Shilin Night Market: overcrowded & overrated night market in Taipei

Everyone knows that night markets are a staple in Taiwan, and the most famous of them all is arguably Shilin Night Market in Taipei.

Built around 1899 (!), Shilin Night Market is one of the largest night markets in the city. It’s featured in almost every guide book and every Taipei tour will bring you here. I know this only because I’ve been on a group tour to Taiwan before, and the highlight has always been this night market.

What to buy and eat at Shilin Night Market

In Taiwan, some of the best (or should I say, most crowded) night markets are the ones located near schools, particularly the universities.

Here, you’ll find that prices are typically cheaper to cater to students’ budgets. The food you get here will also tend to favour younger palates: think fried food items, sugary drinks, etc.

Because Shilin is so big and so popular, you’ll find that it’s always crowded no matter whether you come on a weekday or weekend. It stretches across Wenlin Road, Dadong Road, Danan Road, etc!

As a rule of thumb, I typically take my time to explore all the stalls in a night market before committing to a purchase. You’ll find that a lot of them tend to overlap and sell the same items.

However, there are a few standouts that I had heard about. The never-ending queues are also pretty indicative of how good they are – at least, that’s how we do it in Singapore!

Prince Cheese Potato (王子起司馬鈴薯)

At the southern tip of Shilin Night Market, you’ll find a long snaking queue. Hence, it’s not easy to miss Prince Cheese Potato, one of the most popular street food stalls in the market.

As the name suggests, this stall sells whole baked potatoes doused in bright orange melted cheese sauce and your choice of toppings. You can take your pick from various vegetarian, seafood, and meat options.

If you find it difficult to choose, you can just opt for the most famous being the Club & Cheese (王子綜合起司). This one is fully loaded with all the toppings – pineapple and all!

We weren’t too keen on piling everything on our cheese potatoes, so we got the conservative flavour of ham and corn.

I wouldn’t say their potatoes are extraordinary – that’s taking it a little too far, considering that it’s just baked potatoes. However, the cheese sauce was addictive. You’ll find yourself dipping and enveloping all your potato chunks in the cheese sauce over and over again. And then you’re finally left with an empty tray.

I’m clearly not the only one who thinks that way, because the stall has become so popular that they even have a seating area downstairs to cater to the burgeoning crowd.

It is simple, delicious, and most importantly, affordable!

Hot Star (士林豪大大雞排)

This is another staple in Shilin Night Market that I think is probably more famous than the cheese potato. Many claim this serves one of the best deep fried chicken cutlets you can find in Taipei.

Hot Star has actually expanded operations overseas and even has (or had, I’m not sure) franchises in countries like Singapore. I tried the one in Singapore some time back, but I didn’t enjoy it much. This was partly because the prices really differed, and the taste just wasn’t quite the same.

While I’m no fried chicken connoisseur, I have to admit that I really enjoyed eating Hot Star’s fried chicken cutlet.

It’s huge (in fact, XXL size!), crispy on the outside, and actually very juicy on the inside. They also douse the chicken cutlet in a generous layer of seasonings (salt, cheese powder, etc.) which you can actually choose from.

At just NTD 90 (or roughly USD 2.50-3), this chicken cutlet was very filling. Although it’s undeniably a big hit with tourists, I find that it’s not so much a tourist trap as it is a favourite among the locals.

There are other food, souvenir, and game stalls all around the market. It’s a wee bit similar to Tamsui Old Street, although more crowded and radiating much stronger touristy vibes.

Is Shilin Night Market worth visiting?

I think my blog post title is a dead giveaway, but I found it very hard to enjoy my visits to Shilin Night Market.

Granted, there are some food stalls here that are really worth trying. If you’re a big fan of Taiwanese street food like stinky tofu, beef cubes, and papaya milk (don’t ask me why every night market has this), you may find this market quite enjoyable.

However, a lot of people concur that Shilin Night Market is the most touristy market in Taipei and many foodies are exploring alternatives. There are, after all, many other good ones around the city that are getting more popular than Shilin!

I find that a good number of stalls take the chance to mark up their offerings to ludicrous prices. The main culprits are the ones selling cut fruits. Granted, those in Korea do the same, but the ones in Shilin really take it too far. Imagine paying USD 10 – 20 (or even more) just for common fruits!

The souvenir stalls in Shilin are also mostly out to squeeze money from tourists. I love their quirky knickknacks because they are some of the most creative ones I’ve seen so far, but it’s difficult to justify the price paid.

I think Shilin Night Market is still a nice stop to explore, especially if it’s your first time in Taipei. However, I’m of the opinion that it’s one of my least favourite night markets and that there are much better alternatives around the city.

DIRECTIONS

Address: No. 101, Jihe Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 111

Related Posts:

PIN THIS!