Shilin Night Market is a sprawling night market in the north of Taipei City just north of the Keelung River that encircles most of the more populous area of Taipei City. Known internationally as one of the best night markets in the world, this begs the question:
Is ShiLin Night Market really worth all the hype?
The easiest and quickest way to reach the night market itself is from MRT Jiantan Station. The best route to get around the night market is to leave Jian Tan MRT station at Exit 1 and walk down Ji He Road. After walking around 5 minutes, you’ll find yourself next to Chang’s ShaoBing (see below). When you turn right at the corner of Chang’s ShaoBing and walk up the popular road with vendors on your left and right, you’ll come to the popular Ci Xian Temple located at one of the busiest stretches of the night market.
If you continue following that road to the top, you come out on Wen Lin Road, and your trip around Shi Lin Night Market is complete if you turn right on Wen Lin Road and continue walking for a few minutes. You’ll end up right back at the corner near MRT Jiantan Station Exit 1.
However, much of the fun of night market exploration is diving down a back street to see what is good to eat or buy, so you should be sure to go back in and tunnel down some of the side streets to explore the inner workings of the night market. Some of the best food is down those side alleys!
Shilin Night Market is one of the famous night markets in Taipei, if you are wondering what to eat at Shilin Night Market, keep reading to get some more ideas.At no point is this an exhaustive list of what to eat in Shilin Night Market, this is just some recommendations of places to check out if you’re feeling that way inclined.
If this is your first time to Taipei and you are both shocked by the heat and the volume of people, then you should aim to get here around 16:00-16:30. You’ll find that vendors are generally set up by then, and that there are way less crowds. Going on a weekday is an even safer bet to ensure a more relaxed Taipei night market experience. Note – avoid Monday’s, as some vendors will take that day off in lieu of having worked through the weekend.
Please take note that this article contains links to services and products from which I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.
While the article below features a list of some of the best places to eat at Shilin Night Market in Taipei, you may want to let someone else do the planning and introducing for you. That’s also great! The link here will take you to a Shilin Night Market Food walking tour by a bilingual tour guide who has been doing this for years. I highly recommend this!
Table of Contents
Before You Go to the Night Market
- Wear light clothes in summer because it gets hot, especially as most vendors cook to order.
- Prepare coins or smaller notes like 100’s. This gives you a great excuse to off-load your coins, and those 100’s ensure that you’re not waiting while they change a $1,000 note – don’t be that person.
- If you’ve been to Japan, then you know that at many of their markets you are encouraged to stand and eat, rather than walking around. Not here with this yummy Taipei night market food. Get your food and you can either walk around or sit wherever you can find space.
- There are usually bins or trash cans dotted around, but a safe alternative is to dart into a convenience store as they all have trash cans.
- There are a few reliable bathrooms near Shilin Night Market if you don’t eat inside a restaurant – in the Jiantan or Shilin MRT station, or in the underground Shilin Night Market area.
How to Order at Night Markets
The best thing to do is to point if you see something that you like. However, if you want to flex your Chinese muscles, then here are some useful phrases:
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
| One (the please is inferred) | 一個 | yī gè |
| Thanks! (There’s no excuse for being impolite) | 謝謝 | xiè xiè |
You’ll often be asked if you’d like to add spice or not, so it’s best to get ahead of the game and say:
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
| No spice at all | 不要辣 | bú yào là |
| A little spice | 一點點辣 | yī diǎn diǎn là |
| Medium spice (very spicy, usually) | 中辣 | zhōng là |
| Lots of spice (all the spice – get the milk ready) | 大辣 | dà là |
If you love night markets and want to learn more about them, feel free to check out some of my special posts:
11 of the best essential night market eats in Taiwan
Taipei street food: 15 of the best food stands you should eat, and where to find them.
If you want to learn more about how to order, check out this post:
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
If this is your first time in Taipei, you might find the following article useful:
7 unforgettable Taipei Places to visit in 2023 if you only have 48 hours!
A Traveller’s Guide to Taipei Hotels: 18 Luxury to Affordable Hotels in the City Centre
What to eat at Shilin Night Market
Around Jihe Road 基河路
Hometown BBQ Chicken 家鄉碳炭烤香雞排
First deep-fried and then roasted over coals, this chicken looks deliciously crispy. They will ask you if you want it spicy, and then they will slip it in a paper bag and give it straight to you, all piping hot and smelling amazing. You may wait a while here, but this is a Shilin night market must eat, so you should just smile and line up.
Hot-Star Fried Chicken 豪大大雞排
Hot Star Chicken is a household name. They do some of the biggest fried chicken you'll find on the island, and they are tasty, too. It's not all about show here, they're actually good! This is definitely one of the more popular Taipei tourist spots when Shilin Night Market is mentioned in conversation, and should be considered when thinking about what to eat in Shilin Night Market.
Auntie's Taiwanese Salt-brine Chicken 阿姨鹽水雞
This is just over the road from Chang's Shaobing below but is worth waiting 60 seconds for the green man to change. Everything is vibrant and fresh here. Saltwater brined chicken is cut up and tossed together with your desired selection of vegetables, spices and garlic in a bowl. It's moderately healthier than some of the offerings on the other side of the road, and is definitely refreshing when thinking about what to buy in Shilin night market that is slightly less heavy or rich.
Chang's Shaobing 老張燒餅
Somewhat of an institution in this area on Jihe Road, you should not miss Chang's Shaobing. Just get in line. You will thank me later.
While everything is good here, I have 3 recommendations:
Sugar Cake 糖膏酥餅
Sticky, sweet, smoky, sesame flavours fill the air when you crunch down on these. Fresh from the oven, this deliciously flakey pastry is difficult to beat!
Shaobing 老麵燒餅
It's in the name, so it must be good. I usually get a couple and take them home for breakfast the following morning - throw them in the oven to re-heat while you do some scrambled eggs or some fried eggs. Cut down the middle of the shaobing, slap the eggs inside - winner.
Pepper Pork Cake / Pepper Pork Buns 胡椒餅
Nothing but mouth-burningly hot pepper buns right here. Roasted to perfection in this make-shift tandoor, they are crunchy and flakey on the outside, with that pork and black pepper mix bringing bags of heavy flavours on the inside. Be careful, you will burn your mouth. But it will be worth it if they are fresh out the oven. If they have been waiting out for a long time and they have gone cold, then they do lose some of the allure.
Around ShiLin Ci Xian Temple 士林慈誠宮
Cheng Zu's pepper buns 丞祖胡椒餅
I can usually never get enough of a good pepper bun, especially red hot out of the 'oven'. These pepper buns are baked at a ridiculously high temperature until they become crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. While they are similar to Chang's Shaobing above, they do flavour varieties here. Check out the kimchi pork ones and let me know what you think - they are my favourite here!
Having eaten the ones at Chang's Shaobing just round the corner, I had always thought they were pretty good as long as long as you get them fresh out of the oven and scolding hot. However, this place at Shilin night market gives Chang's Shaobing pepper pork bun a very close run for its money.
I find it quite difficult to make this look any nicer than this, but trust me when I say it's spot-on. The meat is fresh and punches flavour combined with lots of (I apologise in advance) meat juices.
Ordering -
Pork: 一個豬肉胡椒餅 yī gè zhū ròu hú jiāo bǐng
Beef: 一個牛肉胡椒餅 yī gè niú ròu hú jiāo bǐng
Temple vermicelli noodles 士林廟口阿輝麵線
I feel like I've been on a bit of a 麵線 binge recently, essentially getting my fill in a bunch of places.
This vendor was awarded Bib Gourmand street food for the MICHELIN Guide Taipei from 2018 to 2021. You're getting solid value for money here, but is it good? Well, for the area, yes. But, if you're willing to travel a bit further afield, you'll get significantly better elsewhere...
Expect to be greeted by some intestines and oysters in your bowl, in addition to copious amounts of garlic and soy sauce flavours. Make sure to order the assorted vermicelli bowl to try for the first time.
How to order -
Large - 大碗綜合麵線 dà wǎn zòng hé miàn xiàn
Small - 小碗綜合麵線 xiǎo wǎn zòng hé miàn xiàn
Right next door to this vermicelli noodle spot looks like a tasty sausage vendor, too, but by the time we returned, there was such a large queue we decided against it. Has anyone had this? Is it worthwhile?
Handmade Sticky Rice Sausage 士林堃叔手作糯米腸
We stumbled across this place while exploring some of the side alleys around the Ci Xian Temple area. It just happened to be one of the best things we tried at Shilin Night Market, made even better by the friendly and welcoming owner.
This place specializes in handmade sticky rice sausage, which is glutinous rice stuffed into pork intestines with peanuts and spices. It's then steame to perfection and served with some homemade chilli that will knock your socks off!
Everything about this was delicious, you must order it.
Soup has never been my thing, but I can get on board with this steamed soup that is slow-cooked in its own personalized bowl with ginseng, fresh dates, and chicken. All of the flavours are discernable in this bowl, and everything is perfectly balanced between decadent chicken leg, warming ginseng root, and then the mildly earthy sweetness that comes through from that date. Awesome soup right here!
Roasted King Oyster Mushrooms 燒烤杏鮑菇
Shroooooooms. Mushrooms are a staple of my diet. I love some fungus. If I decided that vegetarianism was a thing for me, then this king oyster mushroom would be my meat substitute, for sure. The price is now $120 per serving.
They've got some interesting toppings here. But, please be aware, that the sauce they used is the same regardless of what topping you order, then the topping will just be sprinkled on at the end. So don't expect the cumin to be a cumin rub on the mushrooms and then roasted. Expect sprinkled cumin over the top at the end...
We went for pepper and lemon mixed flavours. I think from this point on I will always use lemon juice on my king oyster mushrooms. It was a pure revelation for me! The pepper was good, but the lemon was so much better. Try it out next time you are at Shilin Night Market!
How to order -
一份 yī fèn, followed by your 2 toppings of choice
Wasabi 哇沙米 Wa shā mǐ
Spicy 香辣味 xiāng là wèi
Original 原味 yuán wèi
Lemon 檸檬味 níng méng wèi
Seaweed 海苔味 hǎi tái wèi
Cumin 孜然味 zī rán wèi
Black pepper 黑胡椒味 hēi hú jiāo wèi
Curry 咖哩味 gā lí wèi
Rose salt 玫瑰鹽 méi guī yàn
Wang's Herbal Tea 王家純濃厚青草茶舖
With decades of history at this location, Wang's Herbal Tea is worth checking out for your chilled tea needs in the night market. Their signature is this grass tea drink that has a mild minty flavour to it. It's refreshing, and only $35 for a large cup.
Good Friend Cold Noodles 好朋友涼麵
If you're still hungry after that and cold noodles are your thing - then have a think about this place. It was awarded Bib Gourmand street food for the MICHELIN Guide Taipei.
I remember being amazed by this place at ShiLin night market previously when I first arrived in TW. However, I haven't been back in the 7 years post that moment. So, here I went once more.
I asked for no spice (wasn't in the mood for it) but the dish still arrived spicy. Fair play to them, they hadn't given me any chilli in the dish. So, why was it spicy? The spoonful(s) of raw garlic they had splashed on. I hate raw garlic. Next time I go I will order it with no garlic to check out if it hits the spot or not, but this time it most definitely did not.
How to order -
Cold noodles with chilli 一份涼麵加辣 yī fèn liáng miàn jiā là
Cold noodles, no chilli 一份涼麵不辣 yī fèn liáng miàn bù là
Please don't add garlic 請不要加蒜泥 qǐng bù yào jiā suàn ní
Around Wenlin Road 文林路
Chung Chia Sheng Jian Bao 鍾家原上海生煎包
Whenever I come to Shilin Night Market I have to get myself a couple of these. This place was also awarded Bib Gourmand street food for the MICHELIN Guide Taipei. They are little pan-fried buns filled with either cabbage or pork. The fact that there are only two flavours to order from makes it even better - the ease of ordering means you rarely have to line up here.
This multi-lingual menu is the winner. Everything is translated spot on. In fact, this is some of the best food in Shilin Night Market right here.
Rustically pleated buns are carefully arranged in the scolding hot pan and sear as they are being carefully placed within. They are then liberally doused with a flour and water mix that fills the pan to about halfway up each bun. The lid is then put on and they steam and pan fry at the same time - hence the name, pan-fried buns.
Both flavours on offer here are superb, but I tend to lean more towards the cabbage because the vegetable flavour is sweet, and earthy and tastes a little 'healthier' (although it says on the menu 'lard' and 'fried shallots'.
The pork is also good, and there's plenty of filling inside, too. The ball of pork is flavoured nicely and oozes with a rich pork broth when you bite in.
Shaved Ice 花藏雪 手作雪氷
Summer nights at a night market can be draining, but some shaved ice is a welcome treat. If you're in the mood for shaved ice, then you should consider this place. They take their seasonal shaved ice seriously, but you aren't going to go wrong with anything on the menu, at any time of the year.
Mung Bean Milkshake 頃刻間—綠豆沙牛奶專賣店
Walking around a Taipei night markets eating delicious food at some of the best Taipei tourist spots can often be both tiring and thirst quenching. Mung bean slushie milkshake to the rescue!
Mung Bean, Taro, or Red Bean Milkshake should be what you order here.
The graphics around the space are cute, and the cups tell you to chill out for a moment. Sit, relax, and enjoy your mung bean milkshake - I did!
It's milky, it's earthy, it's mildly sweet, and it has a much smoother consistency than some of its counterparts across Taiwan. I was pleasantly surprised by this, coming here entirely on a whim.