If you don’t know already, I love produce markets. When I was taken to my first traditional market in Taiwan, I was smitten with love. It should come as no surprise then I think Huarong Street Stall Center (華榮街攤販集中區 / hua rong jie tan fan ji zhong ou) is amazing. For starters…
- It sits within Taipei City.
- There are a variety of fresh and preserved food vendors (along with non-consumable goods).
- The whole market is covered.
During the rainy season, when I visited the market, this was especially nice as it made shopping much more enjoyable.
Much like many night markets, the first part of the market was mostly vendors selling clothes and shoes. Venturing inward more, fresh produce started appearing along the way.
This apple display was particularly impressive. There’s something about these leaves and the water on them that made the apples look even more appetizing.
Above are guavas (番石榴 / fan shi liu) from Yanchao (燕巢 / yan chao) being sold that are almost the size of softballs. It’s kind of weird that the term 粒 (li / for small round object) was being used as a counter but maybe that’s because guavas are typically much smaller.
Below, if you’re looking for it and it’s fresh, Huarong probably has it. They even had a section dedicated to fresh seafood and meats.
Here, a woman is making and showing off her freshly squeezed juices including honey (蜂蜜 / feng mi) and kumquat (金桔 / jin ju) flavor.
Here’s a close-up of all the discarded rind and pith.
More fresh fruit!
This was some kind of taco-like dish. I wanted to try it but was concerned about there being onions in the dish. Additionally, we were on our way towards finding a restaurant to eat lunch at, at this point. Will have to give it a try in the future.
All in all, if you’re in the area and looking for fresh produce or a delicious bite to eat, drop by Huanrong Street Stall Center and let your senses lead the way.