Taipei night market – 圓環邊蚵仔煎 NingXia Oyster Omelet

Updated, September 2022

Prices updated

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I am not Taiwanese. And when I first arrived in Taiwan, these were places that I would avoid, as I used to hate waiting for food. However, I am now a convert to the Taiwanese way of thinking ‘a line must mean it’s good food’.

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Oyster omelet should be the order of the day here, without a doubt.

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They start being made with a hefty handful of fresh oysters.

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Then on goes the pancake-like mixture.

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Followed by a scattering of green onions.

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An egg gets cracked on top of the oyster pile.

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Followed by some fresh greens.

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It’s left to bubble and cook away, and the incredible smell just wafts down the street attracting customers from all around.

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It then gets portioned off and put on the sushi-like conveyor belt to the service guys and gals at the counter.

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There’s certainly a no-frills atmosphere inside here. You’re sat at tables with complete strangers, all chowing down on oyster omelets and bowls of incredible rice.

Oyster Omelet

蚵仔煎 pronounced “orr_a_jen”.

$80

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Yeh, oyster omelets look disgusting, I know. But, hold tight, they don’t taste like they look. They more often than not have this weird chewy texture, packed with egg, oysters, pancake mix and are topped with a hefty dollop of mildly spicy and salty sauce.

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The oysters here are juicy, full of flavour, and taste wonderfully fresh. I very rarely eat other oyster omelet joints around the city. This is definitely the best tasting one I have had so far.

Ermm, translations?

米糕

$35

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A more glutinous rice is used for this dish, seperating it from the 魯肉飯 we all know and love. The pork in this dish isn’t abundant, but it’s enough. The fat seeps through into the rice and creates a luxuriously guilty pleasure. So good, I could’ve sunk two bowls with ease.