Tainan’s Second-Largest Night Market, “Dadong Night Market,” Boasts a Wide Variety of Stalls That Never Get Old

Photo & Text /MIKA’s Foodie Adventure Log

Everyone knows that night markets are the go-to for ordinary Taiwanese people’s nightlife, and Tainan and Kaohsiung are particularly outstanding in this regard—not only are their venues large and numerous, with almost daily occurrences, but they’re also all very well-known. Dadong Night Market in East Tainan is held regularly on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays—three times a week—and is the second-largest night market after Garden Night Market. I’ve probably been to Dadong about three or four times now, and each time I discover a bunch of new snacks~ This time, I even got to try Korean hookah-style shaved ice—it was such a fun and happy experience, with delicious, fresh, and interesting snacks all gathered in the night market!

There are quite a few stalls around Dadong Night Market too—you can start exploring from the outer edges.

This is considered a pretty well-planned night market, with decent traffic flow and space.

As soon as you enter the night market, you’ll see ice cream, and it’s even colorful—looks very vibrant, but I didn’t buy any.

The entrance here is a bit narrow, and when it’s crowded, you often have to queue up. When I want to eat the crispy pork ribs, I usually get pushed away...

Every time I come, I see some really unique snacks or stalls, so no matter how many times I visit, it never gets boring.

When Er Shixiong (Second Brother) braised snacks were at Garden Night Market, I couldn’t even get close to the stall—but at Dadong Night Market, the queue is much shorter, so if you want to eat Er Shixiong, just come here alright?!

The braised snacks, dark red from the marinade, really make you want to buy them.

Next to it are freshly braised snacks, with super dark colors. Actually, their braising method is quite similar to Tainan Dongshan duck heads—very thick, very flavorful, and sweet to taste.

Slow-braised until fully infused.

Each portion is 50 NT$, small portion 30 NT$—the small portion is about three or four pieces.

I think the rice blood cake is okay, but the chicken wings and chicken hearts are really delicious—they’re sweet and fragrant.
Visiting a night market is all about buying things fresh and eating them on the spot—it’s more fun when everyone shares.

Fried Oreo
While we were sharing the Er Shixiong snacks, my mom quietly went next door and bought fried Oreos—how cool is that.
One portion is 50 NT$, mixed is 80 NT$.

Turns out this is a very famous little snack in the U.S.

The round ones are fried Oreos, the long ones are fried crispy rolls.

But the specially made batter they use tastes like cake in texture—crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside, with the rich chocolate aroma of Oreos and a slight crunch, making the texture really rich. Actually, their so-called special batter is just like the ones used for fried water chestnut crisps in Fengyuan—sweet, fragrant, crispy outside and soft inside, with a texture kind of like cake. I personally think anything fried with that batter would taste good, though fried savory items are a bit weird, haha XD

Korean Hookah-Style Shaved Ice
This is another trendy new way to enjoy snacks—basically, it’s using something like cornflake biscuits molded into a hookah shape, then stuffing ice cream inside. Though I have to say, getting the ice cream inside takes some skill.

One costs 60 NT$, a mix is 80 NT$.

It has the crunchiness of the biscuit and the sweet, cool creaminess of the ice cream, but you have to eat it quickly, otherwise the biscuit will get soft and it’s just meh... All I can say is, eat it fresh. It’s not like amazingly delicious or anything, but it’ll definitely fill you up, and eating hookah ice feels a bit awkward.
Dadong Night Market is huge—it’ll take at least two hours if you really explore it properly~

And the later it gets, the more crowded it becomes..

The aroma from every stall is constantly wafting over—when you’re at a night market, you just want to try a bit of everything.

Even the locals are here—how authentic is this rugged barbecue style!

I think I’ve only seen teppanyaki stands set up in night markets in Tainan or Kaohsiung before. It’s pretty interesting.

This place serves really good chicken steak, even if it’s not cheap.
Their chicken steaks are priced between 50 and 70 NT!

The charcoal-grilled ones are more expensive, and they also have boneless pork chops~
What’s more special is the variety of flavors: original, spicy, lemon, Mexican, and plum.

We got the lemon and Mexican flavors, right? Or did I forget~

The chicken steak is probably deep-fried first, then grilled, and brushed with a special sauce. It has a subtle lemon aroma and cuts through the richness nicely.
The charcoal-grilled chicken steak itself is crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside, and super flavorful.

Just walking along like this, you can get full just from the aroma in the air—it’s so fragrant.

Mei Mei guava is very famous. Their fruits aren’t expensive and they taste great.

There’s also Tainan-style old-fashioned tomato with ginger juice.

Xiao Shi Shan Mian Jian Bao (Fried Bread Burger)
Came across it by chance—so unique, haven’t seen this snack before.

It’s made by frying dough to form a burger. Since no one dared to try it, we didn’t get to eat it.

Didn’t see anyone buying it—maybe it’s too novel, everyone was just looking.

Ma | Re Dan Wei br /> Such a cute little stall!

The owner makes them fresh on the spot. They look very appealing, and the presentation is really charming. I couldn’t help but want to buy some when I saw them.

There are many flavors, and they even have color-coordinated designs. Don’t they look super attractive?

Here are the flavors they offer.

Small box: 7 pieces for 50 NT
Large box: 15 pieces for 100 NT
Their ma | Fei Yun Hu is quite affordable, the texture of the filling is soft and smooth, and the flavor isn’t too heavy. They’re actually pretty tasty.

I also really love this wooden-shelf braised food stall—it’s super classic old-school style.

It looks just like the kind of braised snacks you used to get at noodle shops when you were a kid. And honestly, the taste is that deeply braised old-school flavor.

Yan Ji Stinky Tofu
This one was recommended by a friend, and their stinky tofu is indeed pretty unique.

50 NT per serving

The outside is super crispy, and the inside stinky tofu is dense and velvety. It’s the firmest tofu filling I’ve ever had, and it’s very juicy. Can’t say it’s delicious or not, but it’s definitely unique.

Night markets have lots of little games that everyone loves, but for us older folks in the group, we usually just glance over them and quietly walk away...

I've never won this before... XD

Yiran Villa Iced Cold Brew Tea
I ate a lot and got thirsty, and I don’t like sweet drinks. This chilled cold brew tea from this shop was just what I needed to quench my thirst.

One bottle is 40 NT$, buy three for 100 NT$. There are different flavors of cold brew tea available.

Oh~~ still, unsweetened tea is the most thirst-quenching. The chilled cold brew tea in the night market really hits the spot for me. It’s not super cheap, but I think it’s worth it. If you have a chance to come to Tainan, be sure to visit the night market. The night markets here are big, fun to explore, and super enjoyable ^^

[Dadong Night Market]
Address: Intersection of Section 1, Lin Sen Road and Chongshan Road, East District, Tainan City (next to Tainan Motor Vehicle Office)
Hours: PM 18:00 ~ AM 01:30 (every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday)

Traveling is to return to where you came from more profoundly.
MIKA’s Travel & Food Journal