Another day and another night market.

And we brought our appetite.

Today we are visiting the Raohe Night Market (饒河夜市) and they are renown for their

street food.

If you want to have street food this is the one market you need to visit.

And earlier this week we visited Shilin night market (士林夜市) where we got to try a few different

treats.

Yeah.

But we're on the lookout for more Taiwanese street food (Xiaochi - 小吃).

It is all about the food tonight.

Let's go eat.

Okay so we found our first snack of the night.

Before we even entered the market.

Yeah, so we're trying a pork bun (胡椒餅) that was cooked in the oven.

And this is just freshly made so really exciting.

It is like pipping hot.

I can feel it warm in my hands.

And it was cooked in what resembled like one of those Indian tandoori ovens where the bread

just sticks to the side.

That is really good.

And this is filled with pork and chives.

So I'm not getting a lot of pork on the first bite but it is very thick and condensed.

So very doughy.

Let's see if we can get a better look.

Alright, so we've finally made it to the point where I can get some meat here.

Alright.

Mmmm.

Bite number two.

Oh yeah.

Nice big piece of pork.

A big piece of pork.

What?

Is it ground pork?

It is ground pork.

It is ground pork.

Mmmm.

The pork is a little bit sweet and also a little bit spicy.

But the dough is savory and salty.

It is a nice contrast.

It tastes really good.

And it was also really cheap.

It was only fifty Taiwan dollars which is I think about a dollar fifty.

A little bit more than a dollar fifty US.

So Sam got the giant pork bun but they also have options for vegetarians in the form of

mini-buns.

So I'm going to try that one.

Look at it.

Yeah.

Covered in sesame seeds.

That was just stuffed at the bottom of our package.

So pretty cool.

There you go.

It is just the chives.

That is all that is in it.

That is your vegetable.

The chives.

The green onions.

Is it tasty?

Really tasty.

And I like that it is a small bite.

And I like that is was a bonus.

We didn't pay for it.

Or I feel like we didn't pay for it.

It was just like stuffed in the bottom of the bag.

We like free things.

What is next?

Okay, next we're having something sweet so we stopped at Anna's egg tart (蛋撻).

And these are like the miniature egg tarts (蛋撻) that you might find in Portugal or

Hong Kong or Macau.

Except these are like mini bites that you can just pop them right in.

Yeah, you can pop them in.

One each.

Mmmm.

How is that?

That is really nice.

It is like creamy and smooth and custardy.

It is really good.

I'll have this one too.

Hey!

Hahaha.

That is so mean.

I'm not sure this is going to be enough for Sam the giant.

Show us that tiny little.

Look at how small that is.

These are really mini.

When they said they were mini they weren't kidding.

But I love these.

Like you've said I've had them in Portugal, I've had them in Hong Kong.

I've had them in Macau so really cool to try egg tarts here in Taiwan.

Yeah.

Big enough to fill a cavity, right Sam?

Mmmm.

Oh man.

What do you think?

That is really good.

The thing I really like about it is that it is really creamy and sweet.

I can tell that those are freshly made because it is still warm.

Yeah.

Mmmm.

And they were so cheap.

Flaky pastry.

How much did we pay?

They were only twenty each.

So you're talking like just over a dollar US for us to both have.

Maybe like a dollar twenty.

Really really good.

Nice little bite.

But yeah that is not going to fill me up.

Alright, let's keep moving.

Red bean.

Okay.

(Speaking Chinese)

And now it is time for a mystery sample that caught our eye but we have no idea what it

is.

We're being a little adventurous here.

We have no idea what this is.

It is cold in the hand.

And it feels kind of slimy.

And we got ten of these for thirty five Taiwan dollars so that is just over one US dollar.

So let's just hop right in and try it.

Um, I think I heard him say red bean.

Yes, one of these are red bean.

And this was sitting on ice.

It looks like a dessert that was sitting on ice.

Mmmm.

Okay.

Sweet.

Yeah.

The red beans obviously has some sugar added to it.

And if I had to guess I think it is something the consistency is sort of like a rice cake

on the outside.

Do you think it is like a miniature mochi ball (麻糍 - 麻糬), maybe?

It could be.

It might be little mochi balls (麻糍 - 麻糬).

Quality control.

Quality control.

Mmmm.

Is it passing quality control?

It is.

I like it.

It is kind of like a I would consider it to be a little bit more like a dessert than.

It is definitely not savory.

It is sweet.

Good stuff.

My hand is actually freezing holding this bag because it has chunks of ice in it.

Um, but I'm going to try a different one.

Sam was having the red bean.

And this is another mystery one.

It is yellow.

I have no idea.

The lady was trying to explain what it was but I don't get it.

We didn't catch.

We didn't catch it.

Does it taste like anything familiar?

No?

It has like the texture of bean paste.

Yeah.

White bean paste?

Is there such a thing as a white bean?

Hahaha.

I don't know.

It is good though.

It reminds me a lot of red bean paste just different color.

But it is sweet.

And it is cold.

My hands are so cold right now.

So this next snack was purchased solely for its cute factor.

Let's take a look in the the bag.

They're like these little egg waffles (雞蛋仔) or pancakes shaped like a cartoon.

So here I've got Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Let's see who else is in there.

We've got this is like a Pokemon.

That is a Pokemon.

I don't really follow it.

I have no idea.

If you guys follow Pokemon tell us who it is.

And if it a Pokemon.

Hahaha.

This looks like a cow with giant nostrils.

No, that is panda bear.

That is a panda bear.

Anyways let's try it and see what it is like.

A cow with giant nostrils.

Nice.

Oh how is that?

Okay.

So no filling whatsoever.

But it is super light and fluffy and it has like pockets of air inside.

Is it sweet?

It is pretty nice.

This would be good with ice cream.

Oh, it is sweet.

Oh yeah.

It is like cake.

Fluffy cake.

Okay Sam, who will you be devouring tonight?

So I'm going to bite in to Sponge Bob here.

Sponge Bob.

Square Pants.

Those are really good.

They're freshly made.

That is what I'm loving about this night market so far.

Everything we've had has been pipping hot.

Freshly made.

Gotta love that.

And it was cheap too.

So we paid forty five Taiwan dollars for this one.

Which is less than one dollar and fifty cents US.

So and we got five.

We got five of them.

Yeah.

We'll be snacking on these for a while.

Alright.

Please put the whole cookie deep in your mouth and chew it.

So what are you having Audrey?

It is smoking.

Smoking cookie.

I have to put this whole thing in my mouth, chew with my teeth and not with my tongue.

Alright.

Woah!

It is smoking out of your mouth.

Haha.

You look like a dragon.

Haha.

Is it good?

It is cold.

It is ice.

Oh wow.

It kind of gets stuck to your tongue.

That is why they tell you to eat it with your teeth and eat it fast.

Because it wants to get stuck to your tongue.

So you probably just saw me try a smoking cookie.

We also got some ice cream from the same place.

This is called Smoking Molecule ice cream.

I got the bubble tea (波霸奶茶) flavor and this is the bubble tea sauce in a syringe.

An injection of it.

An injection.

Let me inject that.

He said do it slowly.

There we go.

That looks good.

And it has the pearls.

This is bubble tea (波霸奶茶) which I love.

Let's see is this going to make me smoke as well?

Like this ice cream is super cold.

It was so cold it was freezing.

I don't know what they're putting into it.

Let's try.

Mmmm.

How is that?

Ha!

It is not making me smoke.

No smoke this time.

No smoke this time but the ice cream is really good.

It is dripping down the sides but it is tasty.

Mmmmm.

Yeah.

That place was a lot of fun.

It is kind of like a performance while they're making your food.

Yeah, that is what I thought too.

I thought it was just fascinating to see how it was made and just it is such a charismatic

performance and a lot of attention to detail.

A lot of fun.

It is called Cooler Bear (酷樂熊).

Yeah.

Definitely check this one out.

Yes.