Hearing about Taipei's street food scene goes way back to my mom's solo trip to Taiwan in the late 1960's. Although my mom isn't adventurous when it comes to food, she would later tell me when I started traveling that I better try as much local food when I get the chance. Indeed, I did just that in Thailand, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong and the rest of the countries I visited so far.
During my first visit to Taipei as part of a familiarization tour organized by Eva Air, me and my travel companions—who were also travel writers—decided that we must explore the city's street food scene on our free time.
Because our media trip hosts already spoiled us with an amazing gastronomical experience during our cross-country tour, aside from having a whirlwind daily itinerary, we only got to check out the small night market in Kaohsiung in the southern part of Taiwan during the first few days of our trip.
On our last night though, when we finally got back in Taipei, we made plans to meet at our hotel’s lobby an hour after our dinner, so we could all grab a ride to Raohe Night Market.
During the day, Taipei appears as a busy metropolis where hurried footsteps reverberates to signify an extended rush hour. Come nighttime, the city brims with life as if it finally decides to just take it slow amidst the blinking neon lights and the humming markets set-up in various districts.
One popular market is the Raohe Night Market. Here, people —unmindful of time—slowly walks pass food stalls in search of that savoring scent (or in stinky tofu’s case, the most putrid aroma) or a fascinating dish that best typifies the street-food culture of Taipei.
Stinky
Tofu: Love it or Hate it
While we assigned ourselves the mission of ordering the stinkiest tofu we can find, we settled for the not-so-foul smelling one being sold on one of the stalls we passed by.
It wasn't as bad as I expect it to be. The strong odor kind of just add a layer of kick to the sensation of eating it. It's juicier than the usual dried-fried tofu I'm familiar with.
Taiwan's renowned love-it-or-hate-it delicacy is not the only star in Raohe as a staggering number of street food dishes comes in a variety of grilled, fried, steamed, skewered, sauced and even torched.
Through the course of our slow walk in Raohe, I managed to try out some local street-food dishes and came up with these as my favorites: oyster omelet, flame-grilled beef cubes, grilled squid, octopus takoyaki and bacon wraps.
While there are other more interesting choices, I had to resist myself since my stomach could not take any more food. Despite having a length of only 600 meters, we reached the end of Raohe Market when its already near midnight because of many pit-stops at random food stalls.
Among the many appealing facets of Taiwan – from the beauty laden set of lush nature to the historic monuments, bustling cities and thriving art scene – the country’s mouthwatering street food culture remains as one of the biggest draw in enticing travelers to this tiny nation. Who wouldn’t be tempted in exploring various night food markets located all over Taiwan? Walking over narrow streets lined up with food stalls emitting savory scents becomes an adventure to remember.
I now understand that despite my mom’s trip to Taiwan happened many moons ago, the reminiscences of the street-food culture are what she’s most fond of remembering until today.
