One of the most famous night markets in Taiwan, Miaokou's moreish mouthfuls are the main reason to find yourself in the rainy port city of Keelung, unless you're taking the ferry to or from China. Trains from Taipei (NT$41, 45 minutes) leave every 20 minutes or so for Keelung, and the market is a ten-minute stroll east, past the harbour.
Miaokou became known for food during the Japanese era, when merchants started selling snacks at Dianji Temple (奠濟宮). 'Miaokou' means 'temple entrance' but the market covers several streets, and stalls are numbered, with some vendors working the same berth for decades. Snacks worth seeking out include fish paste tempura (stalls 16, 25), thick crab soup (stalls 5, 19) and 'nutritious sandwiches' (stall 58) – ham, egg and salad baguettes which are deep-fried, so anything but nutritious. Happy grazing.
