Terry’s been ITCHING to get out ever since we arrived. Taipei’s oldest night market, Shilin, happens to be in our backyard, about ½ mile away. The market has been around since the early 1900's and it’s quite the happening spot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilin_Night_Market). Things don’t typically pick up around there til about 7:30 or 8pm and the market runs every night til midnight. You’d think that being an open, outdoor market that it would be affected by the weather; however, people here in Taipei are so used to the inclement weather that nothing really keeps them away.
The night market is completely JAM packed with everything you can imagine…from underwear to hats, from shoes to pirated DVD’s. It seems that all a person needs is a clothes rack with wheels and a few pieces of clothing and wha-lah…instant entrepreneur! However, buyers beware…most of the items on the night market are cheap for a reason :).
Given that space is a premium, many people just open up shop in the middle of the walk-way. I suppose that this is technically illegal, as once in a while all the vendors w/their clothes racks will start running. They all move in the same direction, shouting at people to get out of the way as the police are supposedly around the corner, ready to shut them down. Terry tells me that in all his years here, he’s never seen the police actually shut anyone down; however, it does make for good entertainment.
Amidst all of this, interspersed throughout the market are small stands of the most amazing food you’ve ever seen. 
There’s food EVERYWHERE. Most stands are designed for take-out, as most people tend to stroll and eat…then drink and stroll some more…then eat…you get the idea.
Given that we had been putting the girls to bed between 7pm (for Elaine) and 8pm (Brianna); when the girls seemed to be quite energetic one night, and hadn’t eaten dinner…Terry was quick to suggest we take them to the night market. While I had my reservations as I knew it would be a late night, I knew that he’d been aching to show the girls. Wanting them to connect with Taipei and really enjoy it here, Terry lobbied hard to bring them out for a night. How could I argue with that? So, reluctantly, on a Thursday night around 6:30pm, we headed out to the subway for the short ride to the Shilin night market.
There’s food EVERYWHERE. Most stands are designed for take-out, as most people tend to stroll and eat…then drink and stroll some more…then eat…you get the idea.Given that we had been putting the girls to bed between 7pm (for Elaine) and 8pm (Brianna); when the girls seemed to be quite energetic one night, and hadn’t eaten dinner…Terry was quick to suggest we take them to the night market. While I had my reservations as I knew it would be a late night, I knew that he’d been aching to show the girls. Wanting them to connect with Taipei and really enjoy it here, Terry lobbied hard to bring them out for a night. How could I argue with that? So, reluctantly, on a Thursday night around 6:30pm, we headed out to the subway for the short ride to the Shilin night market.
We first began our trip at the food court, which is about ½ mile long. It seemed the longest line was for this fried chic
ken Terry and I had last time we visited. You can get a piece of chicken about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide and about ¼ inch thick for…….$0.50. That’s right…$0.50. And it’s GOOD chicken, hence the long line J. As the line was about 15 people deep, we decided to pass on the chicken this time. We did find a tebanyaki place (think Beni-Hana) and had some decent rice, fish and chicken. The girls thought the food was ok, and Terry and I worried for a brief moment if the girls would find the beauty in the night market that we saw.
ken Terry and I had last time we visited. You can get a piece of chicken about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide and about ¼ inch thick for…….$0.50. That’s right…$0.50. And it’s GOOD chicken, hence the long line J. As the line was about 15 people deep, we decided to pass on the chicken this time. We did find a tebanyaki place (think Beni-Hana) and had some decent rice, fish and chicken. The girls thought the food was ok, and Terry and I worried for a brief moment if the girls would find the beauty in the night market that we saw.We then headed out to the ‘arcade’ area. If any of you watch Andrew Zimmerman’s Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Network, check out his episode on Taiwan (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Bizarre_Foods/ci.Taiwan.show?vgnextfmt=show). In it, you’ll see his trip to the Shilin night market. We went to the same stand he did…for 100NT (about $3.30), you get 7 tries to hook a live shrimp. Once hooked, the merchant then skewers the shrimp live, dredges it in Panko bread crumbs, and BBQ’s it for you. The girls thought this was GREAT! They each tried to hook the shrimp and almost got it. It wasn’t til out 7th try that Terry finally caught one. We just watched as he ate it.
We did take the girls into the rest of the night market so that they could experience the crowds, the chaos, the fun. Along the way, we sampled some strawberries which were glazed in candied sugar, a sausage wrapped in another type of sausage (some kind of rice-sausage), and a grass-jelly drink Te
rry happens to love. We felt it a bit too much for that night to introduce stinky tofu to the girls. We’ll save that for the next time!!!!
rry happens to love. We felt it a bit too much for that night to introduce stinky tofu to the girls. We’ll save that for the next time!!!!Brianna thought it was a great time, and she is still dreaming of bringing her wallet and doing some shopping of her own there. Elaine went along for the ride, but became tired real quick, so we grabbed a bit of shaved ice to cool off (it’s still hot here) and grabbed a cab to go home.
We felt good at giving the girls a glimpse of the night market; however, I did pay for it as they didn’t get to bed til 9pm and were really tired the next day. Thankfully enough, the girls have a whole week off school during the last week of October. I fully plan on spending at least one night taking in the sights and smells (some nice, some not so nice!) of the night market!
We felt good at giving the girls a glimpse of the night market; however, I did pay for it as they didn’t get to bed til 9pm and were really tired the next day. Thankfully enough, the girls have a whole week off school during the last week of October. I fully plan on spending at least one night taking in the sights and smells (some nice, some not so nice!) of the night market!
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