Taipei - Black Pepper Buns and More at Raohe Night Market

Of the various night markets in Taipei (and there are quite a few of them), the Raohe Night Market was probably our favorite. It had a good vibe and plenty of tasty food on offer.



The first thing we tried was the popular Fuzhou Black Pepper Bun ("Hújiāo bǐng") stall. We were early, so the line was not too long.



 The short wait allowed us to watch the various stages of bun preparation - from filling to baking in a hot, clay oven.



When we got our hands on ours, the waiting was not yet over - these babies come out hot!



Even after waiting several minutes, we still managed to burn our mouths trying to get the first few bites. It was worth it, though. Filled with succulent pork and scallions, and redolent with the heat of black pepper, these were absolutely delicious.



We also had our first Taiwanese scallion pancake ("cōng yóubǐng").



Hot off the grill, these had a mild flavor but a very nice combination of soft and flaky textures.



And of course, we couldn't resist having some form of "meat-on-a-stick" - in this case grilled pork sausages.



Savory and slightly sweet, we liked these a lot.



There was way more interesting food here than we could possible sample in one visit - here are some more pictures we took: