People of the Night 19 (基隆廟口夜市)

The Keelung Miaokou Tourist Night Market (基隆廟口夜市) is often introduced by Travel guides as a MUST visit on any travellers as the night market is well-known for its diversity of Taiwanese delicacies and being so close to the sea - it's fresh selection of seafood dishes. The night market is jam-packed with Taiwanese and foreigners walking shoulder-to-shoulder every night of the week and it truly is a purely Taiwanese experience that shouldn't be missed while visiting the country. In my first post of shots from the night market I focused on seafood dishes which the night market is the most famous for, the second post was all about the meat while this post has various desserts, juice and an uncommon sight in a night market - a vegetarian stall!

Miaokou Part 1 | Miaokou Part 2. 

1. Iced Desserts (QQ涼圓)

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I love this shot, it was one of the first shots I took at the night market while visiting. I arrived at the night market a bit early because I planned on eating before the crowds arrived and getting the lay of the land to better understand what the night market was about. This vendor sat at the entrance of the night market with her cart full of icy Taiwanese desserts and she looked like she wasn't having the best day. One of my favourite shots from the Raohe nightmarket was also of a vendor selling these delicious little treats (although the setting is completely different) basically, these are little gelatinous balls that are served in a bag of shedded ice with a scoop of brown sugar sauce on top and the vendor will give you a toothpick to pick them out. They are a cheap dessert and are traditional Taiwanese snacks, so of course I recommend you try them! 

2. Candied strawberries/tomatoes (糖葫蘆)

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Taiwanese people don't really have a “sweet tooth” like North Americans do - Whenever my mom sends candy from home and I share it with my friends, they always complain about how sweet it I and  I usually just roll my eyes as I think they're crazy. The tables always turn on me when it comes to these candied fruit kebabs though. They are just like candied apples back home, but you get strawberries or cherry tomatoes on a stick and they are soaked in the candy and the end result is almost disgustingly sweet - Way too much for my tastebuds at least. Even worse is when when you get the cherry tomato version and it is both too sweet and too sour at the same time. Despite my overactive tastebuds not appreciating these kebabs, Taiwanese kids love them and they're almost the perfect snack for children visiting the night market. 

3. Fresh Orange Juice (新鮮果汁) 

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This vendor actually pissed me off a bit, she was advertising 100% orange juice, which initially had me excited as fresh orange juice is one of my favourite drinks. I stopped and bought a 100NT bottle and was planning on drinking it on the train back home. When I got on the train I opened up my juice and tasted a watered down orange juice with way too much sugar. Clearly this vendor was set up to sell to tourists and even though I've been here over ten years, I still fell for a tourist trap. I've had fresh 100% orange juice like this in other night markets so I was a bit surprised that someone would sell drinks like this at a night market, but Miaokou is a very touristy night market and it is often frequented by Chinese tourists, so I guess the vendor took the opportunity to make a quick buck.

4. Sweet Potato Pancakes (地瓜餅) 

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Pancakes aren't a really a big thing in Taiwan as people here much prefer waffles covered in everything from ice cream and fruit to tuna and corn. It's not that common to find pancakes in a night market, but then again these aren't really the pancakes that you're thinking about. These pancakes are made from a sweet potato based paste and pan fried. They are sweet, but also a bit bland in flavour. I'm not particularly a big fan of sweet potatoes so I'm probably not the best judge as to whether these actually taste good or not, but for my palate they seem to be missing something. If it were up to me, I'd just add maple syrup, but that's just because I'm Canadian and that's how we roll.

5. Vegetarian Food (素食) 

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Vegetarian food in the night market? Well, I suppose they have to cater to everybody! Taiwan's night markets aren't really the most friendly places for our hipster veggie-eating friends to find some food, but on occasion you can find a vegetarian-friendly stall or two in every night market. This particular vendor serves up several vegetarian noodle dishes as well as soup and Japanese-style curry rice. They're all probably pretty tasty if you're a vegetarian but I'm much more prone to eating the much tastier variety of night market snacks than trying this kind. 

That's it for the Keelung Miaokou night market. I'll go back to posting normal stuff for a while and then after a month or two I'll probably do another set from another night market. I hope you enjoyed the shots so far and if you're interested you can check out all of the other night market posts in the links below. 

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Gallery

Papa's Secret Lover (阿爸の情人)

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This post is for all of you who have come and gone, those of you still here and especially for those of you thinking of coming back!  

Today I want to talk about a restaurant near where I live that holds a special place in not only my heart, but all the great people who have come and gone over the years. 

If you're one of the lucky people who have spent a year or more here in Taiwan and have had the chance of visiting this place, I hope some of these shots I'm sharing will bring back some great memories and a bit of nostalgia about your life in Taiwan. 

For the rest of you, I'm about to introduce a legendary restaurant here in Zhongli - one that is held in extremely high esteem by both Taiwanese and foreigner alike!  

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Papa’s Secret Lover (阿爸的情人) or "Ah Ba" is a Hakka-style restaurant in Zhongli (中壢) near the traditional market in the old part of town. The restaurant looks like it has been open for decades, it is actually hard to tell how long it has been open, but for as long as anyone can remember, Papa's has been a constant fixture of life here.  

Papa's can be busy at times, but if you are one of the many who have made Papa's part of your going-away celebrations before leaving Taiwan, you probably don't have to make reservations and they will gladly take care of the forty of fifty people you have showing up - even though there might not be seats for everyone. 

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國父您好～ Sun Yet Sen must be hungry watching everyone eat. 

The décor of the restaurant is best described as a 'blast from the past' and whenever someone new walks into the restaurant they likely feel as if they just walked out of a time machine! 

Every thing you see on the walls has historical relevance and are probably all from the early to middle 1900s. There is no real order to the way things are displayed and a lot of the picture frames seem to be crooked or falling off the wall. 

There are portraits of both Sun Yat Sen (孫中山) and Chiang Kai Shek (蔣介石) on walls opposing each other and they seem to be staring each other down. Having these portraits there is quite telling of the history that the Taiwanese people have endured over the last 60 years. 

Apart from portraits of political figures, the walls are full of wedding photos - of who know one really knows - and old movie posters and advertisements. There are posters of long-forgotten celebrities from 1960s-1970s Taiwanese pop-culture. 

My favourite piece on the wall is the old painted cigarette advertisements with the modern-looking ladies in Qipao's - something straight out of Shanghai in the 1920s. 

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Fresh Tea

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Peanuts to start

The tables and stools always kind of feel like they're going to fall apart, but truthfully the only time I've ever seen a broken chair in that places is one of the newer plastic stools the boss bought.

The wooden tables and chairs have obviously been loyal soldiers to the owners of the restaurant and they are probably all older than I am! 

The music playing in the restaurant has been exactly the same for as long as I've been in Taiwan and without fail every time you visit, you will hear the same songs over and over again. I actually have no idea how they haven't worn out the CD or whatever it is they use to play it. 

The music is likely a compilation of Taiwanese-language oldies and despite not understanding any of the words, most foreigners who have been going to the restaurant can sing the lyrics by heart after they've had a few Taiwan beers. 

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The atmosphere, although extremely cool in the restaurant isn't what keeps people coming back though. The food is the main reason why everyone returns time and time again.

To give an example of how awesome the food is, I've heard stories several times of people showing up to Papa's a few hours before a flight and getting some food to go in a dish for a friend back home who used to live in Taiwan. Even if the food is cold and transported across continents, it is still amazing. 

You're not likely to find Hakka cuisine as good as what you'll find at Papa's and the dishes are so consistent that they taste exactly the same today as they did when I first showed up ten years ago. They don't mess with perfection. 

Everyone has their favourite dish but as far as I'm concerned, after travelling all over Asia, I can easily say that I've never had fried tofu as awesome as what you get at Papa's and it is on the table in front of me each and every time I visit.

Other people may not agree, but the great thing about Papa's is that there aren't any dishes that aren't awesome, so when you go with friends people will always share their favourites. 

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I've introduced quite a few Taiwanese friends to the restaurant and it is always a bit hilarious to see their reaction as I take them through the front door. Most of them want to turn away thinking that it is the entrance to someones home or that it is too old and dirty to actually be a restaurant. 

On anyone's first visit to the restaurant they usually sit there with wide eyes in awe of the whole experience – When the food comes out however, they immediately fall in love. The food is always described to me as 「古早味」which is best described as old-style home cooking with flavours that are not as common today as they used to be. 

Foreigners don't really appreciate the old-style flavours as much as Taiwanese people do, but what we can appreciate is that the food is amazing and the restaurant has been the site of a lot of great times and good memories over the years. 

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If you haven't tried Papa’s Secret Lover yet, make sure to get yourself over here to Taoyuan to have some great food in one of the strangest restaurants you'll ever experience! 

If you're back home in North America looking at these photos, I hope they bring back some fond memories of your time in Taiwan! 

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Cheers! (乾杯!)

Address: 中壢市中山路401號二樓  

2F #401 Zhongshan Rd. Zhongli City.  

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- Food Shots from my iPhone - 

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Kung-Pao Chicken (宮保雞丁)

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Deep Fried Tofu (炸豆腐)

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Ginger Intestines (薑絲大腸)

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Spicy Oysters and Tofu (蔭豆辣蚵)

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Papa's Stir Fry (阿爸炒)

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Beef with Pickled Vegetables (酸菜牛肉)

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Sweet and Sour Spareribs (糖醋排骨) 

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Ginger Beef (薑絲牛肉) 

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Stir Fried Clams (炒蛤仔)

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Photos)

People of the Night 16 (興仁花園夜市)

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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Hsing-Ren Night Market 1 / Hsing-Ren Night Market 2 / Hsing-Ren Night Market 3

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1. Grilled Oysters (烤生蠔) 

In my first post in the series I posted a shot of Oyster stand with the boss in the distance. In this shot we have a father and son manning a grill with fresh oysters being prepared for customers.

I'm not sure why oysters are such a big thing at Hsing-Ren night market, but my guess is partly because of the clever way the night market is set up with some vendors offering seating to its customers.

I've been to the night market several times while shooting this series and thus far the only seafood I've had is the fresh Thai shrimp, so I can't attest to how these oysters taste, but it seems like this stall is quite popular, so I imagine they're really good.  

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2. Hong Kong Shao Mai (港式燒賣) 

The Hsing-Ren night market has five stalls selling Hong Kong style food. Food from Hong Kong is somewhat of a rarity in Taiwan's night markets, but Hsing-Ren has this vendor selling Shao-Mai (燒賣), another place selling Dim Sum, some curry fish balls (a popular HK street food) and a couple of places selling Hong Kong-style teas (凍頂檸檬) 

I haven't tried this particular stall, but I did have some Rice Noodle Rolls (腸粉), some dumplings and some Char Siu Buns (叉燒包) at another vendor close to this one which were all quite good, especially considering you are in a night market and not an expensive hotel.

Quality Cantonese food is a bit of a rarity in Taiwan, especially when it comes to traditional-style Dim Sum and it seems more often than not that the best Dim Sum I've had in my life was back home in Canada or of course on my many visits to Hong Kong. 

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3. Seafood Hot Pot (台灣鯛魚砂鍋)

 Another night market rarity and probably a Hsing-Ren only vendor is this extremely busy Seafood Hot Pot vendor. For me, a trip to the night market usually includes a five-course meal with appetizers and dessert that altogether costs about 200NT (About 6 dollars) 

I probably wouldn't even consider going to a night market for just one dish and then leaving - but then again Hsing Ren isn't your typical place. People have been lining up to get a seat at this stall for a while and if you do get a seat, you're sure to be stuffed by the time you leave. 

If you look at the pots in the bottom left of the shot they give you an example of what will be in your soup. You can also add various other seafood dishes if you are in a group making it a more expensive affair.

The name of this shop is 「鯛魚」(diao1 yu2) which is more or less a nicer way to refer to "Tilapia" a fish most Taiwanese consider to be a cheap low-quality fish. The pot is filled with the fish, a bunch of vegetables and their secret soup base and then cooked extremely quickly over a hot flame. 

It was difficult to get a shot of these guys because they're extremely busy. They move extremely fast and they're never in the same place for more than a few seconds. I stead of having a portrait o decided to go for the environment to show what was going on.  

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4. Braised Food (超黑的滷味)

Your typical braised food (滷味) comes steaming hot for you making a meal of various kinds of meat and vegetables. This is different kind completely. The kind this boss sells are more like freshly made appetizers or 「小菜」that you have before a meal here.

The black looking food you see the boss preparing are dried tofu (豆乾) which is a speciality food here in Taoyuan. Beside the dried tofu is coagulated pigs blood with rice (米血) and is really not as disgusting as it sounds. The vendor serves other kinds of braised foods including edamame beans (毛豆) and pigs ear (豬耳) that go great with beer at a restaurant!

After taking this shot the boss noticed me and asked me if I wanted to sample the tofu. I'm a big fan of the dried tofu that you can buy here in Taoyuan, so of course I obliged. It was really tasty and almost resembled black liquorice.

If I'm ever planning to have friends over for some drinks, I'll be sure to head over to this place to pick up some of his food for the party!   

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5. Turkish Ice Cream (土耳其冰淇淋) 

Turkish Ice Cream is a pain in the ass. Whenever you try to order one they play a bunch of tricks and make a fool of you in front everyone. As a foreigner, I stand to stand out in crowds and would much rather blend in than become a public spectacle. With these guys it is always in good fun though. Their ice cream is homemade and is much different than what Taiwanese people are used to as it can be chewier.

It seems like these stalls are always popular wherever you go throughout the country. People like to interact with foreigners and they like the way the foreigner jokes around with them.

When I took this shot the Turkish man was playing some tricks on the girl with a really straight face while her friends were behind him watching and laughing. I wanted a portrait of the vendor, but I thought the addition of her friends in a wider environment would add more context. 

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6. Grilled Shellfish (烤生蠔/干貝) 

This stall is yet another busy vendor selling grilled seafood - she is selling grilled oysters, scallops, clams and snails. Grilled seafood is a big thing at this night market although I think that this stall probably has the largest variety of shellfish of all of them.  

I come from Nova Scotia, a small province on the east coast of Canada that is well-known for its scallops and my mother is a master of cooking them - So its hard for me to want to buy scallops still on the shell with cheap cheese on top. That is my personal opinion however as there was a long line at this stall each time I visited.

If I had to choose, I'd probably go with the grilled snails over the rest of what is being grilled here. I'm a big fan of the mixed pepper and salt that is sold here and when its grilled on top of the snails it gives terrific flavour. 

When I took the shot the boss was busy at work. It wasn't easy to get a shot of her taking a break or getting her to notice me and look in the camera. Her business is booming and she doesn't have much time to take a break. 

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7. Korean Pan fried Kebabs (韓醬鐵板串燒) 

This vendor sells chicken kebabs basted in a Korean chili sauce and then cooked on a Teppanyaki grill. These chicken kebabs are similar to the kind I wrote about in my first post in this series. The difference with these kebabs is that they have the Korean sauces, which is extremely tasty and appeal to all the young people who are in love with Korean culture. 

When I took the shot I tried to get the boss hard at work, but his wife noticed and made an interesting gesture. Street photography is all about candid gestures and it is common to see people like a deer in the headlights. That is part of what makes it interesting to me. 

I haven't tried these chicken kebabs yet, but I plan on heading back to the night market and trying them for sure. 

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8. Taiwanese Sausages (台灣香腸) 

Taiwanese sausages are a mainstay of Taiwan's street foods. It seems like no matter where you go, there is someone selling some sausages and there is always a line of people waiting to buy them. 

I guess you could say that the Taiwanese love of their sausages is quite similar to the way Americans think of hot dogs. If you ask me though a hot dog has nothing on a Taiwanese sausage - They are served hot, juicy and are full of flavour when you eat them. They're served on a stick and you always have the option of taking a few cloves of garlic to eat them with. 

They're cheap and because of the high demand they are always made fresh. If you end up at a night market and you really have no idea what to get to eat, a sausage might be your best choice! 

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This post concludes my Hsing-Ren Night Market series - I had a lot of fun shooting this night market and ate some great food each time I visited!

This night market isn't your typical night market and while it has all the foods you have come to expect at night markets around the country, it also goes above and beyond introducing new foods to the Taiwanese public! 

One could hope that grilled steak, pizza by the slice, döner kebap and fresh Thai shrimp become regular night market fare around the country! 

Below you will find a gallery of all the shots from this series as well as some shots that didn't make the cut. 

I'll going to take a few weeks off to post a few non-night market posts and then start posting from Taiwan's most famous and iconic night market - Keelung's Miaokou Night Market (基隆廟口夜市) 

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Gallery / Flickr (High Res Shots)