[2013TW] Day 08: Rao He Night Market

  I finally get to meet my good highschool sista after like one year- we study different majors so we didn't have much chance of seeing each other.

  We laughed and talked throughout the whole hang out- no awkward silence, which is awesome :D! We actually finished walking through the whole 五分埔 Wu Fen Pu area... without buying anything O_O" I should've bought some of the things lol... I need to go there again some time next week.

  She had to leave by 6 pm because she already agreed to having dinner with her auntie. We arrived at Rao He Night Market, she's never been there before O_O! I basically grew up in this area, so I've went to this night market for sooooo many times.

  We got there early, around 5 pm, entrance look like this:

We just walked through the night market (people are just setting up). We went to Rainbow Bridge (彩虹橋) just a few steps away from the night market. You'll see a sign ahead in the night market pointing to the bridge entrance. Apparently this is like the first S shaped bridge for people to walk on.

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  Very pretty bridge, a get away place inside Taipei city, a silent place away from all the noise- great place for a date! :) I think it looks even prettier at night, but I was alone, so I didn't wanna go after it was dark.

  I went to the Rao He night market alone after I couldn't find anyone to come meet me... I've forgotten to import my contacts from my old phone = =" gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! I hate myself, but I didn't want to go home then come again since I've already went all the way there. So I stayed and walked along the night market for like 4 times lol eating foods. Many foods here have again became famous through TV programs in recent years - few years ago, they weren't this popular...

  First thing we noticed was this Pepper bun that lots of people were lining up, each bun is $45NT(=$1.5CAD)... I thought it was great so I bought 6 ---

Well, it turns out, pepper buns are too spicy for me, and I didn't really like it. (Later when I got home and gave them to my mom, she told me no one in my family likes them either...) Tsk- got tricked by the line up- this is like the most popular item throughout the night market judging from the line up. But in my opinion, it's hardly on the most delicious food list for this night market- Don't think it's worth the time, effort, and money.

  I've also ate stinky tofu, there are many stands that sell the same things. How do I know which one to eat from? Do not look at the line up (lesson one up there), because as soon as a line started to form in the front (due to a group of friends buying or something) , it will get longer and longer regardless of how bad/good the food is. Look at how old the cook is (usually old cooks are better), then look for how fast they work, then look at how clean they are (how they keep their working space hygienic). I spent $45NT on my spicy tofu (not my favourite item, so I will just comment on the taste). It's spicy and sweet mostly. Saltiness is just right. The sauce is more sweet than salty. Overall, a decent dish for its price.

  Then I came across 陳董 藥燉排骨 "Chen Dong Yao Duen Pai Gu" (Chairman Chen's Rib Soup in Chinese Medicine). Taste the same as it did when I was little. There's another stand with more seats called 十全 (Shi Chuan) which is not as good : less meat, less soup, not as tasty.

  They gave me so many pieces of meat (see these bones?), by the end of the bowl, I was so full I thought I might puke lol!~ Felt great to eat so much! Remember to eat their ribs with their spicy bean sauce- best ever!

  After this, I was so full already, I went home. XD then watched TV (like always hahahahaha). Great day, great food, great trip!