The food adventures continued on Saturday night when, after a day wandering around the malls adjacent to Taipei 101, we rode the subway to the north end of Taipei to visit the Shilin Night Market. This is the largest night market in Taipei.
Foods we enjoyed at the official food section of the market (as opposed to the endless rows of street vendors scattered throughout the rest of the market) included these dishes:
What did we eat? I’m afraid I didn’t take careful notes, especially while we were inside the food portion of the market. But from the upper left, clockwise, we have fried noodles with a ground pork mixture, a fried “pancake” that seems to be mostly made from corn starch with pickled cucumbers on top, an omelet with shrimp and greens with a thick sweet sauce, and steamed rice with another ground pork mixture.
The food in the indoor portion of the market was, honestly, a bit bland and a lot oily. Corn starch and oil were two of the main ingredients. The food was certainly interesting but the blandness, combined with the overwhelming smell of stinky tofu (a fermented tofu the smell of which some compare to death boiled over) from adjacent stalls, drove us back outside where we continued our hunt for food from the street vendors. Full story in the video.
Focusing my energies on video, I ended up not shooting pictures of the wide variety of interesting food available at the food court in Taipei 101’s shopping mall. See Andy’s entry to enjoy those pictures.
christao408 
Lol love the death boiled over description for stinky tofu. We had some more today for lunch. Will post that later.And yeah the night market is good for the scenery, the shopping, and overall the experience. Their foods aren’t that great. For example, the oyster pancake from the food court was better than the one from the night market.There are certain food that are only found in night markets though like the grilled corn, mini sausage, and candy-coated fruits.
@yang1815 – And I think it is those foods from the outdoor vendors that were definite standouts. Fresh, flavorful and very interesting.
I want to move to Taiwan. I don’t want to live in Taipei, but I love TW.
@amygwen – Why not Taipei???
I want to eat everything you posted here. Waaaaah
I absolutely love your videos with your honest, unsensored reviews. That night life reminds me of Vietnam and Asia in general. I miss the night life and late eateries that you can’t really find here in the U.S without paying a large amount of money on dining out services or liquor at a bar/club. I also love how it feels safe in such a crowded place with the worst probably getting pick pocketed.
@XXKimPossibleXX – Oh, that’s so true. You can’t eat like this in the US. Fast food in the US is synonymous with junk food. In Asia, fast food is just that, fast. It is also often inexpensive and relatively healthy.@secade – Put it on that to-do list…
@XXKimPossibleXX – Oh, that’s so true. You can’t eat like this in the US. Fast food in the US is synonymous with junk food. In Asia, fast food is just that, fast. It is also often inexpensive and relatively healthy.@secade – Put it on that to-do list…
The Fried Chicken is a standout. They have stalls on both sides. Look for the HUGE line and the light blue sign. The “indian” wrap type food is good. Oyster pancakes are also good. Personally I highly recommend their grilled squid on a stick.
Your video production is excellent! If you had a dedicated cameraperson following you around, I think you have what it takes to do a serious travel show. Very well done :)This entry in particular struck me hard. I used to live just three blocks from the Shilin Night Market; so I used to trek here very often, sometimes every night, to eat. Everything looks so familiar, and I even recognize some of the old vendors. This is wonderful. And yes, the outside food is much better than the inside food. Thank you for posting this 🙂
@christao408 – I think my ‘list’ is like 90% food. I love that list.
I can’t believe you ate on the streets again after eating at a food court 🙂 Who is shooting the video? Good camera work…
@YNOTswim – We didn’t eat that much food in the food court, just a few small plates. I shot most of the video myself, holding the camera at arm’s length. Tawn and Andy also filmed a few segments.
Sorry to hear that the market food wasn’t that good!
@chow@ireallylikefood – I’m glad it struck a chord with you. Didn’t realize you used to live in Taipei.@secade – Seems to me food is an excellent reason to travel.@LostSock21 – Wow, just back to BKK and already I have things to return to TPE to try!
Wow, Chris. Another amazing culinary adventure! Love the pics. 🙂
This vlog sounds like documentary I love how the camera angle is about 1 whole foot above all the other people XD
@Wangium – What’s with all those short people in Taipei?@jojobaDESIGNS – Glad you enjoyed it.
You’re getting very good with your videos. I see a future for you in this. Seriously. My bf would love this night market and all the food stalls. btw – I see Andy is not shy at all in front of the camera.
@ElusiveWords – What future do you see? Andy doesn’t seem to like posing for pictures but he is a ham in front of the video camera.
i love how you can make greasy street food look so clean and pretty :p@yang1815 – omg andy youre missing out on the best sheng jian bao and the famous super big fried chicken cutlet and the baked potato simmered in cheese! those are like the three things u go there to eat!!
just watched ur video.. the narration is really nicely done! & how do you get it so steady?
Yes, I agree with Matt. I can see Christao doing a dedicated video production relating to travel and food! Your video reminds me of the travel shows with Rich Steves. BTW, that particular scene with Tawn in the background munching on food looks great!
You ate hello kitty!! I can understand now why taiwanese cafes in So Cal are open till 2 am, probably to accommodate people who grew up with this late night culture.
@ElusiveWords – Yeah Chris is great at shooting those videos. I’m not shy in front of any cameras 😉 haha
@christao408 – I don’t like to post for pics now cause I’m FAT haha
@iskrak – sheng jian bao? like “water pan-fried bao”???totally ignored the chicken cause I was looking for basil salt & pepper chicken and not the fried chicken cutlet haha…never heard of the baked potato in cheese being famous?!
@iskrak – Very steady hands… not too much coffee!@Rm2046 – Yes, and Kitty was pretty bland…@CurryPuffy – I probably should invest in a better camera then!
@yang1815 – “Thuggish” is the word du jour, I believe. =P
@christao408 – I’ll take one please!
I really enjoy the video! I can tell you are brave to try a lot of different kinds of food! You even tried garlic by itself? wow!
Great video and commentary!
@stevew918 – Glad you liked it, Steve. Yeah, I’ll try pretty much anything once.@rice_eric – Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and welcome.