Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市) is the ultimate Taiwan night market experience with overload of our senses: smells, noises, huge selection yummylicious food – oyster egg, steak, innards, teppanyaki. Shi Lin was very enjoyable for us in December as we could enjoy the walk and food without the rain or humidity.

For this post, we must apologize for some poor res photos as we focused only on eating so all shots are shot on camera!

On Level 1, we tried:

Chicken Chop – loads of MSG, Pepper and Oil. Much better than any I have tried in Singapore though it is the same “Hao Da Da” brand.

Big Intestine Wrap Small Intestine (大腸包小腸) with garlic – very strong meaty flavor. This is Taiwanese version of hot dog, which is a pork sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice sausage. Must have for all who love sausages but be prepared to queue! Right outside the Ci Qian temple in the heart of Shilin Night Market.

Ah Liang Mian Xian (阿亮麵線),  also near Ci Qian Temple. Strong seafood zingy soup, with soft mian xian. Highly recommend with vinegar and chili that enhances the oyster flavor, and eat at road side for the complete night market experience. Tastes different, but as great as Ah Zhong Mian Xian at Ximending.

Leeks Wrapped in Beef – Tasted Japanese due to Teriyaki Marination. Well grilled juicy crunchy vegetables

Prince Cheese – Club Potato with Brocolli, Ham, Egg, all soaked in melty orange cheese. Recommend to share as this is very rich and filling.

Fried Milk Cubes

Tea – Milk Tea, Dong Gua Tea

In Basement 1, we tried:

Oyster Egg – Well cooked eggs but starchier and not as crispy as Singapore’s Oyster Egg

Beef Steak – 30 year old stall with peppery fiery sauce, fried egg and pasta. Very good value for 150NTD (~SGD$6)

Peanut Biscuit wrapped in more biscuit (大餅包小餅) – this was just ok for me only. Too much carbs and starch!

All sorts of food we didn’t have enough tummy to try!

胡椒餅; Crispy Pepper Spring Onion Bun, same chain as the ones found in Rao He Night Market.

The road side stalls shopping felt like a break from the eating! I bought really random stuff like 1 pair of earrings made in Taiwan, 2 combs made from bamboo and wood, and Birkenstocks! I learnt on this trip that Birkenstocks sandals are the cheapest in the world in Taiwan! They even have exclusive designs for Taiwan market. Sigh, and I just made my MIL carry back 3 pairs for my mum, hubbubu and me from UK! Next time I know where to stock up on my Birkies =)

We were aching from all the walking and trekking in the whole trip, so we stopped by randomly at this Flyfar Massage, which was NTD$800 (SGD$32) for 60 minutes full body massage. This massage is traditional Chinese Tui Na style, so highly recommended for all who love strong massages. Some parts of the massage bordered on pain at the very achy areas especially when they stepped on the back, but we felt so relieved after. N had a slight cough after the massage (only second time in his life experiencing that) and that is supposed to mean the body expelled certain bad conditions and that the masseur was very good (who was also the very friendly old masseur who let us in on very good location to watch fireworks for countdown).

Even though many people say that Shi Lin’s glory days are slowly being eroding by the smaller, more convenient Night Markets like Raohe, I personally still like the crowd, buzz and variety that Shi Lin has to offer and I think all first time visitors to Taipei should still visit Shi Lin!

Full sets of posts that might be useful for your Taipei planning:

• Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) Shopping and Rao He Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)
• Xi Men Ding (西門町)
• Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市)
• Taipei 101, Christmas Illuminations, 大佳河濱公園 Park for 2014 Countdown
• Restaurant – L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Restaurant (侯布雄法式餐廳)
• Hotel– Hope Hotel (全家歡商務旅店 ) and Cosmos Hotel (天成大飯店)

For locations outside of Taipei:

• Taiwan: Alishan (阿里山) – Fen Qi Hu (奮起湖) and 53.1 Homestay Min Su (民宿)
• Taiwan: Alishan Main Attraction – Alishan National Scenic Area (阿里山國家風景區)
• Taiwan: Alishan 阿里山, Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 , Cing Jing 清境, Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園
• Taiwan: Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園
• Taiwan: Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園 Lodging/Hotel – Silks Place 太鲁阁晶英酒店
• Taiwan: Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園 Lodging/Hotel – Leader Village 立德布洛灣山月村