“Temple Mouth” Night Market

Unlike most other night markets around Taiwan, Keelung’s famous Miaokou Night Market is dedicated almost exclusively to delicious snack foods and is not a place to browse for cheap consumer goods or play games of chance. The night market is conveniently located within walking distance of the city’s harbor and the railway station, and is a must-visit for anyone who travels to Keelung. Writes Mary Anne Sioco

The night market, like so many others in Taiwan, has an old temple at its center. Dianji Temple, built in 1875, is dedicated to Kai Zhang Sheng Wang, an illustrious ancestor renowned for his efforts on behalf of the people of Zhangzhou, in mainland China’s Fujian Province, the original home of many early immigrants who settled in the Keelung area. “Miaokou” literally means “Temple Mouth,” indicating the market’s proximity to Dianji Temple.

IMPRESSIONS THAT LAST
Though Miaokou Night Market may not be as large as some other famous night markets around Taiwan, it has indeed an amazingly wide range of food selections on offer. Because of its close proximity to local fishing harbors, there is an abundance of fresh and reasonably priced seafood fare. Many of the mouthwatering snack foods available are unique to this well-organized food bazaar. Following is a list of this writer's top-ten must-try specialties.

1. Ding Bian Cuo — This is both the name of a type of noodle and a soup common in China’s Fujian Province. The soup contains ding bian cuo, cabbage, daylily buds (“golden needles”), shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, shrimp, and minced meat in fish paste garnished with fried garlic and celery. It has a very rich flavor! The mushroom aroma of the broth is unmistakable and blends well with the other vegetables. The minced meat consists of pork and shrimp and the ding bian cuo has a texture very different from other Chinese noodles.

Like all good soups, this dish takes a long time to prepare. The broth alone is simmered a whole day to obtain its full body. The handmade noodles are made from rice paste, which is poured (“rolled”) onto the uppermost sides of a heated metal wok and is steamed and “baked” simultaneously.

All three main components of the dish — meat, broth, and rice noodles — are cooked together with vegetables to make the soup. (Served at Stall 27-3; note: all stalls of the market are numbered and can be easily located with a map, which is available at the visitor center near Keelung Railway Station).

2. Nutritious Sandwich — This snack was introduced in the 1960s when Western-style sandwiches were still a curiosity. It was considered to be a nutritious treat because the ingredients had all the elements of a balanced meal. The sandwich is prepared by first deep-frying raw bread dough. The bread is then sliced open and filled with cucumber, tomatoes, ham, and a marinated duck’s egg, and dressed with mayonnaise. The mix of ingredients may sound strange, but the snack is quite tasty. As you eat more of the sandwich you experience a huge contrast in tastes and textures that goes back and forth with every bite.

3. Tian Fu Luo — For this Taiwanese version of the deep-fried Japanese snack known as tempura, no batter is used. It is made by deep-frying a fish paste made of ground shark’s meat, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and other seasonings. Served with pickled cucumbers and a sweet and spicy sauce, this dish doesn’t taste fishy at all and has a firm consistency that I like.

4. Bean Sprout Thick Soup —Surprisingly, this dish is not made with bean sprouts at all, but with bean noodles, which are cooked together with squid and oyster. The soup has a pleasant bean flavor which allows the oyster and squid aroma to stand out. Mild in taste, it is very delicious.

5. Bubble Ice — Ready for dessert? Have some bubble ice, a cold, sweet dessert a bit like a sorbet. You choose one flavor, usually a type of fruit preserve, which is then meticulously blended with finely shaved ice. There are many familiar fruit flavors available, along with Taiwanese-specialty favorites like red bean. If you’re looking for something different, try a mix of the black plum and peanut flavorings, which is frequently requested by locals.

6. Ma Lao — Ma lao comes in either oval or round shape and is frequently used at temples as a gift offering to one’s ancestors. Made from taro and sticky rice, ma lao is fried to expand the finger-sized dough to five times its original size. The Chen family (Stall 62) has refined its ma lao to make it softer and has added a layer of malt sugar and assorted toppings to make it even tastier. The result is a delectably sweet, supple, and slightly sticky snack that I much enjo