Raohe Night Market is one of Taipei’s top night markets, with hundreds of superb street food stalls and is open 7 nights a week.
Located in the shadow of Songshan Ciyou Temple, Raohe Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) is one of the biggest and best night markets in Taipei.
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From the famous pork pepper buns and musical mushroom stall (truly a ‘fun-guy’!) to the fairground games, Raohe Night Market is one of the best things to do in Taipei at night – we also rate it over Shilin Night Market.
From opening times and the best international Taiwanese food stalls to visit, here is our guide to Raohe Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan.
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Raohe Night Market opening hours
Raohe Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) is open from around 5pm until 11pm daily. The main night market street closes to traffic from around 4pm and reopens after midnight.
If you get here too early, there is also a small daytime market in the area – Songshan Market.
We last visited Raohe Night Market in early 2024 and it is still one of the busiest (and best) night markets in Taipei.
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How to get to Raohe Night Market
Raohe Night Market is a 2 minute walk from Songshan MRT Station exit 5, connected to the green Songshan Xindian line.
As you leave exit 5 and turn right, you can get your bearings by seeing the huge Songshan Temple straight ahead. Head towards the temple and the entrance gate marking Raohe Night Market can be seen on the left.
Also check Google Maps or the official Go! Taipei Metro app to see which is the quickest and best route for you.
Taiwanderers Tip
Grab a Taiwan EasyCard as a convenient way to use buses and public transport in Taipei and across Taiwan. They can be easily topped up at stations and convenience stores.
Read more about how to use a Taiwan EasyCard, including how to top up >
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The best time to visit Raohe Night Market
As one of Taipei’s best night markets, Raohe Night Market is often busy especially at weekends and peak times but well worth a visit.
Compared to other night markets in Taiwan, it is a bit touristy but hey, the food is so damn delicious and we found it better than say Shilin or Ningxia in terms of food choices, quality and variety.
If you prefer to eat and browse without crowds, visit just after opening between 5pm and 6.30pm or after 10pm. Friday night and the weekends are the busiest.
Taiwanderers Tip
We usually visit Raohe Night Market just after the market opens so we can eat the famous Fuzhou Pepper Buns without too much of a long queue.
This pork pepper bun stall is located at the start of Raohe Market under the east entrance gate and are one of our favourite foods in Taiwan (along with the scallion pancakes on Yongkang Street). We normally purchase a few pork pepper buns, then explore Songshan Temple before returning to Raohe Night Market for more eating!
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Arriving at the market / History Of Raohe Night Market
Raohe Night Market has become incredibly popular over the years, especially with overseas tourists as it has been featured on numerous foodie TV programmes and travel guides.
The Raohe Night Market is just over half a kilometre in length with two main lanes of stalls and food kiosks, plus lots of games and activities like ring toss and balloon popping.
We’d recommend starting on the right hand side lane (as you arrive from Songshan Temple or the MRT) and then walk back along the other side. If you follow this loop, you can treat yourself to a craft beer in Time Bar at the end, of our favourite Taipei craft beer bars.
Formerly known as Xikou, the area changed a lot over the years and the former market held here in the day slowly transformed into a night market, made official in 1987 by the local Government.
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Songshan Temple
Before we start on all the fantastic food at Raohe Night Market (be sure to arrive on an empty stomach so you can eat more!), check out Songshan Temple, one of the most beautiful temples in all of Taipei.
At night, it is lit up like a beacon and you are free to explore – there are often evening ceremonies and chanting. It is an incredible place to walk around and there are several stalls selling religious blessings and random fortunes.
It is also common to see people using ‘Jiaobei’, the red moon shaped wooden blocks thrown in pairs to seek guidance on life decisions from the temple deities.
During Lunar New Year, Songshan Temple is strewn with colorful lanterns and it is one of the main places of worship in Taipei.
Be sure to go to the rear of the temple and climb up the stairs hidden at the back to see the various main hall rooms and get views looking down over Songshan Temple.
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Food at Raohe Night Market in Taiwan
There are hundreds of food stalls at Raohe Night Market so we can’t mention everyone in great detail.
Based on our own experiences, we found it best to rock up with a couple of back-up foodie suggestions or firm favorites we’ve tried in the past – but ultimately, follow your nose (very easy with stinky tofu fries eh!) or see where the locals are eating or queuing up.
The most popular stall (and deservedly so) is the pork pepper bun stall at the start of the market…
Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake / Fuzhou Pepper Buns
See that huge line snaking all the way from the Raohe Night Market Gate? That’ll likely be the Fuzhou Pepper Bun stall.
The famous one is the huge stall at the front – there are also a few other pork pepper bun stalls nearby with less customers so make sure you get the right one.
The buns comprise of juicy pork, black pepper and green onions / scallions wrapped in a doughy bun and then baked to perfection in a cylindrical charcoal oven – just enough to give the bun a chargrilled texture and slightly crunchy exterior, but juicy and succulent center.
As of early 2024, Fuzhou Pepper Buns cost NT$60 per bun (around £1.50 / $1.85 USD).
Learn from our mistake and make sure you let them cool down a bit before biting into them – the hot liquid from the pork filling can scald your mouth (we are talking from experience – ouch).
Fuzhou Pepper buns also featured on the recent 2024 Netflix episode of Somebody Feed Phil where he visits Taipei – find all the Taipei, Keelung and Jiufen eating locations here >
Mushroom Man
One of the more famous stalls at Raohe Night Market is the mushroom man, who grills and seasons king oyster mushrooms whilst blasting out catchy pop ballads like Celine Dion on his stereo (and no, we are neither making this up or taking ‘magic mushrooms’ – this is for real).
Stinky Tofu
Just follow your nose! This is not for everyone but you should try fermented stinky tofu at least one time during your trip.
There are even stinky tofu fries at Raohe Night Market, accompanied with your choice of seasoning such as Thai spice, honey mustard or wasabi pepper sauce.
Fried stinky tofu costs NT$70 per portion so if you aren’t sure, just give it a go as it doesn’t cost much if you don’t like it. It tastes surprisingly good, if you can get over the smell.
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Cubed steaks
The smell of diced steaks being cooked by blowtorches wafts through Raohe and is a common sight – it looks good too!
Okonomiyaki
There is a cute and kawaii Japanese okonomiyaki stall we discovered on our last trip to Raohe Night Market, selling these joyful Japanese pancakes for just NT$80 a time.
We got to sit down in front of the couple cooking their okonomiyaki on the griddle. Talk about a chef’s table experience for such a small cost! This is also a good vegetarian option at Raohe Night Market if you ask for it without the pork.
Sweet Potato Balls
Deep fried balls of fun in various flavours like taro – NT$50 for a small potion or NT$80 for a larger portion.
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Sweetcorn
One of the highlights is watching the sweet corn sellers roast their corn kernels on skewers over charcoal racks or steam them in a bamboo basket – one of the best vegetarian options at Raohe Night Market.
Other incredible foods at Raohe Night Market include (prices correct as of early 2024):
- Pork and cabbage buns for NT$18 a piece (really good!)
- Garlic and black pepper ‘one bite’ sausages – NT$30
- Pig’s blood cake – NT$50
- Tang hu lau – candied grapes and tomatoes costing NT$40 to NT$60 per skewer
- Crispy donuts – NT$30
- Avocado milk – NT$60
- Peanut ice-cream with coriander – NT$55
- Grilled squid – NT$120
- Escargot / grilled snails
- Korean fried chicken from NT$150
- Fried milk
- Scallion pancakes
- Fried chicken
- Chinese rice roll noodles
- Fresh fruit cups or juice like freshly squeezed watermelon juice from NT$40
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Other things to see at the market (other than food)
95% of the stalls at Raohe night market are seriously good street food but there are also lots of carnival style games and fairground attractions which are always fun to take part in or watch others.
Popular games include getting basketballs in hoops, bursting balloons with darts plus hoopla, where you can win prizes by throwing rings over toys (or beer and wine bottles for ‘big kids’).
The traditional Taiwanese marble pinball machines can also be found in great numbers here.
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The ring toss and balloon games do seem pretty loaded in favor of the stall owner and we didn’t see many winners – so buyer beware!
Many local blind / injured street performers (or students trying to raise tuition fees) also sing and play music in the crowds – this is a very regular occurrence in all of Taipei’s night markets, plus Keelung night market.
We also spotted Korean style photo booth shops, souvenir stalls, toy and gachapon stalls and a few fashion / sock stalls at Raohe Night Market too.
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Time Beer
‘Time’ for Taipei craft beers at Raohe Night Market – Time Beer is a cute and charming Taipei craft beer bar that overlooks the market.
With only enough space to sit around a dozen or show drinkers, this is one atmospheric bar, with a huge range of beers on tap and in cans, lit up by a huge ‘Time Beer’ neon sign at the rear of the bar.
Serving up a range of Taiwan craft beers like Taihu Brewing and Nantou’s Tsai’s Actual Brewing, you can also get a wide selection of international ales beers like St Austell from Cornwall or Revision Brewing from Nevada USA.
Sometimes, you can get three craft beer cans for $NT500 (around £12 or $15 USD).
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Other practical tips
- Raohe Night Market is closed to traffic from around 4.30pm to approximately midnight.
- Crime is low in Taiwan compared to other countries but the markets can get very busy very quickly so keep an eye on your belongings.
- If the queue is big and it isn’t all western tourists, it is likely a very good stall!
- Some Raohe Night Market food stalls (like the okonomiyaki stall) offer seating but not all do so you may need to walk and eat.
- There are several convenience stores along the way if you need any soft drinks or similar including 7-Eleven.
- Some of the stalls close / sell out early so if you want a certain dish from a specific stall, don’t risk it and go early.
- You’ll usually find bins at either end of the market – otherwise you can sometimes return your wrappers and rubbish to the stall you bought it from.
- Watch out for skewers – given the close proximity, be aware of visitors with empty food skewers in their hand as they can be quite sharp.
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Address
Raohe Night Market, Raohe St, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
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