After a pleasant 3-hour flight, Pinky and I landed at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan. We hadn't had time for morning coffee before leaving Bangkok, and we were both feeling very sleepy as we cleared immigration. We sat down at a cafe inside the airport for a little caffeine. It was our first time that either of us had visited Taiwan, and we were really excited to explore a new country together.
By the time we had landed, gone through immigration, taken the train to the city, figured out the metro, gotten to our hotel, checked in, and cleaned up, it was already nearly 5pm.
We hadn't eaten all day and we were hungry, which meant that there was just one thing to do: take the MRT to Raohe Street Night Market to eat our fill.
The very first stall we encountered when we stepped beneath the Chinese-style gate into the street market was the main shop we had come to visit. Fuzhou Black Pepper Bun is a Michelin Bib Gourmand street food cart that always has a long line of hungry customers wrapped around it. Fortunately, the line moves fast, and the food is worth the 10-15-minute wait.
The pepper pork buns are made of juicy marinated minced pork mixed with black pepper and lots of green onions stuffed inside a flaky bun of dough topped with sesame seeds and grilled to a golden-brown inside a charcoal oven. They are served piping hot right off of the heat.
We finished the pork buns and moved on down the walking street, stopping at another stall to try some delicious grilled chicken skewers.
The chicken was cooked on a big griddle and smelled amazing as we walked past. We bought one skewer to try, which came with three big, juicy pieces of chicken thigh meat. The chicken was super juicy on the inside but had developed an amazing crispy skin on the outside. The shop offered several different seasonings. We decided to order lemon pepper chicken, so the worker sprinkled lemon pepper on top before placing the skewer in a bag and handing it over to us. It was delicious!
Mochi is traditionally a Japanese snack. My mom and I had some really great mochi a few months ago during our two-week trip to Japan. But Taiwan, despite its overall Chinese culture, has also adopted mochi as a popular snack food,
By this time, I was getting pretty full, but there was more to try. As we walked down the street, we came across a stall selling Aboriginal wild boar sausage.
The stall was manned by an elderly couple, presumably from Taiwan's indigenous community.
The sticky balls of glutinous rice flour are tossed in black sesame and peanut powder to give each one a rich, sweet flavor.
Prior to large-scale Chinese migration in the 17th century and Japanese rule beginning in 1895, Taiwan was inhabited by indigenous communities for over 5,000 years. These Austronesian peoples lived in tribal societies with distinct languages, customs, and food traditions. Their influence formed the earliest foundation of Taiwan’s society and food culture, long before foreign rule.
The wife was working the grill while the husband stuffed each sausage by hand.
Each savory sausage was placed inside of a bun made of crispy grilled sticky rice. The combined flavor and texture of the meaty, gamey, garlicky sausage and the chewy sticky rice with its crispy grilled crust was amazing! I loved the pork bun, but this was also a highlight at the market.
As night fell, we left the market and walked to Ciyou Temple. Officially a Taoist temple, Ciyou is one of Taipei's best examples of a Taiwanese folk temple.
After a while, we left the temple, got back on the metro, and returned to our hotel. It had been a long day of traveling, and we were tired!
Pinky and I stopped by the neighborhood Family Mart to pick up two cans of Taiwan Beer and two cans of Mr. Brown's iced coffee for the next morning. It had mostly just been a day of travel, but we had several more days coming up in Taiwan, and we wanted to be well-rested for the adventures we had in store.
The wife was working the grill while the husband stuffed each sausage by hand.
As night fell, we left the market and walked to Ciyou Temple. Officially a Taoist temple, Ciyou is one of Taipei's best examples of a Taiwanese folk temple.
Taiwan's main religious traditions are Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Though technically and officially distinct, the three have blended together a bit over the centuries to form a sort of syncretic folk religion.
Located beside the Keelung River in Songshan, just steps from Raohe Street Night Market, the richly ornamented temple is dedicated primarily to Mazu, the sea goddess revered by fishermen and travelers.
Read more: The Mazu Shrine in Macao
The temple's six-tiered roofline is dense with ceramic dragons, phoenixes, and colorful figurines drawn from mythology and folklore all illuminated at night to create a stunning glowing facade.
As we left the market, we stepped inside the temple. The air was thick with the smell of incense smoke and was busy with people of all ages and walks of life stopping by to pray.
Pinky and I stopped by the neighborhood Family Mart to pick up two cans of Taiwan Beer and two cans of Mr. Brown's iced coffee for the next morning. It had mostly just been a day of travel, but we had several more days coming up in Taiwan, and we wanted to be well-rested for the adventures we had in store.
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