After a super satisfying ‘lu rou fan’ dinner at Wang’s Broth, which is located in Huaxi Street Night Market, we ventured out of the area to see what was around. Spotted another night market at the nearby Guangzhou Street.
Guangzhou Street Night Market 广州街夜市
The Guangzhou Street Night Market stretches 150m between Wuzhou Street and Huanhe S Road. This night market is also known as Bangka Night Market 艋舺夜市. It is one of Taipei’s most local markets. Not as big as some others but there are a decent number of stalls selling different food. For snacks, we spotted grilled squid, roasted chestnuts, pig’s blood cake, traditional pastries, grilled sausages, gua bao and more. In addition, there are also vendors selling substantial meals like braised meat rice, zi char, seafood, sea bass soup etc. And you can dine on the spot as seating spaces are available.
We weren’t exactly looking for something to eat as we already had a heavy dinner but when we came across this ‘Tian Bu La’ shop, we just felt like trying, haha.
No menu as they only serve one dish
There wasn’t any menu here. Just had to queue up and tell the uncle if you want Small or Big portion. This ‘tian bu la’ a.k.a. tempura isn’t the same as those Japanese tempura/deep fried fritters. Taiwanese tempura is like yong tau foo or oden.
Over here at Dingtop1, they give 7 fixed varieties per portion, which include:
- Tempura 甜不辣 in 2 different shapes (flat and stick)
- Radish 菜頭
- Pig’s blood cake 豬血糕
- Meatballs 小貢丸
- Fried beancurd 油豆腐
- Crystal dumplings 水晶餃
If there is something that you don’t like (for eg. some people don’t eat pig’s blood cakes), you can let the friendly uncle know and he will exclude that and give you extra of something else.
Everything tasted good! Went really well with their special sauce, which wasn’t overly sweet or salty. I also added a bit of hot sauce for that extra kick. Particularly loved the radish because it was so sweet and soft. And the tempura (made with swordfish meat) had a nice springy bite too. Didn’t taste fishy at all.
Sip on free soup before you go
When you’re done eating, bring your empty bowl to the uncle to get some hot soup. So fresh and sweet. Very comforting!