Taipei Night Markets

Taipei is known for it's night markets.  These markets are scattered throughout the city and open every evening after 5:00 p.m.  They are an opportunity to purchase any  Taiwanese souvenir or food item that strikes your fancy.  They are loud, colorful, fragrant, sweaty places to stroll, shop and eat. A night market is no place to take a baby, so one night we left Solomon with David, and Chia, Taylor and I took a stroll through the night market near our apartment.

Some night markets have extravagant signs.

The one near our house, has a more modest entrance, but it is wonderful.

The sign on the opposite side of the street.

 Walk with me, while we eat our way through the Tonghua Night Market.

First stop, Taiwanese sausages cooked on demand.

We are eating and walking at the same time.

Squid balls.

Chia and Taylor are ready to consume those squid balls.

Hmm, kind of like a fritter with a piece of squid inside

Ribs.

Snails, deep fried squid and crab.

Fry bread

We got the fry bread with chives.  Yum.

Some folks were taking a break by getting a massage.

This place is famous for its stinky tofu.

Stinky tofu is really quite attractive.

Chia was happy to sit down to enjoy the stinky tofu. So were we.

This is proof that I really tried it.

I was very full by the time we got to these dumplings.  Chia insisted, and she was right.  They were excellent.

Noodles fixed any way you want.

The best fried chicken ever.  Notice the TV monitor.  The chef had been on a local TV show.

How adorable are these little characters?  They are like donuts, or cakes.

We're done.  We're hot, tired, exhausted and full.  And, I didn't even take a photo of the passion fruit ice cream that I consumed, or the tarts that Taylor bought, or the sesame liver soup that Chia consumed.  We also didn't buy any slippers, back scratchers, mosquito zappers, cell phones or tee shirts that were also for sale.  We were all ready to go back to the apartment to be with David and Solomon.

Sweet sleeping father and son.

Breakfast

 When I'm at home, I pretty much eat the same thing for breakfast every day- - oatmeal and fruit.  Sometimes I vary it by having yogurt and fruit.  And when I really want something different I'll have a boiled egg. When travelling in a foreign county, it's tricky to find what works for one's system.

We often go to Semeur, which is a French bakery around the corner from us.  This is where we get latte and croissant, or other white flour pastries that are somewhat French but have a Taiwanese twist.

My other favorite breakfast, is from a small stand that isn't too far from us. There are a number of items that one can purchase, but I like shoa bing, which is like an omelette tucked into pie crust.

The bread is baking on the griddle. After it's done, the cook will use scissors to cut it open on three sides.

The women are slipping the egg into the bread. 

After purchasing our shoa bing, we cross the street to 7 Eleven and get our custom lattes.

A perfect breakfast.