Access: Longshan Temple MRT exit 1 is the most convenient for Longshan Temple and all four night markets. You’ll need to walk past Bangka Park, where groups of local homeless hang out, sleep, and play Chinese chess.

It’s still safe, and there’s always a lot of foot traffic from the day and night markets, local residents and tourists, and of course Longshan Temple.

6. Nanjichang Night Market: Taipei’s most “local” night market

When first published this article, I didn’t include Nanjichang Night Market, and fellow local bloggers quickly noticed. As I said above, everybody has their favorite, but local experts claimed THIS was the one. So of course I had to check it out and add it here.

Nanjichang is little compared to others, but don’t let it’s size fool you; there is truly a wide range of excellent foods crammed in, including two out of the 10 Michelin Taipei night market stalls in 2018, and 4 out of 24 in 2019.

And indeed, the feeling at Nanjichang is very local, and prices are cheap. Come here for a truly local night market experience in Taipei! Nanjichang’s claims to fame include its dumplings, stinky tofu, sesame oil chicken, and taro shaved ice.

Literally “South Airport”, Nanjichang is in a location that was beside a military airport in Japanese times. Unlike most night markets, many (but not all) of the vendors are open in the daytime as well, but the action really starts around 5 p.m., like at most night markets.

The main entrance is at the intersection of Zhonghua st. section 2 lane 315 alley 5 (中華路二段315巷5弄) and Zhonghua st. section 2 lane 307 (中華路二段307巷). Lane 315 alley 5 is the main section, with alleys 307 to 313 branching off to either side of it and containing more stalls and restaurants.

Right at the entrance, there is a famous chicken restaurant (山內雞肉) on one side, and braised pork rice (lu rou fan or 滷肉飯) restaurant on the other. Just in from the lu rou fan spot is 曉迪筒仔米糕, a great place to try tong zai mi gao, a kind of sticky rice mold topped with pork, mushrooms, sweet sauce, and cilantro that is especially popular in Southern Taiwan.

A few more steps in and you’ll spot Shanghai Shui Jian Bao (上海水煎包), a popular spot for pan fried buns. At the intersection with lane 309, you can’t skip Keelung Tianbula (基隆黑輪綜合甜不辣), which I can honestly say is the best tian bu la (a Taiwanese version of Japanese oden) I’ve ever had.

Venture east down lane 309 to find the newer location of Smelly Boss (臭老闆) at #46, which serves Michelin recognized stinky tofu that is literally the best stewed version of stinky tofu I’ve ever tried.

The soup it is stewed in is incredibly flavorful, and the two large hunks (NT70) come topped with mushrooms, ginger slices, and fresh Asian basil.

Back on the main lane, the section between 309 and 311 contains a tiny little gua bao stall, a famous fried chicken fillet stall called Yummy Chicken (好吃雞排), and an excellent fried oyster ball vendor called 好佳蚵嗲. As I mentioned in the Ningxia Night Market section, I love this fried balls of goodness.

At this stall, they serve them to you on a metal plate, which is great because they tend to be steaming hot and messy. We had ours with an order of deep fried cuttlefish and a stick of deep fried cilantro, which I’ve never seen before, and was really tasty! They also had deep fried sticks of celery and green onions.

Another side trip down lane 311 will bring you to the second Michelin night market vendor at Nanjichang: A Nan Sesame Oil Chicken (阿男麻油雞). This extremely popular shop tends to open a lttle later, around 6-7, and there’s always a line waiting.

Lane 313 has the first of two 2019 Michelin-recognized additions: Sung Ching Taiwanese Burritos (松青潤餅)

Back to the main lane again, there’s only a few more lanes to cover. One of the last stalls on the street is a very old fashion shao bing (燒餅) stall, which serves crispy, sugar filled pastries that are best eaten warm. There’s always a line. In 2019 it was added to the Michelin list as Unnamed Clay Oven Roll (無名推車燒餅), since it lacks a name.

Walking west down lane 313, you can find the original location of Smelly Boss at #6, and Taro Shaved Ice King (南機場芋頭大王).

Access: The nearest MRT, Xiaonanmen, is a 15-minute walk via the Taipei Botanical Garden. You can also walk from Longshan Temple MRT in about 20 minutes.

4 other Notable Taipei Night Markets (+ 2 new additions)