How to go: Take MRT or TRA to Songshan (松山) Station, then take MRT exit 5. The night market entrance is to the right across the street next to a temple.
Opening hours: 4pm - 12am daily
Address: Raohe Night Market, Raohe Street, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Google Map
First, say hello to the crowd that greets you.
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| Intense crowd at 8pm on a Saturday night |
The first time I went to Raohe Night Market was on a Saturday night with my host family; the second time on a tranquil late afternoon, at around 4pm. This is usually the time when vendors start wheeling in their carts and prepare the food, so not all items are available at this hour. My usual advice when it comes visiting a tourist hot spot stands: go early to avoid crowd, go later to bask in the typical noisy and jolly night market atmosphere.
Spotted another shaved ice shop on my second trip. The menu and price of shaved ice in night markets are generally the same.
2. Danfan Herbal Tea (丹范仙草)
Grass jelly is known as a natural medicine to relieve heartburn, constipation, abdominal bloating, fever and diarrhoea. Established since 1992, this not-so-noticeable thirst-quencher drink stall is a major hit among the locals. You can choose the sugar level and toppings (sorry no photos).
3. Assorted pastries
Looking like the perfect dessert table with tarts of all flavours imaginable. There'd surely be one that tickles your fancy. I got a custard with chocolate crust.
Regardless, here's a gif of the bun-making process, from kneading the dough to filling it. As you can see, all buns are freshly-made and sold on the spot.
4. Bolo bun (菠萝面包)
I stood there contemplating whether I should order ice cream with bread. Eventually, I decided against it because I had an inkling that the ice cream would taste cheap and diluted and melt too quickly in the sweltering summer heat and it'd get messy and sticky (😤 *phew* that was a long sentence). So bolo bun with a slice of cheese it was. I asked for no butter because I can't stand grease.
Look at the golden crusty bun! The inside is so fluffy Agnes from Despicable Me could die.
5. Pastry shop
for all u pastry lovers (aka me). I didn't buy anything here, but I thought I'd pop in a picture (or two) here in memory of my tedious hunt for the best pineapple tart in Taiwan.
I can't remember its exact location, but it's near one of the entrances to the night market. None of the items, unfortunately, are for sample, so you can't assess the taste before buying.
And because there are no rules when it comes to eating, my first stop? Dessert.
1. Shaved Ice (小明冰果室) 🍨
Taiwan is big on the shaved ice trend, just like Korea. Good shaved ice can be found in Raohe Night Market for half the price cheaper. I absolutely love the retro deco in this shop. The posters on the wall reminded me of hand-drawn illustrations of movie posters from the 1960s. Instead of iconic movie stars with their big pouffy hair looking all cool and nonchalant, the posters on the wall feature the real cool deal - shaved ice! This is not one of those shops in which the good interior design compensate for your poor food choices. The flavoured shaved ice tasted just fine for my fine taste buds. The flavourings were not diluted and did not taste artificial (though of course it must contain artificial flvourings because this is no atas restaurant). There's also a wide variety of options, from crowd-pleasing ones like matcha and oreo chocolate pudding to Taiwanese favourite - mango. (Have I mentioned how much Taiwanese love their mangoes? If Durian is the King of Fruits in Singapore, Mango is the Queen in Taiwan.)
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| Matcha shaved ice topped generously with red beans |
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| Menu |
2. Danfan Herbal Tea (丹范仙草)
Grass jelly is known as a natural medicine to relieve heartburn, constipation, abdominal bloating, fever and diarrhoea. Established since 1992, this not-so-noticeable thirst-quencher drink stall is a major hit among the locals. You can choose the sugar level and toppings (sorry no photos).
3. Assorted pastries
Looking like the perfect dessert table with tarts of all flavours imaginable. There'd surely be one that tickles your fancy. I got a custard with chocolate crust.
Jiggly, creammmmy custard with a chocolate-y tart crust. It was delightful (!), though the crust had gone a lil' soft from being left out in the open for some time.
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| How I wish I can take a bite from the screen. |
3. Black Pepper Pork Bun (黑胡椒饼)
You've probably heard of the legendary Black Pepper Pork Bun (黑胡椒饼) that everyone - but me - has been raving about. That's right. I'm not here to further promote something that's been widely (and excessively) talked about. In fact, I'm... ashamed to admit that I'd let food FOMO gotten the better of me and bought this to try when a) I've pledged to myself to go meatless whenever possible and b) I don't even like peppery food. 😳😳Regardless, here's a gif of the bun-making process, from kneading the dough to filling it. As you can see, all buns are freshly-made and sold on the spot.
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| GIF MADE BY ME :) |
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| Filled with large chunks of peppered pork and scallion |
Here is a less famous stall selling pepper pork bun.
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| Bold claim: FOC if not satisfied. |
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| Pastry-making process |
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| I'm actually curious as to how the less famous version compares to the famous one. |
4. Bolo bun (菠萝面包)
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| 1 for 35 NTD 3 for 100 NTD With Cheese 40 NTD With vanilla, mango or taro ice cream 55 NTD With Strawberry ice cream 60 NTD With Chocolate or Champagne Grapes 60 NTD |
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| Great for afternoon snack |
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| Source |
5. Pastry shop
for all u pastry lovers (aka me). I didn't buy anything here, but I thought I'd pop in a picture (or two) here in memory of my tedious hunt for the best pineapple tart in Taiwan.
I can't remember its exact location, but it's near one of the entrances to the night market. None of the items, unfortunately, are for sample, so you can't assess the taste before buying.
Travel tip: Combine food and clothes shopping in a single trip! 10 minutes' walk away from Raohe Night Market is Wufenpu (五分埔), a multi-lane street-shopping heaven for the fashionistas. Expect to find clothes of different styles there, ranging from sweet girly look, to Korean fashion and street wear.
Wufenpu is commonly known for its cheap and discounted clothing, but unfortunately, that had not been my impression when I was there. Instead, I felt that the prices has been marked up quite steeply due to the booming tourist industry. For cheap clothing, Taobao (淘宝) is still my recommended site. (though I limit my purchase there since low prices almost always mean cheap labour and I'm not about to support that, but that's a conversation for another day).
Opening hours: 2pm - 11pm daily
Address: Alley 9, Lane 443, Yongji Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
110台北市信義區永吉路443巷9弄
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