Keelung Night Market: Cheap Eats

If you’re planning to visit Taiwan, do yourself a favor and head across to Keelung to try one of the famous night markets across Taiwan. An hour bus rides or a 45-50 Minute Local Train from Taipei and bam! You’re in the downtown area close to Keelung Night Market. This spans across three blocks, that includes clothing and food galore at a reasonable price. There’s a wide variety of foods to choose from that will whet your appetite and discover the rich Taiwanese street food it has to offer.

The Keelung Night Market opens 7 days a week, between early in the afternoon up until Midnight where peak hour is usually around 5 pm to 10 pm. Depending on the crowd, expect to see some stalls being closed early after 11 pm.

If you’re Keelung Hungry, let’s go through the list of the popular dishes to try in the Keelung Night Market.

Braised Pork Rice (Lu Rou Fan – 滷肉饭)

The signature dish in Taiwan for its simplicity and deliciousness.  The serving size is relatively small but is decent enough to do some food hopping along the way. The dish can be bought for $25 NT or under.

396 Calories (Guilty Rating 3.5/5)

Glutinous Oil Rice

In Keelung Night Market, there are quite a few stalls that served this type of dish. The dish itself is presented on a small bowl with less meat and it’s really delicious. For this simple dish, it can be bought for $30 NT.

Make sure to add a bit of chili to go wonders on your palate.

550 Calories (Guilty Rating 4/5)

Fried Dumplings

For a quick snack, you can’t go wrong with Fried dumplings. This snack box shall cost about $35 NT, which you get served of 8 fresh dumplings on a box including sauce. Typically, the meat they serve is Pork, Beef, and Shrimp. Note: Price varies depending on the meat you choose.

79 Calories per dumpling  (Guilty Rating 3.5/5)

Fried Chicken (Taiwanese Style)

Who doesn’t love Fried Chicken? In Taiwan, it offers one of the best all-time snacks to eat for its delicious seasoning. The cost of this beauty could fetch you around $60 NT. Note: Popular as it may sound, except for a long waiting time to get these chickens.

585 Calories (Guilty Rating 4/5)

Rice Flour Noodle Soup + Tofu

If you’re into soup and noodles, why not try the Rice Flour Noodle Soup and a side dish of Tofu. The noodle has a wonderful chewy texture and it’s a short string noodle.

The price for this is around $45NT – Noodle soup is $25 and Tofu is $20.

Fried Tofu, 271 Calories per 100 grams | Rice Flour Noodle Soup, 200 Calories (Guilty Rating 3/5)

DouHua (豆花)

This simple dessert is served with soft tofu and may include other toppings to your liking. The toppings they normally serve may include red bean, bubble pearls, mochi and much more. This may cost around $50 – $60 NT. Warning: eating this type of dessert requires great skill as this will disappear quickly!

320 Calories (Guilty Rating 2/5)

Bingsha (Ice Shaved Dessert)

Coming to Taiwan, the heat was really hot and humid at the time. This dessert is a must – It’s called Bingsha and it’s really quite popular alongside Bubble Tea. The reason why I like Bingsha, is because you can choose 4 different toppings to have with which you enjoy the wonderful tastes of the beans, jellies, mochis, the fruits and much more. Normally it will cost less than $80 NT or under depending on the size you choose.

320 Calories (Guilty Rating 4/5   I think this is necessary for hot days)

How to get there?

It’s a 10-minute walk from the Keelung Station if you take the local train and bus 2088 from Taipei.

Notable Mentions

If you have the time and feeling adventurous, why not try and explore the beautiful Keelung. Discover the hidden gems such as Boudouzi Park, Lover’s Lake, the Zhupu Alter (popular for Ghost Festivals), Festivals Tours and much more.