Dadong Night Market

Going to this night market was easily my favorite experience in Taiwan! It’s a lively, authentic local spot with endless rows of food stalls, games, and shops - and surprisingly few tourists. The whole place bursts with energy, from the sizzling sounds of cooking to the smell of spices and the glow of colorful lights. I loved how local it felt, like a community gathering rather than a tourist attraction. I tried crispy fried chicken, a Korean corn dog, and a brown sugar milk tea among other things - all delicious and very affordable. There was so much variety, from classic Taiwanese snacks to fun, modern street food. It’s the perfect place to wander, eat, and soak up the atmosphere. Definitely a must-visit when in Tainan!

It’s like a rectangular shaped location - which is actually really great because you can return to any stall very easily. And no need to keep walking on uneven roads and smelly sewage covers.

Relative to other night markets in the area, this is the only one that's open on Mondays. The vendors rotate though different neighborhoods throughout the week. This place is of an average size and serves all the basics one would expect and if you liked something here, chances are you can get it again the next day at a different site.

08 July 2024 The good thing about this night market is not too crowded when I was there. For me, the night market is just food and more food. Nothing special about their food here. Taste is pretty decent. And in my opinion, the price in the night market is not cheap.

Heard a lot about Tainan night market. Also heard Datong was a big night market. I am disappointed by the number of stalls presents. Not many vendors, many of them propose the same offer (fruit jelly balls, stinky tofu, oysters omelets, scallion pancakes, takoyaki). Food is good but many of them are fried and a lot of milk teas stalls. Overall the food is cheap and generous. The vibe given is inspired by the Japanese style (flags etc.)

One of the best night markets I’ve been to at Taiwan, including the ones at Taipei. Nicely sized but so many food stalls! Could finish it in 2 hours including eating. The only thing we didn’t like was the marshmallow ice cream which wasn’t toasted sufficiently and the texture was a bit weird.

lively night market in tainan; the gua bao was really tasty! green onion pancake, pork , and spider noodles were great as well. be prepared for no seating though! (@roaming.eater)

I rank this place 2nd among 10 night markets in Taiwan that i have been to, this place is nearly as good as Keelong night market. Wide range of food variety, sellers at vendors are lovely. I tried the fried pork pieces and I see why there are always a long line waiting for it. I was fried to perfection, nice marinade and seasoning. The fried squid is so so. The giant chicken here is battered, deep fried, then dipped in the sauce, then char grilled, so much effort and there is a line for it as well, but i find the batter too thick and the chicken quality is not good as well. The roasted duck roti looks nice but i didn't get to try, same for the mochi

One of the big night markets of Tainan, Dadong is definitely a place to visit if you're touring Taiwan. Night markets are always big and crowded and noisy. If you're going with friends, it's not a bad idea to hold onto each other so you don't lose each other. (It's super easy to get separated in the crowd.) Notable food I've eaten here: takoyaki, dorayaki, dumplings, and who am I kidding, honestly a ton of food! You'll probably find these same vendors at the other night markets in Tainan too, but it's always so interesting that each night market is a different experience in itself. Walking around and seeing what each food stall has to offer can be overwhelming if you're anything like me (I'm indecisive as heck). It's amazing also to have a lot of options available, especially with generous friends who will buy food to share. Taiwan is such a foodie hub.

Yay night market! Definitely gonna be way better than the ones you're gonna see in California (no question) and you're gonna need a lot of cash- and an empty stomach! There are so many things to try here! I think there were 3 or 4 really long aisles that were just full of food, while they had an outer section for shopping and games. They have a few table areas that you can sit in where you can sit down and eat your food (usually for noodles and such) and trash cans in those areas, although outside those few areas, trash cans are kinda hard to find..... unless you happen to have a nice vendor who will throw it away for you! You want corn? Seafood? Meat/fishballs? Pastries that look really cute? Noodles? Tea, skewered meat, skewered fruit, chicken butt? Big green onion pancakes, SQUID (oh wait that's still seafood...), hot dog, sushi, bread. And that's for the food. Shopping is even gonna be more fun because they have rows of those- I even saw some cute doggie coats :D A lot of phone cases, phone accessories, etc. I don't know where parking is unfortunately. Make sure you come here and eat as much as you can (: Enjoy the night market atmosphere- probably on a weekend since more vendors are probably gonna be out those days.

The second largest night marker in Tainan, parking was very difficult near this area, food was inexpensive and delicious, you have to try the fried yellow and purple potato balls, duck blood tofu soup, baked sesame bun with meat and greet onion, winter melon and lemon tea etc.

We came on a Monday night at 5:30 when the market was still being set up. I was skeptical about its swap meet-like appearance at first but it was bustling really quickly. Soon there were night market goers everywhere and crowds playing the games. There were a large number of food vendors, arcade games, and little shops that sold toys, clothes, and other nick knacks. The must try is definitely the sweet potato fried mochi balls (20NT/bag), fish ball skewers (30NT each), popcorn chicken (50NT for a small), and sweet rice cake steamed freshly to order (100NT/box of 7). Overall we enjoyed our experience and the kids loved their first night market trip as well. Everyone went home with a full belly and some arcade winnings!

This was my first night market ever in 2011. Since then, a lot hasn't changed, but it's definitely gotten a lot more busy and popular. The sweet potato balls are still delicious as ever--chewy, sweet, and fragrant. There are some steak shops here that are pretty cheap and tasty too if you get hungry. I also enjoy all the artisan tea shops here. You'll find a lot of things to purchase in terms of clothes and electronics, but not very appealing for people over 30.

I've been to Din Tai Fung countless times in the US, and I can tell you this was an order of magnitude better in quality. Almost everything we ordered (chocolate小笼包 sux) was a step better than it's foreign counterpart, which is already incredible. The 凉菜 are exceptional and would highly recommend getting a bunch. Their 小笼包 is definitely the best item but the nice thing about this place is that all the portions are small enough so you can order a lot and try many different kinds of food

I never knew the night markets in Tainan are only open certain nights. Check before you visit any of them. This one was opened on Friday and it was packed like nuts. We took a cab, but there should be parking since Tainan is 5x better than Taipei for parking. There was plenty of cabs waiting near the entrances. The outside aisles are mainly for games and the food/knick knacks are cramped in the middle. Even though it was packed, I still enjoyed it more than Shilin in Taipei. This is a great place to end a trip to Tainan.

Really nice nightmarket. A bit hard to park if you're going by car or scooter. The best pork BBQ is in the last lane and the lemonade around the BBQ shop is also good as well. There are several good shops around there. It's best to go around 6pm when it's not so crowded.

This is a pretty big and good nightmarket. It's just a little smaller than 花園 but still has a good amount of stuff. It extends to the outside street. This night market, I would have to say, is 5 times dirtier than 花園 but it has more trash cans scattered throughout the rows. Weird huh? The game booths are on the outer ring and food about 3-4 rows. Most of the places are at the different night market locations throughout the week so you'll see the same stands from time to time. Definitely a lot of people for a Tuesday night. Parking is pretty horrendous in that area so either go early or get lucky!