Shilin Night Market is Taipei's largest and best-known night market, a maze of food stalls, games and small shops that fills several streets every evening. It is free to wander, easy to reach by MRT, and the best introduction to Taiwanese street food for a first-time visitor. This guide explains which station to use, what to eat at Shilin Night Market, when to go and how to cope with the crowds.
What Shilin Night Market is
Markets have traded in Shilin for more than a century, and the night market grew up around the old Shilin public market and the Cixian Temple at its centre. Today it is less a single market than a district: covered food halls, outdoor lanes lined with stalls, clothing and accessory shops, and carnival-style games where you can throw darts at balloons or fish for prawns.
It is touristy, and locals will tell you smaller markets have better food. But the variety in one place is hard to beat, and the energy on a busy night is part of the fun.
Getting to Shilin Night Market by MRT
Despite the name, the nearest station is Jiantan, not Shilin. Jiantan is on the Red Line (Tamsui-Xinyi), and the market begins just across the road from the station. Follow the crowds and the signs: you will be among the stalls within a few minutes.
Shilin Station, one stop further north, is the right stop for the National Palace Museum buses and for the Shilin Official Residence, but it is a longer walk to the market. If your evening starts at Jiantan, you can walk through the market and still catch the train home from Jiantan afterwards.
Do you need tickets?
No. Shilin Night Market is free to enter. Bring cash in small notes and coins, since many stalls do not take cards, although mobile payments and cards are becoming more common. An EasyCard can be used at some convenience stores and a few vendors.
What to eat at Shilin Night Market
Go hungry and share dishes so you can try more. Some favourites:
- Giant fried chicken cutlet: a flattened, crispy chicken breast seasoned with pepper, larger than your face.
- Oyster omelette: eggs, small oysters and starch fried together and topped with a sweet and savoury sauce.
- Stinky tofu: fermented tofu, deep fried and served with pickled cabbage. The smell is strong; the taste is milder.
- Pepper buns: baked in a clay oven, with a peppery pork and spring onion filling.
- Bubble tea and shaved ice: Taiwan invented bubble tea, and the fruit shaved ice is ideal on a hot night.
- Sausages and grilled squid: sweet Taiwanese sausage, sometimes wrapped in a sticky rice "bun".
The basement food court
Shilin Market's food court sits in the basement of the market building. Rows of small counters serve sit-down dishes such as oyster omelette, noodles and fried rice, which is handy if it rains or you want a seat. It can be hot and loud, but it is a good place to rest your feet.
Best time to visit Shilin Night Market
Stalls open from late afternoon, and the market runs until around midnight. Arriving around 6pm on a weekday gives you the full choice of food before the biggest crowds. Weekend nights between about 8pm and 10pm are the busiest. Allow one and a half to two hours to eat, browse and play a game or two.
Tips for a smooth visit
- Keep bags in front of you in crowded lanes.
- Look for the longest queue of locals; it is usually a good sign.
- Carry tissues and hand wipes, as napkins are not always provided.
- Bins are scarce, so hold on to your rubbish or return it to the stall.
Nearby on the same stop
From Jiantan you can see the Grand Hotel on the hillside across the river, a huge palace-style building with red columns and a classic Chinese roof; it is lit at night. Further afield, from Shilin Station, buses reach the National Palace Museum, home to one of the world's finest collections of Chinese art, and the gardens of the Shilin Official Residence are within walking distance.
Find more spots around this station on the Shilin Night Market page on Around the Metro, or browse every stop on the Taipei MRT map.