People of the Night 13 (興仁夜市)

The Hsing-Ren Garden Night Market (興仁花園夜市) is a newly-opened night market located in Bade City (八德) in Taoyuan County. The night market is over 6000 square meters making it possibly the largest in northern Taiwan. While shooting this night market, I have to say that it has quickly become one of my favourite night markets to visit out of all of them.

It has almost everything I could want! Not only does this night market have all the typical night market fare you would expect, but it also has vendors selling fresh oysters and fresh Thai shrimp. There's San Francisco style pizza by the slice, American grilled steaks, Hong Kong Dim Sum, Ramen, Mongolian BBQ and Taiwanese Indigenous BBQ. There are places to sit down to drink some fresh draft beer with friends and places to buy cocktails mixed with fresh juice! What else could you want in a night market? You can eat, drink, and have fun all night long. 

The Hsing-Ren Night Market is a "garden" or "flower" (花園) night market which is the "new" thing here in Taiwan popularized by the Tainan Garden Night Market (台南花園夜市) and the Fu Da Garden Night Market (輔大花園夜市) in New Taipei City. 

These kind of night markets are quite popular among younger crowds and a lot of the food that has swept the nation over the past few years have been products of these style night markets as they attract younger people who are more willing to try new and more exotic foods.   

I will make four posts in this series with over thirty shots and I hope that you will like what I have for you! 

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1. BBQ Squid (烤魷魚) 

I love this shot, so I figured it would be best to start this series with it. This shot took some quick thinking and some quick finger movement on my camera to get the effect I wanted. While I was walking by I noticed that the boss was starting to sprinkle sesame seeds over the squid on his grills, so I thought it would look cool if I captured some of those sesame seeds in motion. I've talked about BBQ squid in the past and how much I love it, but here we are with a full spread of squid, a couple on the grill and the boss hard at work. Squid in any form is something I will always identify with "Taiwan" as I've never been to any country that has as much appreciation for the creation as much as the Taiwanese! 

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2. Japanese Grilled Chicken Kebabs (烤雞肉串) 

It seems like Japanese style BBQ chicken and Teppanyaki-style (鐵板燒) chicken have become quite popular at night markets over the past year or two. This specific vendor sells his chicken on a kebab with some green onions and a kind of teriyaki style sauce spread over them. The chicken is always really tender and full of flavour. They are sold for just over a dollar each and are a really great appetizer before having a sit down meal at Hsing-Ren. The first time I visited this night market, the first food I had were three of these and they were great. The boss and his girlfriend were really cool and they made a pretty good impression for the rest of the night market. I don't think he remembered me as I passed through the second time and snapped this shot though! 

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3. Volkswagen Das BBQ....? (福斯.... 打斯烤肉..?)

This guy wins the prize for having a really cool set up. He sells various kinds of grilled kebabs out of the back of an old VW that seems to have seen better days (at least the front of it anyway) He sells every kebab for 20 NT which is under a dollar and you can buy six for just over three dollars. He also guarantees that his food is awesome - if not it's free. That is a bold statement to be making if you ask me. The night I took this shot, it was rainy and the night market wasn't very busy - Every other night I've been there, he's had a long line of people waiting to have some of his kebabs. It wasn't easy to get close to him and get his whole set up in the shot, so I figured a bit further away would add more perspective to this cool vendor! 

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4. BBQ Corn (烤玉米) 

BBQ corn is one of my favourite night market foods and as I've mentioned before, it can be quite expensive. This stall however sells the corn really cheap and the price of three is almost the same as the price of one at Zhongli Night Market. I'm not sure that this stall sells corn that tastes as amazing as the stall in Zhongli, or if he BBQs them as long as they do, but he's always busy so that is probably an indication that he's pretty handy on the grill. The night I took this shot, it was rainy and the night market wasn't very busy so I was lucky to get a shot of this guy as I walked by. I really like the way he was looking directly into the camera as I walked by, especially in such a narrow space. 

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5. Pan-Fried Dumplings (手工煎餃)

This vendor sells some amazingly cheap pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and vegetables. When I took the shot he had just finished placing the dumplings on the pan and he was about to pour water on top of them to start cooking them. These dumplings aren't very big, but they are really cheap - You can buy a large box of twelve for just under two dollars and a box of eight for a little over a dollar. I've bought these kind of dumplings hundreds of times on my way to and from work especially when I'm in a hurry. They're cheap, convenient and really tasty. I was also a fan of the way the boss stopped and looked at me as I walked past for that candid deer in the headlights kind of look! 

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6. Grilled Stinky Tofu (碳烤臭豆腐) 

I have a lot of respect for Stinky Tofu. Unlike most foreigners who come to Taiwan, I can't get enough of it. This version however, I'm not really very enthusiastic whenever I see it. It's not the stinky tofu's fault, it is the Taiwanese-style sour kimchi that I'm not a big fan of. The tofu has a stick running through it and it is cooked on a grill. When it is almost ready, they will split it down the middle and add an overflowing serving of kimchi with some sauce making it a big too soggy for my liking. This is one of the quintessential ways of eating stinky tofu and is popular among Taiwanese people. For me, it is messy and I don't like the sour kimchi very much. 

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7. Oysters (烤生蠔)

Oysters are pretty big at Hsing-Ren Night Market. There are quite a few stands selling them. This stall sells imported Canadian oysters and they are BBQ'd for you, or they can be shucked and served raw with some lemon. Personally, I prefer my oysters to be small and in an omelette! The larger ones like this almost terrify me. To most people though, oysters are a delicacy and having the ability to eat them like this but not having to go to make reservations at an expensive restaurant is a great thing. The oysters sold here aren't cheap, but there are always lines to get in and enjoy them! I'll have a few more shots of other oyster vendors in the following posts!

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8. Indigenous BBQ (原住民烤肉) 

The first time I visited the Hsing-Ren Night Market, this stall stopped me nearly dead in my tracks. As soon as I saw the boss and the huge BBQ I instinctively just lined up and hadn't even considered what I wanted to buy as it looked amazing. I've probably mentioned it a few times before, but Indigenous food is probably my favourite food in Taiwan. The things these people can do with pork has transformed me from a guy who rarely ever ate pork to actually having a lot of respect the animal! This stall sells fresh Indigenous sausages, cuts of wild boar and some other kinds of wild fowl. I bought a slab of BBQ pork mixed with onions, chili and leeks and it was amazing. If you are in Taiwan and you haven't tried Indigenous food, I don't know what you're waiting for, you'll be blown away by how awesome it is. 

People of the Night 12 (寧夏夜市)

This is my last post in my People of the Night series from Taipei's Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) 

The night market is situated in Taipei's lovely Dadaocheng (大稻埕) district which is one of the oldest areas in the city and offers a nostalgic feeling when you visit as most of the buildings in the area have been around for a long, long time.  

The Ningxia Night Market is not a large night market, but it has some really great food and is probably most well-known for its Oyster Omelets (蚵仔煎) and other traditional Taiwanese dishes. The night market has been revitalized over the past few years and is really well organized and quality and sanitation are really important to all the vendors.

Admittedly, before starting this project, I had never been to this night market. Since then, I've made several visits over a period of a few weeks and quickly fell in love with this night market.

I have split up my shots from the night market into three posts. The first post will cover drinks and fruit and the two posts following it will be all about the food vendors.

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Ningxia Night Market 1 / Ningxia Night Market 2

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1. Chicken Rolls (雞腿捲)

These Chicken Rolls are somewhat of a new thing at night markets around the country. It seems like they originated at Taichung's popular Fengjia University Nightmarket (逢甲夜市) and spread to night markets all over the country. Basically all it is is bits of chicken wrapped in chicken skin and then deep fried and grilled. When it's done, you can choose your flavour which includes curry, sour plum, wasabi, seaweed, lemon, spicy, cumin and pepper. Each roll is a little over a dollar and is a nice (unhealthy) snack. 

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2. Small Intestine in Large Intestine (大腸包小腸)

In the history of all terrible translations, this might be one of the worst. Don't get me wrong, I love me some intestines. (Duck intestines and pork intestines being my favourite) But imagine a random fresh off the boat westerner walking through the night market and seeing this English. I can safely assume that 99.9% would avoid this stall. That's unfortunate because this special Taiwanese night market food isn't to be missed.

If you're not sure what it is, basically it's a sausage hot dog with the "bun" being replaced with a rice sausage (米腸) The vendor will slice a hole down the middle and and then place the sausage (small intestine) inside with some cilantro, soy bean paste and chili sauce.

The unfavourable translation comes from sausage and rice sausage being "香腸" (xiang chang) and "米腸" (mi chang) respectively while intestines are "腸" (chang) The term for sausage likely got its name in Taiwan because when it is linked together they look like intestines, so the meat version loosely translates as "smells good intestine" 

Anyway, this isn't a Mandarin lesson - in the shot you can see the vendors looking on because a popular TV show was filming at Ningxia that night and were making a lot of commotion at a neighbouring stall. The Rice Sausage is on the the right while the sausage is on the left. 

If you come to Taiwan, don't be fooled by the English and try this sausage-dog! 

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3. Dongshan Ducks Head (東山鴨頭)

To tell the truth, these stalls have always somewhat scared me. I'm not actually sure why, because everything available I'd have no problem putting in my mouth. Maybe it's all the ducks heads staring at me, or maybe it's the dark color of all the food. I've yet to try this popular dish, but I will definitely eat it sometime. When you want to order you just take one of the red baskets and put what you want inside. When you're finished choosing you just hand it to the boss and he will fry it up for you and add some chili pepper if you want. The ducks heads and duck tongues are the most important ingredients to add to your mixture, but it can be a little expensive, so don't grab too much. There are two Dongshan Ducks Head vendors at Ningxia and they are both quite popular. I tried hard to get a shot of both of them, but one of them was so busy that it was almost impossible! 

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4. Teppanyaki (鐵板燒)

When I graduated from university my parents came to the city for the ceremony and wanted to go out for a nice meal afterwards to celebrate. I tried for a week or two to get reservations at the hip new Teppanyaki place on the Halifax waterfront to no avail. Teppanyaki for us is an expensive affair with chefs cooking up amazing dishes in front of you. When I arrived in Taiwan, one of the first meals I had was at a cheap Teppanyaki restaurant and the thing that amazed me was how cheap it was. Teppanyaki is popular here in Taiwan and is one of the leftovers from the Japanese colonial period. Despite it being "Japanese" food, the people here have put a Taiwan touch on it and made it their own. This stall sells a large variety of dishes and the two guys running it are quite busy. Every meal is under three dollars and includes the main serving of meat, some fried up veggies and rice! 

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5. The Goose Boss (鵝肉老闆) 

This vendor specializes in the art of the goose. You can buy bowls of goose noodles, coagulated goose blood, goose intestines, goose gizzard and goose meat. The goose is typically cooked in salty hot water and when it comes out it is tender, salty and oily. I always thought it was a bit weird that they boiled chicken, duck and goose here as I'm used to those types of birds being broiled at home - after trying all of them though, I can safely say that they taste a lot better than what my mom cooks at home (sorry mom) and I would gladly eat it for Thanksgiving Dinner! Goose is a popular dish in Taoyuan, the county where I live, so I much prefer to eat it at home than in the night market in Taipei. This vendor however was quite busy each time I went to Ningxia, so I'm sure he's quite popular. 

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6. Fried Chicken (炸雞老闆)

My family was never really big on fried chicken while I was growing up as my mom preferred feeding us healthier foods. When I came to Taiwan fried chicken was like this "new thing" to me. The Taiwanese are masters at fried chicken and are always coming up with new ways of making it even more delicious which means I have to be careful to try to stay away from it and not eat too much. This vendor sells chicken wings, legs, hearts and bum all cooked in a special tofu milk batter. The tofu based batter makes the outside really thick, crispy and tasty. All you have to do is tell the vendor what kind of chicken you want and whether you want a large serving (大份) or a small serving (小份) I recommend a large serving of chicken bum! It's good for your skin (or so they say.)

7. BBQ Everything (烤很多有的沒的老闆) 

For some reason, I find that when vendors are standing there using their cellphones, it is probably an indication of how good their business is. The night I took this shot, they weren't busy, but the next time I went, some hot girls were running the show and there was a line. This vendor BBQs everything in a giant cauldron and there is a wide variety of things to buy ranging from chicken wings and bums to fish balls and dried tofu. Since this stuff is pre-cooked all you do is add it into a bowl and they will calculate the price and season it for you. If you check the gallery below (or click on the Flickr link) you will see another shot of the same stall on a busier night when the girls were on the job. 

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That will do it for the Ningxia Night Market - I'm going to take a break for a few days and then I'll start posting from a Night Market here in Taoyuan called the Hsing-Ren Garden Night Market (興仁花園夜市.)

Hsing-Ren is a newly opened night market that is only open four days a week unlike most other night markets that are open every night. "Garden" Night Markets are the "new" thing here in Taiwan and are quite popular among younger crowds. A lot of the "new" food that has become popular over the past few years in Taiwan have been products of "garden" night markets like the Tainan Garden Night Market (台南花園夜市) or the Fu Da Garden Night Market (輔大花園夜市) as they attract younger crowds who are more willing to try new and more exotic foods.  

I have a few more night markets planned over the next few months including Keelung's Miaokou (廟口夜市), Taipei's Shilin (士林夜市) and Chung-Yuan University Night Market (中原夜市)

Below is a slideshow of all the shots I used from the Ningxia Night Market Series and a few more that didn't make the cut. If you'd like to view larger versions, click on the flickr link to be brought offsite to my flickr album. 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)

People of the Night 11 (寧夏夜市)

The next three posts in my People of the Night series are going to be from Taipei'sNingxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) 

The night market is situated in Taipei's lovely Dadaocheng (大稻埕) district which is one of the oldest areas in the city and offers a nostalgic feeling when you visit as most of the buildings in the area have been around for a long, long time.  

The Ningxia Night Market is not a large night market, but it has some really great food and is probably most well-known for its Oyster Omelets (蚵仔煎) and other traditional Taiwanese dishes. The night market has been revitalized over the past few years and is really well organized and quality and sanitation are really important to all the vendors.

Admittedly, before starting this project, I had never been to this night market. Since then, I've made several visits over a period of a few weeks and quickly fell in love with this night market.

I have split up my shots from the night market into three posts. The first post will cover drinks and fruit and the two posts following it will be all about the food vendors.

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Ningxia Night Market 1

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1. Japanese Fish Balls (日式魚蛋)

If there is ANY night market food that I absolutely HAVE to eat while I'm there, its these fish balls. They are made of fish that is ground up into a paste and then formed into balls and braised in a special soup. For me, I always get the fish balls in spicy Szechuan flavour with some wasabi pepper on top. The fish balls come on a stick with four of them for about a dollar US which makes them relatively cheap and a nice appetizer before moving on to other dishes. This stall wasn't the easiest to shoot as the boss has a TV screen blocking the view of him. I really wanted to add a shot of these though because I hold them in such high regard. 

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2. Oyster Omelets (蚵仔煎)

If you go to Ningxia Night Market and you don't have an Oyster Omelet, you've more or less wasted your time. Ningxia is well known for its Oyster Omelet's and you often have to wait in a long line for the best stalls. In this shot we have an Oyster Omelet chef preparing several omelet's at a time which shows just how busy they are. This particular store is one of the most popular stores in the night market and there are always lines of people waiting to get it - as far as I'm concerned, despite the lines, this one doesn't serve the best Oyster Omelet's in the night market. That is my personal opinion though. I recommend you just try them all and decide for yourself!  

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3. BBQ Squid (烤魷魚)

Before coming to Taiwan I was a big fan of having calamari at pubs. It was always really expensive though and rarely fresh. Life changed completely when I arrived here as there is fresh squid almost everywhere. The Taiwanese are masters when it comes to cooking squid and at this particular stall you get an entire squid fresh off the grill. When the squid is ready you can eat it hot off the stick, or the boss will cut it up in pieces for you and give you a toothpick to eat it with. No matter how you eat it, if you come to Taiwan, you should definitely have some squid. 

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4. Grilled Seafood (烤海鮮)

These kind of seafood stalls are somewhat of a new thing in Taiwan's night markets. I'm not sure if they're a reflection of the influx of Chinese tourism, or if it is just a natural progression in Taiwan's seafood market. Whatever the reason, you can buy some fresh oysters, squid, shrimp, fish and Japanese scallops at market price and the boss will grill them up for you. I haven't really tried these stalls as I'd prefer to have a seafood feast at a harbour where the fish has just came off the boat. I don't think the seafood is actually very expensive though, so if you are into seafood, give it a try! 

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5. Oyster Omelets (蚵仔煎)

Oyster omelet's are so popular at the Ningxia Night Market that you have stalls that sell other foods, but also sell the omelet's as a way to stay in business. This stall sells a variety of dishes including fried noodles, medicinal lamb soup, fried rice and oyster omelet's! In the shot we can see the boss preparing several omelet's which means that even though he likely specializes in other foods, he still does great business selling the omelet's as well. 

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6. Grilled Squid stuff with Rice (烤魷魚飯)

This is somewhat of a new dish in Taiwan and I can't really say whether it is good or bad. The boss soaks a squid in its ink and then puts a kind of rice inside the squid and wraps it up and barbecues it. When the squid is finished the boss will slice it up and to me, the finished product looks a little bit like an eggplant. I haven't tried this dish yet, but I plan on trying it the next time I see one as it seems quite interesting. 

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7. Deep Fried Shrimp Buns (炸蝦仁包)

These things are a new take on an old classic. Steamed Buns, or Baozi (包子) are a popular food from northern China where you have a nice bread-like exterior with some meat inside. These "Baozi" are 100% Taiwanese though as the filling consists of fresh oysters or shrimp with egg and are then closed up and deep fried. They are an interesting new take on the traditional steamed buns and are a testament to how Taiwanese take old dishes and make them their own. I tried several times to get a shot of this vendor as I passed by but she is always wearing a face mask for sanitary reasons. I haven't actually tried these buns yet, but as I sit here writing about them, I'm starting to crave one. Looks like I'll be heading to the night market soon! 

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8. Grilled Seafood (烤海鮮)

Same boss, different night! This shot is a different perspective of the same guy in #3. In this shot we have a different angle of the vendor and his stall which shows some squid that is ready to be prepared (on the stick), some boxes of steamed shrimp with garlic as well as some raw shrimp and raw squid waiting to be prepared. I'm not sure if seafood was always popular at the Ningxia Night Market (apart from Oyster Omelet's) or if the current stalls are a result of the influx of tourists from China - nevertheless, more stalls selling grilled squid with different options is fine by me! You can never have enough squid as far as I'm concerned! 

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