For the record, I bumped into the first earthquake (6.3 magnitude to be exact) of my life when I was in Keelung (基隆) and I didn’t feel anything. It was a total non-event for me. Why so? That’s cause I was totally preoccupied with scoffing down a bowl of uber  delicious braised meat rice (滷肉飯)! Hilarious, I think! This is probably the epitome of gluttony behavior! 😛

Freaking awesome braised meat rice (滷肉飯) at Keelung’s Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市)

Ok, back to the main topic! 🙂 Keelung is a port city which is 1 hour by local train from Taipei. It’s quite a nice place to chill out while enjoying some scenic port views.

The port of Keelung city

Basically, I went to Keelung just for the famous Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市). The name of the market literally translates to mean that it is located around a temple. While the word ‘night market’ suggests its opening hours after dark, Miaokou Night Market is actually open during the day as well. The main stalls along the temple are open from lunch time and some seriously good food can be found here. FOODIES alert!! 🙂

Hard to miss yellow lanterns: Miaokou Night Market

Miaokou Night Market is easily accessible on foot from the Keelung train station. Just exit the train station and walk for around 10 to 15 min in the direction of the port. The market is located beyond the waterway.

The temple which gave Miaokou Market its name

Ornate features typical of a Chinese temple

For travelers heading to Keelung, be sure to try the famous Taiwanese street food: braised meat rice (lu rou fan 滷肉飯) at this awesome stall! This is by far the yummiest one I’ve eaten after trying from a few different stalls in Taipei. They also serve up a mean dish of sliced braised pork knuckle and shrimp ball soup.

The yummy yummy food stall

There aren’t many seats available and having a meal while crowding around the tiny table ledge certainly added to the fun experience of eating street food.

Dining with a view of a giant basin of braised pork knuckles! (From left: shrimp ball soup, braised meat rice & sliced pork knuckles)

After the awesome lunch, I headed for the next recommendation by my Taiwanese friends – flavored ice (pao pao bing 泡泡冰) ! There is nothing more heavenly than having a cold dessert under the hot summer heat!

Flavored ice (pao pao bing 泡泡冰) which had a texture similar to sorbet

There are many flavors to choose from: green bean milk, pineapple, passion fruit, peanut, yam, strawberry milk etc.

My peanut flavored ice 泡泡冰

While waiting for my flavored ice, I saw this local delicacy which is definitely not for the faint hearted: pig’s blood cake on an ice cream stick. Sounds fear factor-ish??!!

Pig’s blood cake coated with vegetables and served on a stick

On a lighter note, I also saw this interesting fruit stall:

Looking to buy some local snacks back home? Try this delicious peanut coated fluffy balls (ma lao 麻粩).

Local snack (ma lao 麻粩) from Jin Xing Ma Lao (金興麻粩) stall

Jin Xing Ma Lao (金興麻粩) stall

Individually packed peanut fluff balls (ma lao 麻粩)

My belly was definitely quite happy after Keelung! 🙂