One of the most interesting concepts in Taiwan – night markets: Keelung Miaokou Night Market (29. May 2017)
Night markets – or as I would call them, food markets – are a big thing in Taiwan. There is a bunch of them in Taiwan but the one we visited the first evening wasn’t really appealing to us so we decided to try one of the famous ones which is located a bit outside of Taipei after we have been hiking through the Yang Ming Shan national park – the Miaokou Night Market in Keelung! So, if you rent a car – which you should to discover the island – make sure you are not afraid of driving in another country. The highway is quite okay but the area around the night market is a MESS! And once you find a parking lot (good luck with that), you should definitely head to the night market.
Given none of us spoke any Chinese or Taiwanese, we just kind of ordered stuff were a lot of people were queuing and which we were able to point at. It started with ‘Fish Tempura’ (35 NTD) which was absolutely tasty – simple, hot, and tasty!
Now, the “two egg yolk and custard balls and the three tora balls” (100 NTD) were definitely worth trying. But, be careful, they are hot af!
Now, to finish dining at the night market, we tried “Meat Sticks” (130 NTD). There is a hell lot of different things on skewers and you just kind of point at something and then you get that – if I read the sign correctly (interpreting numbers): if you order two skewers which cost 60 NTD, you get one for 10 NTD.
Once you’ve chosen your sticks they put them on a grill and you get them freshly grilled. Now, while this is lovely, I have – up to this day – absolutely no clue what exactly I was eating. One thing was greens wrapped in meat which was absolutely good. And I recall one skewer being quite fine in terms of quality of the meat while the other was – let’s say ‘of lesser quality’.
The historically interesting part is that the whole night market was built around a temple – at some point in history people thought it would make sense to have some food to be given to the gods – so they started opening food stalls and it grew and it grew and it grew …
If you somehow manage to get to Keelung, you definitely should pay the Miaokou Night Market a visit – lovely atmosphere, lovely food, not sure what you’re getting, but hey, who cares anyway? :-)
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Contact Details:
Miaokou Night Market
Rensan Road
Ren’ai District
Keelung City (TW)
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
