Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市

Location: Northern Taiwan in Keelung City.  Reached by all manners of automotive ingenuity.

Hours: Basically whatever they feel like.

I covered briefly why I love night markets so much in my Raohe Street Night Market post, so i'll spare you the tedium of rehashing old stories (if you haven't read it yet.. then really, what are you waiting for?).  Suffice to say that night markets are a booming industry for this country, and now attracts all manners of tourists to its trinket hawkers, food stands, restaurants and games.  The Keelung Miaokou (which translates to 'temple front') Night Market is extremely large and covers a number of big streets.  The main thoroughfare is logically located in front of the Dianji Temple, and it is in this area that you'll find some of the most famous food stands this expansive night market has to offer.

Just a little fair warning when dealing with night markets.  If you are like me, in that your blood will start to boil at anything above 80 degrees, you'd best be served to avoid night markets on busy weekends or possibly avoid them all together during the sweltering summer months.  The heat is no joke when its combined with the sadistic forces that the humidity brings.  Add that to the teeming masses of people and the hot food being cooked around every corner.. it can really be brutal if you aren't equipped for it.  Luckily, this excursion occurred during a warm but manageable night in mid march.  Let's get to it.

 Being a large port town, it stands to reason that the Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市 would be widely renowned for their seafood.  As you first enter the night market from the river side, you will pass through many many stands like the ones pictured above where they will serve you fresh seafood.  The shellfish are just stacked on top of each other, its a rather impressive sight.  For me, its not particularly appetizing.. to be devouring seafood in that type of setting.  Cracking shell after shell of whatever crustacean you just ordered shouldn't be done sitting shoulder to shoulder to strangers on not the most sanitary of conditions, but that's just me of course.. i'd advise you to at least give it a try and then judge for yourself.

Our first stop.  A popular stand serving a fish dish in a delicious broth.  Popularity has almost doubled its price to 70nt.  Worth the price however, as it was incredibly full of flavor.

 I love the lanterns lining the store fronts.. it's a beautiful touch that really makes the whole area stand out.  All the stores have labels above them written in both Chinese and English making the mandarin impaired customers like me slightly more at ease.  The temple really comes out of no where.  The food stands are built all around it and it really does appear to be something created for a Hollywood set.  For anyone looking to gorge themselves, this is the place to go as it is nothing but culinary delights.

The 'Nutritious Sandwich' stand might be the single most popular stand in all of the Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市.  Swing by... grab a number and wait for probably an hour or more until you are deemed worthy to eat their creation. But clearly you don't need to stand there until it is your turn, we managed to fit in 3 or 4 stops on our food roller coaster before we headed back to pick up this famous sandwich.  Despite its name.. you might want to throw the calorie counter out the window before digging into the nutritious sandwich.  It is a deep fried creation of mayonnaise richness.  The tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, ham and stewed eggs are just servants to the bread and mayo.  It really was very tasty.. but i can see how eating one of these a day would eventually cause me to cry tears of grease.

This is another famous stop that's worth sampling at Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市.  It is Three Brothers Dou Hua (tofu pudding), and as you can see.. it was overflowing with patrons.  Due to their myriad of desserts, they were able to expand to a second floor in recent years.  I must say, coming here and sitting down in an air conditioned room was a welcomed respite from jostling with those savages dressed in human clothing.  

The Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市 was the final stop on a long day of sightseeing, and by the end of it, I might have been a little worse for wear.  But the food was excellent and the weather wasn't so bad yet to cause me to curse the fact that we are warm blooded creatures.  This night market is a food lovers paradise as I feel the landscape was dominated by food stands more than is usually the case.  It's true that its a bit out of the way for those living in Taipei (30-40 min by train), but its definitely worth going to see at least once.  As someone who does indeed live in Taipei, trekking it out to the Keelung Miaokou Night Market - 基隆廟口夜市 will not be a frequent event, but that's not because of any deficiencies other than the fact that there are many night markets in the greater Taipei area that will fill my gastronomical needs.

Til next time - some more treats for your eyeballs.

 Oyster Pancake.

 Minced Pork Rice.