Tainan's Hua Yuan Night Market

Tainan's Hua YUan Night Market

Where to find some of Taiwan's best street food

Updated: November 24, 2018

Looking to try some of the best food in Tainan? Curious about Taiwanese cuisine? Head over to the Tainan Flower Night Market, where the only bouquets here are savory aromas blossoming in the air. Also referred to as the Hua Yuan night market, this market in Tainan is only open on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 17:00 to around midnight. this is a favorite local hangout spot mostly consisting of food stalls with a couple of amusement games thrown into the mix. This was some of the most delicious food in all of Tainan and one of our favorite markets we visited during our time in Asia. Read on to find out our favorite snacks and information on the HUA yun flower night market.

Located in a somewhat relaxed part of the city, it is only as you approach within a couple hundred yards that you see the swarms of people heading towards a brightly lit epicenter; welcome to the Hua Yuan Night market. Also known as the hua yuan floral market, though no flowers are sold here, Hua Yuan is the largest night market in Tainan. Perhaps the original founders were trying to keep the best street food in Tainan a secret hidden in images of petals and stems. Judging by the crowds, it seems (thankfully!) that the secret is out!

Prepare to move at a snail’s pace, which is totally acceptable because you, just like everyone else, will be ogling the yummyness that surrounds you. The best way to explore Hua Yuan market is to queue with the locals. Every stall we ate at was less of our own decision and more of sheep mentally that paid off big time. Anytime we saw a line of more than six or so people at one stall, we joined in with the crowd. While all of the food at this market looks and smells mouthwatering, below is the food we tried that we were the most stoked about! We chose to snack our way through, but keep in mind Hua Yuan market is a great choice for both street food and sit-down noodle and curry stalls serving up huge portions. Whether you are looking for your salty/sweet pick me up or a great place to have dinner in Tainan, Hua Yuan has you covered. While we occasionally eat meat, we typically stick to a pretty vegetable dense diet. Seafood is readily available throughout the night market, with squid being the most common delicacy (squid ink cheese corn dog anyone?). Meat, in particular grilled to order beef steak stalls, are also scattered throughout. While there are great protein options of all shapes and sizes here, Hua Yuan also features a lot of vegetarian friendly street food. We found this market one of the easiest we’ve ever experienced for eating vegetarian in Taiwan. The food featured below is all meat-free and will likely stoke meat lovers and meat abstainers all the same!

Scallion Pancakes

There’s a handful of stalls which sell this Taiwanese street food gem. This was a treat we heard about from fellow travelers and was at the tippity top of the “must try food in Taiwan” google doc (yes, we have one of those!). By far the longest queues were at this stall pictured below. Don’t let the size of the crowd concern you, the staff at this stall work incredibly fast and push people through quickly. We really liked how, at this spot, you could select a seasoning to be sprinkled onto your pancake. We chose salt and pepper, other options included a plum, seaweed, and spicy seasoning among others. Ordering in English was a breeze as there was a sign to point to what flavoring we wanted. Little words were exchanged, just eager smiles! Ohhhhh, was this worth the wait! Crispy and delectably savory, this green onion pancake was unlike anything we’ve ever tried. The staff at this particular stall does a great job of quickly turning out fresh pancakes, and blot off any remaining oil so it’s hot but not too greasy. A great, vegetarian friendly street food option in Taiwan!

Mochi

Mochis aka little balls of nirvana. A spectacle merely to watch be prepared, these little babies are otherworldly to eat. Keep an eye out for a small cart with an assortment of colorful powders neatly organzied on it’s table. One person pulls apart mochi dough, shaping it into small balls where they are then handed over to someone who rolls the mochi into the seasoning of your choice. There was an English menu to clarify the flavor choices, and the staff member who calls out your order was kind enough to go through and point out the different flavors once they were packaged up. It’s a tough choice, the package of 15 looks awfully tempting as your eyes scour over the delicious and unique flavors. In the end we chose 7; purple potato, red bean, matcha green tea, sesame, coconut, taro and peanut. Each soft, delicately chewy piece was carefully prodded through each flavor until a carefully dusted mochi made its way to your box. Pure bliss is the best way to describe these small treasures. We both agreed it was hard to pick a favorite, each selection had its own delicious nuances that tickled your tounge and made you release audible “oooohhs” and “aaaahhhhsss”. Be prepared to wash these babies down with some water! The fresh dough is thick and will leaved you parched by the end.

Cheese Potato Pie

We love trying the new, local, kinda-crazy and outlandish food options, but sometimes our souls need a bit of comfort food. These creature comforts usually reside, for us, in the form of potatoes and cheese. When we saw one stand with a line that stretched down the lane advertising “cheese potato pie” we knew we couldn’t pass it up. Formidable lumps of dough are stretched out and pounded into small circles where fillings, including a couple of meat options, are scooped inside and then bunched up to be pinched at the top and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Turns out the line was awaiting the famous Taiwan pepper meat pies to be ready, so we were able to skip ahead and order up a warm vegetarian selection right away. They keep the buns wrapped in paper and sitting on a hot plate, so even if they are not right out of the charcoal oven they are still pipping hot. The cheese and potato filling was essentially mashed potatoes with shredded cheese throughout. We palmed the warm bun and were treated to instant warmth, welcomed on the breezy Tainan night. This sounds cheesy (pardon the pun), but it was like biting into a hug. One nibble and you couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside. Yet another outstanding food selection at the Hua Yuan Night market.

Fried Mushrooms

Mushroom farming has a deep-rooted history in Taiwan. At one point, Taiwan was one of the world’s leading producers of these yummy vitamin packed fungi. Mushrooms on their own have the ability to be creamy, buttery and evocative of the umami taste. Add a deep fryer and some tasty seasoning? The ball is way over the fence and we have a home run, folks. This popular stall borders the most western edge of the Hua Yuen market. Choose between 4 different mushroom types (or an assortment of the bunch) and a powdered topping then wait for the magic to happen. Mushrooms are fried to order and can take 5-10 minutes to prepare; patience pays off ten-fold. During our visit in October of 2018, there were four different mushroom varieties. We selected oyster mushroom, one of the larger options, and really appreciated the breading to mushroom ratio. Some of smaller, more lean mushrooms (such as enokitake) might be more breading dense due to their thin size. Biting into each piece was a salty delight. Even after their oil bath, the mushrooms retain their fresh, meat like consistency. A small bag was more than enough to share for us.

The Hua Yuan market in Tainan is hands down some of the best food in the city. Known as the “city of snacks’ Tainan seems to best demonstrate this at this well-traveled local market. There’s options for everyone, including vegetarian friendly Taiwanese street food. Stalls here consistently dish out fresh and tasty meals. Consider making the trek to this market if you are in town while it is open. It is a great place to have dinner in Tainan and a lovely chance to try some authentic street food in Taiwan.

Hua Yuan Night Market (Tainan Flower Night Market)

Aloha, friends! We hope you enjoyed our article on the Hua Yuan Night Market in Tainan. This was one of our favorite markets to visit during our trip to Taiwan. All of these opinions are our own. The only incentive we received was full bellies and hearts full of bliss. May this information stoke your Taiwan food dreams and encourage your taste buds to discover new joys!

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