Taiwanese Fried Chicken
鹽酥雞yánsū jī
- Savory
- Peppery
- Aromatic
- +3 more
Taipei · Shilin
Shilin Night Market
士林夜市
One of Taipei's tourist landmarks, where the lines form for chicken cutlets, oyster omelets and scallion pancakes
- Hours
- Daily 16:00–00:00
- Crowds
- Very busy
- Average spend
- NT$200–500per person
- Nearest station
- JiantanTamsui-Xinyi Line (Red)
The market
About Shilin Night Market
Shilin Night Market wraps around the Shilin Market building and Cixian Temple, spreading across the lanes between Jihe, Wenlin, Dadong and Danan roads. The crowds tend to gather around Wenlin, Dadong and Danan: long lines at the chicken cutlet stalls and the smell of fried food, grilled king oyster mushrooms and teppanyaki in the air.
Beyond the famous fried chicken, oyster omelets and scallion pancakes, there are Michelin-listed old-timers: Good Friend Cold Noodles is a Selected restaurant in the 2026 guide and Chung Chia Shanghai pan-fried buns are on the current Bib Gourmand list, and Hai You serves herbal pork rib soup. The basement food court of the market building reopened in 2025 after renovation, and suits anyone who wants to sit down for a proper meal.
Best foods
What to eat
The signature dishes of Shilin Night Market, with typical prices.
Typical price: NT$60–300 · per bag, depending on what you pick
Oyster Omelet
蚵仔煎é zǐ jiān
- Briny
- Savory
- Sweet
- +1 more
Typical price: NT$70–120 · per plate
Scallion Pancake
蔥油餅cōngyóu bǐng
- Savory
- Aromatic
- Salty
- +1 more
Typical price: NT$30–80 · per pancake
Taiwanese Sausage in Glutinous Rice (“Small Sausage in Large Sausage”)
大腸包小腸dàcháng bāo xiǎocháng
- Savory
- Sweet
- Smoky
- +2 more
Typical price: NT$30–90 · per set
Stinky Tofu
臭豆腐chòu dòufu
- Fermented
- Savory
- Umami
- +3 more
Typical price: NT$60–150 · per plate
Eat your way through
A Shilin evening: oyster omelet, scallion pancake, chicken cutlet and cold noodles
A suggested order for an evening here. Share what you order and linger where the queue is longest.
- About 2 h
- 5 stops
Stop 1: Zhongcheng Oyster Omelet
Start with the oyster omelet, crisp at the edges with a sweet-and-hot sauce; add a bowl of stir-fried squid thick soup if you are hungry.
Stop 2: Guo Jia Scallion Pancakes
A fried-to-order scallion pancake with egg, eaten on the move; mind the runny yolk.
Stop 3: Hao Da Da Chicken Cutlet
The jumbo cutlet on Wenlin Road is close to 30 cm long; one is enough for two or three people to share.
- Taiwanese Fried Chicken
- Hao Da Da Chicken Cutlet (Hot-Star), Shilin
- Find on map(opens in a new tab)
Stop 4: Good Friend Cold Noodles
Michelin-listed sesame-paste cold noodles with lemon, cucumber and pickled mustard stem, a refreshing break after fried food; on Danan Road, reported closed on Thursdays.
Stop 5: Big cake wrapping small cake
A freshly griddled flatbread wrapped around sweet or savory fillings, a nostalgic Shilin snack; Chang Lin Ji is at 123 Jihe Road, reported open 14:00-20:00 and closed on Tuesdays.
On the lanes
Stalls worth finding
A few stalls we know, with tips for spotting them. Line-ups change, so treat this as a starting point.
3 stalls
Zhongcheng Oyster Omelet
忠誠號蚵仔煎
A long-running oyster omelet stall in Shilin. NOWnews reports that it opened in 1972, while other outlets say 'over 50 years'; it began with pig's blood soup and squid thick soup, is now run by the second generation, and its menu has English and Japanese for overseas visitors. The omelet is cooked until the edges crisp, made with oysters shipped from Dongshi in Chiayi and finished with an orange-red sweet-and-hot sauce. Several write-ups single out the equally famous stir-fried squid thick soup (shēngchǎo huāzhī gēng), with thick, springy squid; a plate of fish-paste tempura goes well with either.
Known forOyster Omelet
How to find it: On Dadong Road near the Shilin Market building; a few reports place it in the basement food court, so confirm on arrival.
Guo Jia Scallion Pancakes
郭家蔥油餅
An old scallion pancake stall on Wenlin Road that outlets commonly describe as more than 50 years old. The dough goes straight into hot oil until the surface blisters and turns crisp while the inside stays tender; the egg version keeps the yolk half-set so it runs when you bite, and each pancake is brushed with house chili sauce and garlicky soy sauce. It opens around mid-afternoon and often has a line. A pancake costs only a few dozen dollars, so it works as a first stop or a snack between bigger plates.
Known forScallion Pancake
How to find it: On Wenlin Road on the Yangming Theatre side, close to the Hot-Star stall.
Hao Da Da Chicken Cutlet (Hot-Star), Shilin
士林豪大大雞排
Hot-Star is one of Taiwan's best-known jumbo fried chicken chains, and the Wenlin Road stall in Shilin is often treated as its home turf; there is often a line during opening hours. The cutlets are fried to order, close to 30 cm long and about 300 g according to press accounts, wider than a face, and seasoned with pepper salt or chili. They are built to be eaten on the move. On the brand's start, foodNEXT (2018) says founder Wang Ching-lung first sold cutlets from a roadside stall called Xiao Wang Da Ji Pai near Taichung Yizhong and the Shuili Building in 1992, moved north to Shilin in 1999 and began selling in front of the Yangming Theatre, and opened the first branch in 2000; Marie Claire and Trip.com also say the brand began in Taichung. (One English-language news report says it started at Shilin Night Market in 1992, which does not match these accounts.) Most people share one cutlet and save room for the rest of the market.
Known forTaiwanese Fried Chicken
How to find it: On Wenlin Road in front of the Yangming Theatre; follow the long line.
Plan your visit
Where and when
Find the market on the map and check the weekly hours before you set out.
Press Tab to move through the destinations. Use the arrow keys to move to a neighbouring destination, Enter to open its card and Escape to close it. Plus and minus zoom, 0 resets the view. When nothing is selected the arrow keys turn and tilt the map.
Around 101 Jihe Road (Shilin Market), Shilin District, Taipei; the market spreads across the lanes between Jihe, Wenlin, Dadong and Danan roads
Opening hours
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Taipei Travel Net, the city government's official tourism site, lists the market daily from 16:00 to 00:00, and travel press such as Marie Claire agrees. Individual stalls vary: many run until around 01:00, some open as early as 15:00, and some keep a weekly closing day (the big-cake-wrapping-small-cake stall is closed on Tuesdays). Chinese Wikipedia gives 14:00-02:00 for the ground-floor night market. The morning market on the ground floor of Shilin Market starts around 06:00, and the basement food court keeps its own hours (Chinese Wikipedia lists Monday-Thursday from 15:00 and weekends from 12:00, to 02:00).
Stalls set their own hours and close on their own days. Confirm before you go.
Know before you go
Visitor information
- Best time to go
- Crowds peak from about 20:00 to 23:00 (English Wikipedia) and weekends are worse; for an easier visit, go on a weekday early evening just after the stalls open (about 16:00-18:00).
- Crowds
- Very busy
- Average spend
- NT$200–500 · per person
- Payment
- Cash
- Getting around
- Lanes are very crowded on weekend nights, which makes wheelchairs and strollers hard to manage; a weekday early evening is the easier time to visit.
Good to know
- Most stalls prefer cash, so carry small bills and coins.
- The jumbo chicken cutlet is wider than a face; share one so you have room for other stalls.
- Good Friend Cold Noodles is reported to close on Thursdays; check before you go.
- If you want a seat, try the food court in the market building's basement.
How to arrive
Getting there
- 5 min walk
Metro
Jiantan
Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red)
Take Exit 1; the market can be seen from the platform.
Metro
Shilin
Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red)
Also reaches the market, but the walk is longer than from Jiantan.
History
A little history
According to Chinese Wikipedia, Shilin Market was established in 1909, with vendors gathering on the forecourt of Cixian Temple and gradually taking over temple land; the Japanese-era public market building was begun in 1913 and opened in 1915, its mixed red-brick and timber-truss structure surviving today as a municipal historic site. The night market took shape around that market, and no single opening date is given.
In 2002 the old market was demolished over ventilation, hygiene and safety concerns, keeping only the Japanese-era brick building, and the stalls moved to a temporary market opposite Jiantan Station. The rebuilt market was completed in December 2011 and traders moved back. The basement food court closed for renovation in October 2023 and reopened in April 2025.
Keep exploring
More markets in Taipei
Night market- Taipei
- Daily 17:00–23:30
Known forOyster Omelet · Braised Pork Rice · Douhua (Tofu Pudding)
Night marketRaohe Street Night Market
饒河街觀光夜市
- Taipei
- Daily 17:00–00:00
Known forPepper Bun · Stinky Tofu · Braised Pork Rice
Photo credits (10)
- Shilin Night MarketPhoto: Junyu-K · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Shilin Night MarketPhoto: jareed from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Shilin Night MarketPhoto: Aristorkle · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Taiwanese Fried ChickenPhoto: 玄史生 · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Oyster OmeletPhoto: Morgan Calliope · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Scallion PancakePhoto: Saimmx · CC0 (opens in a new tab)
- Taiwanese Sausage in Glutinous Rice (“Small Sausage in Large Sausage”)Photo: Rick888chen · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Stinky TofuPhoto: takuma mori · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Ningxia Night MarketPhoto: Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
- Raohe Street Night MarketPhoto: Ji Soo Song · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)