Following on from Eating in Taipei – Part 1, we wanted to explore the several night food markets dotted around the city. We couldn’t possibly visit all of them during our stay. The closest night market to our hotel were the Ningxia Night Markets so we wandered over to find dinner. The Ningxia Night Markets are considered small compared to the other night markets around Taipei but we found there was plenty on offer with around 40 food stalls.
The first item I wanted to try were the blow torched beef cubes. There was a queue for these beef cubes which just kept getting longer.
We noticed boxes and boxes of frozen beef beside the stall so there was plenty of stock. The beef is cooked to order.
There were two sauces available to top off the beef cubes – teriyaki or a salt and pepper mix. We chose the salt and pepper mix. The beef cubes had a bit of gristle in them which was a little disappointing, but the flavouring and slightly charred meat tasted great.
Some other snack foods we saw included various meat on a stick, stinky tofu, omelettes and stuffed squid.
We tried a giant deep fried wonton which came with two different fillings – prawn and egg, or prawn, oyster and egg. The filling in our golden and crispy wonton was steaming hot but we were really pleased with the hot little snack. The crispy wonton skin was tasty too.
Another Taiwanese delicacy is the braised pork rice so when we passed a stall that served it, we ordered the braised pork as well as a braised chicken rice. These bowls were our favourite meals of the night. The sauce from the braised pork was delicious and reminded me of my mum’s cooking. There was a lot more fat on the pork (great for the sauce) so I had to sort through each spoonful to pick it out and leave it aside. I I loved every grain of rice that was soaked in that sauce and could have just eaten the sauce and rice to be honest. Mr FPJ preferred the chicken rice as it was less fatty, and he ended up ordering a second bowl to go as he loved it so much.
We tried some charred squid on a stick where the stall holder basted on a sticky marinade from a bucket next to him, charred it on the hot grill, before cutting it into bite sized pieces.
We then joined another long queue, about 13 people long for 劉芋仔 Liu Yu Zai, a Taiwanese dessert of deep fried doughnut-like balls filled with salted egg yolk custard or taro. There was no English on the sign so I hoped I could communicate what I wanted.
I only wanted two – one of each flavour, but the stall holder indicated I needed to order 4 as a minimum (NTD 100) so we ordered two of each flavour.
It was about another 15 minute wait for the dough balls to be fried and given to us. We ended up receiving 5 balls (score!).
The salted egg yolk custard was a mix of sweet and salty hot custard liquid. It was tricky to eat and I’m glad we grabbed some tissues. I could only handle half the liquid to dough ball ratio and poured out some of it into a bag. As I’m a sweet tooth, it wasn’t to my liking, but Mr FPJ enjoyed it. The taro balls were yummy and easier to eat without a liquid centre.
I finished off the night with coconut ice cream mixed with crushed peanut brittle and fresh coriander in a crepe. It was amazing watching the lady shave off the peanut brittle from a massive block sitting on the counter. This was sensational. I loved how the fresh minty coriander perfectly complemented the coconut. Yum!
We stumbled across a stall with the longest queue of the night when we were leaving to go back to the hotel. It was a simple set up on a small trolley with bags of various ingredients. I later found out it was called ‘Ah Poh Fan Tuan’ (阿婆飯团). The stall holder held a plastic bag in one hand, scooped in a fist full of rice and spread it out, then proceeded to scoop in various fillings, before rolling it all up into a burrito-like rice roll. Other blogs I’ve read state the fillings include you tiao, pork floss, and various pickles for NT$40 or roughly AUD $1.77! We were both too full to line up to try it but both decided to get there early on another evening.
We headed back to the Ningxia Night Markets the following night. Sadly, the Ah Poh Fan Tuan stall wasn’t there. I saw a sign for mochi and a few people queuing for it. I absolutely love mochi and joined the queue.
I think there was only the one type of mochi (around NT$40 per serve). The freshly made mochi were bubbling away in a large pot on the counter. I was gestured to sit at the tables behind the stall and my plate of mochi was brought out to me. I received three medium sized pieces covered in peanut powder and some black sesame seeds.
As I placed the warm mochi in my mouth, my eyes widened. I had not had the pleasure of experiencing freshly made mochi until that moment, and my life changed. It was amazing and the best mochi I’ve ever tasted. That gooey, warm, glutinous mochi wasn’t filled with anything but it didn’t need to be. The peanut powder coating was plenty to give it flavour, but really the natural warm mochi freshness was all I needed. Simply irresistible! I should have ordered another plate.
Ningxia Night Market Tips:
- Get there early – I believe the markets start at 5pm.
- I recommend allocating 1-2 hours at Ningxia Night Markets.
- Be sure to check out the shops next to the stalls. They’re also part of the night market experience. I believe that one of the shops does a really good oyster omelette.
- If you like sweets, do try the hot mochi! It’s SOOO good.
- The crowd of people can be overwhelming and there’s not much room to sit down. We mainly stood to the side to eat or kept walking to queue up at another stall.
I check out the Shilin Night Markets in Taipei next…
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