Many of us go crazy for Taiwanese cuisine, especially street food, which you can find at eateries, pop-ups, and pasar malams.
Come 28 July 2023, you’ll be able to chow down on your favourite street eats, all in one place, at TaiWan Night Markets, an exciting Taiwanese street food concept by Fei Siong Group.
It is made up of 19 street food kiosks and five mini restaurants that will be housed in the basement of Cineleisure Orchard — kind of like a massive food court spanning 8000 sq ft.
In preparation for the dining concept, the team actually visited several traditional night markets in Taipei’s Datong District, including Ningxia Night Market, Shilin Night Market, Raohe Night Market,” and Qingguang Night Market, just to name a few.
From grilled skewers and savoury pancakes to bubble tea and shaved ice, all of which will be priced at an average of S$5, here are some exciting highlights to look forward to:
Temple-side Rice Noodles
Temple-side Rice Noodles serves rice noodles topped with plump oysters and intestines, better known as oyster mee sua (AKA one of the most well-known Taiwanese street eats).
Did you really go to a Taiwan night market if you didn’t order a bowl of oyster mee sua? The oyster mee sua here featured succulent oysters with dollops of garlic and chilli on the side.
I felt that the noodles on its own were a little bland but thankfully, garlic and chilli really helped to give the dish an extra burst of spice and flavour. I’d also recommend asking for a bit more vinegar if you prefer your oyster mee sua to be a little bit more sour.
Night Market Huge Steak
Night Market Steak grills up Western-style hotplate steak, accompanied by a unique puff pastry soup served in a “Lion Head Bowl”.
Lao Chen Scallion Pancake
Lao Chen Scallion Pancake are truly next level. The pancakes have a crusty pastry-like texture that’s kinda similar to roti prata, and are loaded with a chunky meat patty, ham, lettuce, cheese, and drizzled with authentic Taiwan sauces.
Every bite was a medley of flavours and textures. On the first bite, you’ll get the crunch from the lettuce before the juices from chicken bursts in your mouth. Then the flavour of the scallions will come through together with the savoury cheese slice.
Taiwanese Sausage with Sticky Rice
As its name suggests, Taiwanese Sausage with Sticky Rice specialises in authentic freshly-made sausages complemented by soft and sticky handmade glutinous rice sausage and toppings. I’ve tried Taiwan sausage and sticky rice individually but never wrapped together like a sandwich, so I didn’t know what to expect from it. Having tried it, I can safely say that this dish was not for me.
Imagine your regular hot dog bun but with a Taiwan sausage and sticky rice as a bun replacement. It is then stuffed with garlic slices, pickled vegetables and a special sauce. These items all taste good on their own but when put together, the overly powerful flavours from each ingredient seemed to clash heads. A unique dish that’s worth a shot, but maybe not for me.
Lao Ye’s First Salty Crispy Chicken
Another must-have at any night market is the Taiwan crispy chicken cutlet, and Lao Ye’s First Salty Crispy Chicken is your go-to for golden and crispy delicacies, so you bet we had to give the chicken a go. We ordered the namesake dish — Salty Crispy Chicken (S$6) — which came served in little bite-sized chunks lightly dusted in Sichuan peppercorn salt .
In true Taiwanese fashion, the chicken had a flavourful and super crunchy skin. I was a little disappointed as the inside was a tad dry. However, it still does make for a good snack that you can easily eat on the go.
Oh Ba Oyster Omelette
Oh Ba Oyster Omelette serves up Taiwanese oyster omelette with a chewy batter, crispy outer layer, and a rich “soulful” sauce.
Unlike the regular oyster omelette we have in Singapore, the oyster omelette served at Oh Ba Oyster Omelette is much lighter and comes with some veggies. I love that they were really generous with the fresh and juicy oysters. The “soulful” sauce tasted almost like a non-spicy curry sauce — as a spice lover, I felt that it would’ve better with a kick of spice.
Uncle Wheel Pancake
Uncle Wheel Pancake sells fragrant wheel-like pancakes with dense sweet and savoury fillings like red bean and black sesame.
These fluffy pancakes are best enjoyed when it is fresh and piping hot. I really loved the custard and black sesame flavours. The custard was sweet and creamy — kinda like the Korean fish pancake that I love, while the black sesame was fragrant and sweet, without any unpleasant bitter aftertaste. If you love taro, you can give the taro pancake a go too!
Peanut Roll with Ice Cream
Peanut Roll with Ice Cream specialises in this Taiwanese creation derived from the traditional ruanbing, comprising chewy crepe-like pancakes wrapped around ice cream and toppings (typically ground peanuts and cilantro).
Frog Laying Eggs
Taiwanese people have a secret weapon for beating the heat — aiyu jelly — which can be found at Frog Laying Eggs. Refreshing aiyu jelly, combined with chewy pearls and tangy lemon juice, makes for a cool, delightful, and playful treat. Additionally, traditional desserts such as Jiufen taro balls, grass jelly, and tofu pudding are also available.
Taiwanese QQ Sweet Potato Balls
You definitely cannot make a trip here without trying the Sweet Potato Balls (S$6), that are best enjoyed while still hot and fresh. They come in three different colours — Orange, Purple, and Green. Trust me when I say these guys taste as good as they look.
As you bite into it, you’ll get a nice crunch from the outer shell and the inside is an airy and chewy centre. You’ll also taste the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. All I can say is, these are super addictive and it’s hard to stop at just one serving!
Taiwan Skewers
If you’re feeling adventurous, you should pop by the Taiwan skewers booth and try their Pork Intestines with spring onions. As someone who doesn’t enjoy intestines, I thought this was manageable thanks to the sweet sauce. The outer skin was barbecued to a nice crunch while the spring onions helped to mask the smell of the pork intestine.
If you’re not feeling so adventurous, you can always go for the regular pork with spring onions which features a nicely barbecued bacon wrapped around stalks of crunchy spring onions and slathered with a sweet barbecue sauce.
King Oyster Mushrooms
I love me a good barbecued King Oyster Mushroom and the ones served at the Taiwan Night Market certainly did not disappoint. It had thick and juicy slices of mushroom dosed in an original Taiwanese barbecue sauce. The charred bits provided a nice and smokey fragrance which blended well with the sweet and lightly peppery sauce.
From now until 27 July 2023, you are welcome to head down and experience what Taiwan Night Markets has to offer ahead of its grand opening on 28 July 2023. During the soft launch event, you’ll also get to enjoy a 50% discount off your second food item. Registration can be made here. Do note that the mini restaurants are still work in progress but they’ll definitely be up and ready by opening day!
Ready to be transported to the bustling night markets of Taiwan without having to leave Singapore at TaiWan Night Markets?
TaiWan Night Markets
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???? 8 Grange Rd, Cineleisure Orchard, #B1-01, Singapore 239695
???? 11.30am–10.30pm (Sun to Thu & PH), 11.30am–12am (Fri, Sat & eve of PH)
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