Shilin: One of Taiwan’s many thriving night markets

For example, the Taiwanese tea culture is very strong and there are usually many ceremonies to celebrate the best tea around the country.However, the night markets are an awesome life of the Taiwanese people and visitors alike. There are indeed many of such markets across the island country. Some of the markets are for multi-products […]

For example, the Taiwanese tea culture is very strong and there are usually many ceremonies to celebrate the best tea around the country.
However, the night markets are an awesome life of the Taiwanese people and visitors alike. There are indeed many of such markets across the island country. Some of the markets are for multi-products while others are for single-items like flowers, foods or bicycles.   
Some of the night markets in Taiwan include Tainan, Feng Chia, Liouhe, Raohe, Tonghua, Rueifong, Keelung, Miaokou, Huaxi, Shilin, Luodong, Ningxia, Datong, Lehua, Tamsui, Sanzhi, Sanxia, Zhongyang, Fu-Da and Taoyuan among others.
Infact, most of these markets operate till 12 midnight while others remain open till 2 am daily with some located on a stretch of a street while others spread across many streets and alleys with buildings turning into shops and eateries.   
The Shilin night market in Taipei is one of the sprawling markets in the country. It is a mixed frenzy of so many things. It is like an organised confusion of some sorts. It is a blend of many people from across the world where many foreigners mingle with the locals. It is a bazaar of tourists, foods, toys, clothes, shoes, bags, assorted drinks, cheap items and not so cheap ones.
It can be described as a place for honeymoon or a rekindling of cherished old moments as hundreds of couples cuddle and relishing in the surrounding funfair. Also, kids, teenagers and the aged all have space for merriment at Shilin.  
There are streams of anything one wants to buy but there are always long queues of buyers in popular snack stands. However, other stands are quieter even as side vendors display their wares by the sidewalks, urging people to patronise their products.
The market has famous Chinese fried chicken shops, and lots of fresh fruits. Vendors sell fruits to eat or as fresh fruit drinks. It has a section for Taiwan street-food favourites, including dumplings, noodles, stinky tofu, beef noodles, meat pockets, oyster omelets, and sizzling steak plates.
Shilin also has oyster omelets, which are done Taiwan-style, with eggs, vegetables trucked in from the western shores of southern Taiwan. These could be found at almost every night market in Taiwan but each place has its own variation on sauce as well as hot sauces to accompany the dishes. If pastries are your style, Shilin market has varieties of cakes, both sweet and salty. It is surrounded by hundreds of clothing and accessories’ shops from shoes to dresses to jackets to jewelry.
Caleb Huang, who is undertaking his national service, told Daily Trust in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, that he buys his wares at the market because they are cheaper and equally of good quality. He said he bought a pair of shoes at NT1500, which is not a bad price. According to him, many people patronise the market for such opportunities.  Indeed, whatever you want Taiwan night markets are where you find them and Shilin is the best of them all.