You probably know by now that one of my favorite things to do here is going to the fabulous nights markets. There’s just something about the atmosphere and the extra Taiwanese-ness of those places (Yeah, i invent words now) that I love. I’ve never seen something quite like night markets, anywhere in the world.
So when Elsa asked me if I wanted to go with her to a new night market, I was all in. And boy, I do not regret it. We went to Raohe Night Market, which is located in Songshan District. It is not as easy to access as most night markets, but it is definitely worth the 15 minute walk from the MRT station (we got off at Yongchun on the blue line).
Les marchés de nuit ! Oh oui, oh oui, oh oui. Bien sûr, on a des marchés en France, des marchés de Noël, des marchés traditionnels, etc, etc. Mais on n’a pas de marché de nuit taïwanais. Et le principe n’est absolument pas le même. Les marchés de nuit reposent sur un concept : “à la bouffe !”. Et ça, ça me parle. Surtout que la nourriture est souvent délicieuse : c’est de la restauration rapide niveau 10000. Et bien sûr, particulièrement pour les étrangers, l’excitation de la découverte de nouvelles saveurs amplifie le plaisir. Raohe est une parfaite illustration de cela : sur les 1,2km de parcours du marché de nuit, je n’ai jamais autant de nourriture que j’ai eu envie de goûter. Des soupes, des desserts, des boissons… À mon départ, tout ce à quoi je pouvais penser était : quand est-ce qu’on y retourne ?
Songshan Road, leading to the night market
Songshan Road, sur le chemin
A wild temple appears! Right next to Songshan Train Station.
Et soudain… un temple au milieu des buildings.
The temple on Raohe Street is extremely impressive, bigger and higher than any temples I’ve seen before. It’s currently being renovated, hopefully they finish before I leave so I can visit it.
Le majusteux temple de la rue Raohe, extrêmement impressionnant. Il semble avoir été posé là par une grue géante, magnifique !
Here we are! The beautiful entrance to the night market.
Impossible de manquer l’entrée du marché !
The first few meters are decorated with cute lanterns.
Les premiers mètres, le marché est très bigarré.
Crowded as usual! But because of the configuration of the night market it isn’t as bad as elsewhere, because everyone goes the same way along the street. Street vendors are separating the street in two lanes. Literally, you just need to go with the flow!
Du monde partout ! Mais comme le marché est installé le long d’une seule rue, il est facile d’y naviguer : il suffit de se laisser porter par le courant.
Oh my, that roasted pig looked so delicious! The vendor was cutting strips directly from the carcass and selling them as is. We wanted to try but didn’t really know how to ask. Next time we’ll be less cowardly!
Un cochon entier ! Waouh ! Le vendeur coupait des tranches de viande directement sur la carcasse. La prochaine fois, je goûterai.
A real bargain: three bowls for $100. One delicious, fragrant portion for $33 (less than 1€), what else can I ask for?
Une vraie bonne affaire: trois portions pour $100. Ça tombe bien, on était trois ! $33 (moins d’un euro) pour une délicieuse portion, que demander de plus ?
Who wants some squid?
Envie de calmar ?
Meeeeeee! The fact that the squid comes whole and is cut in front of your eyes is a big bonus.
Je n’osais pas acheter du calamar frit car j’avais peur que ce soit trop gras et écoeurant, mais en fait c’est délicieux, et pas aussi gras que je ne le pensais !
People, more people everywhere. Looking back, I should’ve taken more pictures but I have to say I was more focused on the food. Oops?
Du monde partout ! Maintenant que j’y pense, j’aurais sûrement dû prendre plus de photos, mais j’avoue que toute cette nourriture m’a tourné la tête. Et puis le monde tout le temps en mouvement n’a pas facilité les choses.
Puppies! I’m always amazed at how well-behaved pets are here. Could you imagine running a clothes shop with 3 dogs?
Je suis toujours très étonnée de voir que la plupart des chiens sont très bien dressés ici. Qui pourrait prétendre travailler tranquillement dans un stand de vêtements avec 3 chiens ?
One of the dogs was really excited to be petted by Elsa!
Un des chiens était particulièrement content de recevoir les papouilles d’Elsa !
I have yet to determine what those are. Apparently, they’re push-up bras cases… Or something.
Des… range-soutiens-gorge ? Hein ?
So a vendor was selling stuffed sandwiches… With a French & Japanese twist? The only problem is I’ve never seen anything like that anywhere in France…
Un sandwich fourré, avec la Tour Eiffel en mascotte ? Je sais pas vous, mais j’ai jamais vu ça nulle part en France…
In the mood for a foot rub?
Envie d’un petit massage des pieds ?
Obligatory Jeremy Lin merchandize pic.
L’omniprésent Jeremy Lin.
Watermelon Juice! Ingredients: watermelon. So refreshing!
Jus de pastèque ! Ingrédients : 100% pastèque. Tellement rafraîchissant !
Crowds, crowds everywhere!
Ça grouille de monde !
Surprise! A perfectly articulate French sentence on a t-shirt!
Du vrai, du bon français ! Quelle émotion !
I had an awesome night at Raohe. The only thing is… I made an encounter that I could’ve gone without. It was raining on and off, and vendors were starting to roll out their roofs. I was walking when a lady looked at me and gasped, as I felt something moving in my hair. I thought it was a feather or something and I patted my head to get it out, when I felt something much harder and heavier than a feather roll down my shirt and fall on the floor. I looked down and, horrified, saw a GIANT cockroach flee from between my feet. And for the first time in my entire life, I screeched, and did that hand-shaking and feet stomping dance that people do when they see a spider. It took me several minutes to stop shaking. I HATE being around cockroaches. Here, they are ginormous, super fast and they FLY. That particular cockroach was probably chilling on the roof before it fell off, and it was as scared as I was, which caused him to move around in my hair and on my shirt and aaaaaaaaaargh. Just thinking about it I get chills. For the next 15 minutes I felt like I had something moving under my shirt. Horrible! Gaaaaah.