My flight landed at 11pm. By midnight I was eating oyster omelette at a plastic table in Shilin while the city buzzed around me. I don’t think I slept before 2am the entire week. Taipei at night is a whole different city and I am completely here for it.
Shilin vs Raohe vs Ningxia
Shilin is the one everyone goes to — massive, slightly overwhelming, absolutely worth it for the underground food court alone. The coal-fired pepper buns take two minutes and you will eat three. Raohe is smaller and more local, better for sitting down and eating a proper meal. Ningxia is the sleeper pick — a narrow strip near Zhongshan where I had the best braised pork rice of my life for $1.50. No English menu. I pointed at what the person next to me was having. Zero regrets.
The thing about stinky tofu
Yes it smells like something died nearby. Yes you should eat it anyway. Fried stinky tofu with pickled cabbage and chilli sauce is one of the best things I ate in all of Taiwan. Your nose is lying to you. Trust your mouth on this one.
How to approach it
Show up hungry around 8pm. Bring cash. Wear shoes you can walk in. That is genuinely all the preparation you need. Let yourself get pulled in by whatever smells good and looks busy. You really can’t go wrong.
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