All The Must-Have Street Foods At Raohe Night Market

After 4 hours of back-to-back meetings in Taipei, we were ready to head to my favorite Night Market: Raohe Night Market 饒河街夜市. Come with me on a night market taste test trying Michelin star street food, traditional Taiwanese snacks, and the most refreshing drinks! I show you my favorite eats at this must-visit Taiwanese night market.

Raohe Night Market Is The Best Taiwanese Night Market

I’m back in Taiwan! This trip was full of business meetings and doctor’s appointment, but I’ve found some time to enjoy some great food in between. Today, we’re vising Raohe Street Night Market – one of my favorite night markets in Taiwan. Within one night market you can find all the street foods: desserts, stir fry, barbecue, noodles, Boba Tea, and more. Other than food, there’s also tons of shopping options and a beautiful Temple right next to it.

One of the best ways to describe this night market is Food Heaven. You have all the classic street food options, plus some creative new foods to try. At Raohe Street Night Market, there are at least 6 Michelin awarded stalls here! I promise you won’t regret visiting this night market. You can easily spend hours and hours here.

Starting Raohe Night Market Right with 福州世祖胡椒餅

Right as you walk into Raohe Street Night Market, you’ll be greeted with the smells of these super delicious black pepper buns at Fuzhou Ancestor Pepper Pie. my number one reason to come here. This Michelin recommended snack goes for about 60NTD per bun, and is worth every bite. Thin, crispy buns stuffed with pork, green onion, and black pepper.

You need to give these a try, because you cannot recreate this at home. While you’re lining up you can see them freshly wrapping and baking the buns on the inner walls of their five large clay brick ovens, giving it the smoky charcoal flavor. Every time I come here, I get one to start my night, and one before I leave – solid 10/10!

Traditional Vegan QQ Jellies at 王小姐 菜燕 QQ涼圓

Everywhere you look in Raohe Street Market, there’s something for you to try regardless of your dietary restriction. Here at 王小姐 菜燕 QQ涼圓, they serve a fully vegan traditional bean-filled jellies that you can can’t really find anywhere else. Despite calling it a jelly, these translucent desserts are chewy and more similar to Boba.

It’s my favorite dessert ever! Little balls of sweetened red or mung bean fillings are dipped in a sticky, starchy paste. Then, they’re steamed until clear and cooled on a bed of shaved ice. For about 45 NTD an order, you get 10 refreshing little jellies. These jellies are an 8.5!

Filling Up On Mini Dorayaki at 菓匠銅鑼燒

Further into the night market, we see a busy dorayaki stall – 菓匠銅鑼燒. A dorayaki is basically two honey flavored pancakes sandwiching a sweetened red bean filling. Here at 菓匠銅鑼燒, they make mini dorayaki in packs of 6 for 70 NTD. These are so tiny, so cute, and so worth the line! I give these delicious little treats a 8.5/10.

These mini dorayaki are handmade fresh right in front of you, and smells so good as they’re grilling. You can choose any fillings of your choice: red bean, honey, custard, cheese, tiramisu, chocolate, vanilla milk, green tea, strawberry, or peanut butter. Don’t get intimidated by their long lines, because it moves fast, and is super worth it!

Absolute Night Market Staple: Fried Pork at 吳記排骨酥

Of course, at Raohe Night Market, you can’t miss these famous fried pork chops at 吳記排骨酥. This yummy fried pork comes at 3 different portion sizes ranging from 100-200 NTD. Be prepared for a line, because this snack is just as popular with tourists as it is with the locals. In fact, the locals like to say “you become a regular after the 1st taste.”

These freshly deep fried pork chop are definitely worth the wait! They’re super crispy on the outside, and savory and juicy on the inside. The bite-size pork chunks comes with a little bit of bone and tendon for juicier meat. The batter is light, but not overly greasy. The pork marinade is garlicky and fragrant, and keeps it super moist. They’re the perfect companion to a stroll down the night market.

Staying Refreshed with Papaya Milk 西哥木瓜牛奶

Taiwan’s hot even at night, so I always have to get a drink on a night market stroll. I got freshly cut and blended papaya milk smoothie at 西哥木瓜牛奶. Papaya Milk is a Taiwanese classic that sounds incompatible…but it actually works really really well together! Watching the employees slice and cut up juicy papayas one after another, I couldn’t help but grab one for myself.

Taiwan’s climates make for perfect papayas. They’re plump, juicy, and amazingly sweet. No water is needed here! These papaya milk has simply the rich sweetness of papaya and the creaminess of milk in a cup. It’s an 8/10 for me!

The Cutest Grilled Sponge Cake 和の屋脆皮雞蛋燒

This traditional baked sponge cake at 和の屋脆皮雞蛋燒 is a childhood favorite that I eat all the time growing up. It’s slowly baked in these fun cast iron molds in the shape of all of our favorite classic cartoon characters. It’s fun, tasty, and so nostalgic for us.

雞蛋燒 (egg cake) is a traditional egg and flour batter cake. The batter for this cake is a lot fluffier than a waffle, but the edges much crispier from the iron molds. It’s a classic, even my parents’ favorite snacks growing up. You have a bunch of options for the filling on the inside, like bubble tea or custard, but I like mine plain. They’re a great snack at all hours, and are a 7/10!

The Juiciest Grilled Oyster Mushrooms at 欣哥碳烤

One of my personal favorite at Raohe Night Market is the slow grilled king oyster mushrooms at 欣哥碳烤. Smoky on the outside and juicy on the inside, the slow grilling of these oyster mushroom retains all the juices on the inside. They then brush their secret barbecue all over the mushroom, giving it an extra smokey flavor.

You can top these with any seasonings of your choice, such as seaweed, black pepper, cumin, lemon, and more. I chose to stick with the original white pepper. This was honestly so good that right after we finished, we went back to get seconds. How can it be so good? 10 out of 10! 

The Softest Traditional Taiwanese Mochi – 寶寶麻糬

Mochi Baby is actually one of the Michelin recommended street food stalls at Raohe Night Market for 2023. This is another vegetarian dessert that you need to try if you ever come to Taiwan – 9/10! This is a dessert I highly recommend: traditional Taiwanese Mochi stuffed with peanut powder at 寶寶麻糬.

If you’re tasting these fluffy treats on the spot, they’ll wrap the sugary peanut powder in freshly pounded mochi right in front of you, and cover it in more peanuts. If later, they’ll package the mochi and peanut separately for you to take home. At 40 NTD an order, you get a big pile of mochi. The sticky, gooey soft mochi clings so well to the peanut powder, it’s really an amazing dessert.

Travel and Eat with me – Everywhere from Japan to Taiwan!