The short answer

Raohe is the night market we send first-timers to. It’s one straight 500-meter street in Songshan district, open roughly 5pm to 11pm every night, two minutes from MRT Songshan station (Exit 5). It holds six Michelin Bib Gourmand stalls, more than any other market in Taipei, and the famous charcoal-oven pepper bun sits right at the temple entrance. Arrive hungry around 5:30pm on a weekday and you’ll have the best evening of eating in the city.

Raohe Street Night Market runs between two arched gates in Songshan district, with the ornate Ciyou Temple marking the eastern entrance. Where Shilin sprawls across a whole neighborhood, Raohe is a single line: stalls down the middle, shops along the sides, one lane of foot traffic moving in each direction. You enter at one gate, eat your way to the other, and nothing about the layout needs figuring out. That simplicity, plus the food density, is why it answers the “which night market?” question for most first visits.

Location and hours

  • District: Songshan, eastern Taipei, on Raohe Street beside the Keelung River.
  • Hours: about 17:00-23:00, every night of the year. Stalls set their own clocks: the famous ones fire up before 5pm, and some keep serving past midnight. Individual stalls take one weekday off, often Monday, so a specific stall you’re chasing is worth checking on Google Maps first.
  • Getting there: MRT green line to Songshan station, Exit 5, which puts you at the temple-end gate in about two minutes. Songshan TRA station is next door if you’re coming from out of town. From the Taipei 101 area it’s about 15 minutes by taxi.

The food, in walking order

Start at the Ciyou Temple gate. Fuzhou Shizu pepper buns (福州世祖胡椒餅) operate from a window just inside it: pork and scallion buns slapped against the wall of a charcoal tandoor oven, NT$60, Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the queue moves faster than it looks. Eat one while it’s still dangerous. This is the market’s signature item and the reason to arrive hungry.

Working down the street, the other Michelin names come in quick succession. Chen Dong pork ribs medicinal soup (陳董藥燉排骨) ladles a dark herbal broth with fall-apart ribs, the thing to order on a cool or rainy night. A-Kuo braised snacks (阿國滷味) does lu wei: duck wings, tofu and radish soaked in master stock, sold by the piece for grazing. Shi Boss spicy stinky tofu (施老板麻辣臭豆腐) serves the stewed mala version with duck blood, which is the deeper end of the stinky tofu pool; the fried version at other stalls is the shallow end if you’re new to it. Dongfahao (東發號), a sit-down shop near the temple end, has been making oyster vermicelli and pork stew since long before the Michelin inspectors arrived.

Beyond the starred names, the street runs deep: garlic-basil grilled squid, fried taro balls, mochi rolled in peanut powder, and a fire-and-ice tangyuan stand serving hot sesame dumplings over shaved ice. Most snacks cost NT$50-100 and portions are built for sharing. Two people can cover six stalls without regret; the practical ceiling is about NT$500 each, eating ambitiously.

Timing and tactics

Come at opening, around 5 to 6pm, when the ovens are hot and the aisles still move. By 7:30pm on a weekend the center of the street is shoulder to shoulder and every famous stall has a 20-minute line. If crowds are a dealbreaker, weeknights are dramatically calmer than Friday and Saturday.

Bring cash in small bills. A few stalls take EasyCard or mobile payment, but the default here is coins and NT$100 notes, and there’s a 7-Eleven ATM near each entrance if you run dry.

When you’re done, walk one block toward the river: the Rainbow Bridge and its riverside path give you somewhere quiet to finish whatever you’re still holding, and the bridge’s LED arc is Songshan’s minor landmark photo.

FAQ

What are Raohe night market’s opening hours?

Roughly 5pm to 11pm daily, year-round. Big-name stalls open earliest and some run later. There’s no market-wide closing day, but individual stalls rest one weekday, commonly Monday.

How do I get to Raohe night market by MRT?

Green line to Songshan station, Exit 5. The exit surfaces about two minutes from the Ciyou Temple entrance gate. Don’t confuse it with Songshan Airport station, which is a different place entirely.

What is the most famous food at Raohe?

The Fuzhou Shizu black pepper bun at the temple entrance: a charcoal-baked pork bun, NT$60, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The herbal pork rib soup at Chen Dong is the other signature order.

Is Raohe better than Shilin?

For eating, we think so: the food is denser, the layout is simpler, and the Michelin count is higher. Shilin wins on scale, games and shopping. Our night market overview compares all the Taipei markets in one place.

How much time does Raohe need?

Ninety minutes covers a full pass with five or six food stops. Add time for Ciyou Temple, which is worth ten minutes even mid-crawl, and the riverside walk after.

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