Shilin & Raohe Night Markets

One of the things we looked forward to during our trip was the visit to the street markets. The food culture in Taiwan is very rich that you could find a good eat just about anywhere. On our first night, a few steps away from our hotel led us to food trip haven that is Ximending, and that set our expectations!

Shilin Night Market

After the tiring hike at Yangmingshan was our first night market experience in Shilin. It’s within the bus route so we decided to check it out and have dinner there.

The area’s huge and you have to have lots of energy as you might not want to miss any street or alley, most especially when you’re a tourist. There are too many shops and it can get overwhelming, but if you’re a shoe junkie, you’re gonna love the stroll! In our case, we were there for the food no less!

Raohe Night Market

We headed to Raohe the following night, and we found it more attractive and cozy! The entrance arc was so inviting, and being sure that we were at the right place was a rare moment for us, so this was really a plus!

There were a lot of options and each stall offered a different experience, and we also enjoyed watching how our food were being prepared!

What got our attention first was the sausage and beef with raclette cheese, because how can that be normal in a street food market?? Just a few meters away, a heavenly buttery smell struck our noses and made us chase where it’s coming from, and I’m not kidding when I say we reacted like cartoon characters when we found out that it’s the bread from the other stall! I swear it was the most delicate and softest bread I ever ate, and it really smelled so good!! A few more walks and there went another beef cube stall. We’ve been seeing similar stalls in almost every street we went to but we haven’t felt like getting an order yet but it was in Raohe where we craved for it! The beef was indeed good, and we wondered why we didn’t try it right away!

If you have to ask me which of the two night markets I think is worth the bus ride and walk, I’d personally say Raohe! The experience was different and provided me the immersion that I’ve been looking for! The way the market is organized and how it is safe for tourists — I can attest to this from my own experience! — are a major plus!

A short story — We continued the stroll and decided to get a few souvenirs, but when I was about to pay, I couldn’t find my purse! Since I’m the type who can easily accept things especially when I know I could no longer do anything about it, I really thought I already lost it along with my money, our hotel key card, and everything else. Decided to walk back and from afar, we noticed a similar-looking purse inside the police booth! We then asked the officer who called for the woman who turned it in, and she said she saw it lying on the street. Phew, that was when I recalled we took a selfie at the arc with the night market signage and that could’ve been the moment where I dropped it! So thankful we got it back! But I got scolded l o l

But seriously, both night markets are good, it just depends on what you’re looking for! Also, my verdict was based on the experiences which were driven by the situations we were in at the time of visit i.e. our feet bleeding when we were in Shilin! We were so tired we took the food home and just ate at the hotel!