!
By the way this article is basically an excerpt of my youtube video which you can watch below instead if you prefer your information in video form (dont forget to subscribe while you’re there!)
So without further ado, lets get straight into it!
What to know about Raohe Night Market
If you’ve never been to Raohe Night Markets before here are some things you need to know
Raohe is home to over 400 stalls and is open daily from 5pm to 11pm. Not all the stalls open at 5pm but I would recommend getting there that time anyway so you can get to some of these Michelin stores before they get really REALLY crazy busy
You want to bring cash and in particular lots of small change as all these stalls are cash only
How to get to Raohe Night Market
Taipei has one of the best public transportation systems in the world and it is super easy to get to Raohe Night Markets
however if you wish to take a cab I have included the google map location link here
If you are taking the train like I did then you need to get on the green Songshan – Xindian line.
Raohe Night Markets is located in the Songshan district literally a stone’s throw away from Songshan station.
You will need an easy YouYou (悠遊) card to ride the trains, if you’re not sure what that is don’t worry as I have previously covered it in my what you need to know before going to Taipei video which I’ve linked here if you want to watch that as well
But onto the food
1. Fuzhou Hujiao Bing（福州胡椒餅）
And you will find the first Michelin stall RIGHT at the entrance – a store selling a popular Taiwanese snack called Pepper Buns （胡椒餅 – Hujiao Bing）
The stall is called Fuzhou Hujiao Bing and my advise would be to get there early as there is ALWAYS a queue
The queue moves fairly quickly though and on the upside you get a vip seat to the process of making the pepper buns. It is fascinating to watch how the chef magically turns the dough into a perfectly round bun in a matter of seconds!
They flat out a piece of dough before placing a scoop of marinated pork in the middle and crushing a whole stack of green onions into it,
The buns are then slapped into this barrel like oven and cooked to crispy perfection
The pepper buns were 60 TWD each or 2.90 AUD
They are piping hot so be careful when you biting into it
It really doesn’t get any fresher than this! the bun was flakey and the meat was so tender and peppery
It is in my opinion TOTALLY worth the waiting time and the only thing I regret was not getting another one!
2. Chen Dong Pork Ribs Medical Herbs Soup (陳董藥燉排骨汤 )
Our next stop is chen dong pork ribs medical herbs soup (Cheng Dung Yao Dun Pai Guo Tang – 陳董藥燉排骨汤 ) and it was easily the busiest stall I went to during this visit
It is a first come, first serve policy here and the only way to eat here is to sit down IMMEDIATELY if you see an empty seat (You can also line up at the assigned queue if you’re planning to takeaway your food though)
I ordered their most popular dish, this pork ribs medicinal herb soup paired with braised pork rice and I don’t know if it was the cold weather (I visited in winter) but this was so frickin’ good!
The meat was so tender and the soup was so comforting on a cold winter night
Also this was no joke of the best braised rice I’ve ever had
This one is definitely a must try but next time I would probably start the night here to avoid the crazy crowds
3. Dong Fat Hao (東發號, dong fa hao)
The next dish I tried out is quite unique for a few reasons
One, it is the only one with its own storefrontand two it sells a rather unique and must try Taiwanese street snack called “Oh-Ah Mee Sua”, aka oyster vermicelli aka 台湾蚵仔面线 (Tái-wān hézaǐ miàn xiàn)
The store’s name is Dong Fat Ho (東發號, dong fa hao) and been operating since 1937!
Their flagship dish features a special brown wheat vermicelli that is made to sustain longer cooking times, it is cooked with large oysters in a thick umami broth
The dish came out reasonably quickly and again I don’t know if its the cold weather making me a bit biased but I loved the piping hot broth, it really paired so well with the vermicelli and i am so impressed that they managed to keep the oysters thick and juicy
I was so full by this point but I still managed to finish the entire bowl in less than 10 minutes!
4. Mochi Baby (麻糬寶寶)
After three savory dishes I felt like it was time for a sweet treat and so I headed to our next stop, a small food cart called Mochi Baby (麻糬寶寶 – Máshǔ bǎobǎo)
This humble little stall is the winner of MULTIPLE Michelin bib gourmand awards and have been operating for over a decade selling these sticky glutinous rice mochi’s fresh every single day
It comes in 3 flavours , crushed peanuts, powdered sugar and black sesame but I got the classic crushed peanuts
Its truly magical watching how quickly the owner puts cuts up the gooey mochi into pieces, he will also advise you to eat them immediately though if you’re getting them for later you can tell him and he will gladly pack the filling separately for you
I am a sucker for mochi so this one disappeared into my mouth at lickety speed , I can definitely understand why they have been a consistent Michelin favorite over the years.
5. Shi Boss Spicy Tofu (施老板麻辣臭豆腐)
You can’t say you’ve been to a Taiwanese street night market until you’ve had Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐 – Chòu dòufu)
It took me AGES to locate this next Michelin stall at the Raohe Night market
Shi Boss Spicy Tofu (施老板麻辣臭豆腐 – Shī lǎobǎn málà chòu dòufu)
They specialize in Stinky tofu, a Taiwan classic only for the brave
I knew I had the right store once I got close enough, if you know what I mean 😉
The smell comes from a unique fermentation process, I have had Stinky tofu many times before and I love it, my advice is to not let the initial smell deter you, the taste well worth it
As I’ve already had the classic deep fried stinky tofu before I decided to try their signature dish instead – this stinky tofu soup with duck blood curd
The soup is made spicy pickled cabbage which is a childhood favorite of mine so i really enjoyed this dish, I also think this might be the dish for those who are worried about the smell of stinky tofu as the soup actually make the smell less intense
Outro
Now at this point of the video you’re probably dashing off to Raohe Night Market or booking that trip to Taipei but before you do that don’t forget to check out this video I’ve linked here on what you need to know before traveling to Taipei
If this little food tour has got you night market curious I’ve also covered a total of NINE michelin rated stalls at Ningxia Night Market and Taiwans LARGEST night market, Shilin – you can check them out next!
If you have any further questions or anything else you wanna say dont forget to leave me a comment in the comment section of the YouTube video or follow me on Instagram and Tiktok!
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