Huaxi Street Night Market

When I visited, it felt like a night market frequented by locals—many of the restaurants were filled with families rather than tourists. The atmosphere had a nostalgic, old-school vibe, and it turns out this is actually one of the oldest markets around.

Huaxi Street Night Market also known as Snake Alley, is one of Taipei’s oldest night markets. Established in the 1950s, the market was once famous for its exotic offerings, including snake meat and traditional Chinese tonics, which earned it the nickname “Snake Alley.” The snake performances and exotic dishes have faded over the years. Today, Huaxi Street Night Market consists of two main sections: one with simple food stalls serving Taiwanese snacks, and the other lined with massage parlors and beauty salons. The arched roof, traditional lanterns, and tiled walkway add to the market’s old-school charm. Although the market is officially open until midnight, the food section was almost entirely closed by around 10:00 PM during our visit. If you want to try the food, it’s best to come earlier in the evening.

This place has many massage parlours and some food stalls in the 1st section, and if you walked further inwards and crossed the road, you will come to the food section where you will find a lot of food stalls.

I thought this night market was not bad. For one it’s open during the day so you can come here and eat throughout the day and night. It’s also somewhat on the inside as opposed to the outside which I also liked.

An interesting street that has lots of eateries including a highly recommended Wang’sBroth braised pork rice 小王煮瓜 滷肉飯 & a hidden gem Chinese bookstore 源進. There are endless massage parlours, beauty & nail services salons within. Check reviews for comparisons. Prices seem similar. Close by is the famous Lung Shan Temple, definitely worth a visit to this area.

Not the best night market, a bit dirty and sketchy people later at night. Food is not very appetizing either, good for brave people looking for interesting raw experiences.

For some reason this night market attract fewer people. But after walking through the night market I think the reason is all the food that they offer are not very inviting. Especially if you walk into the building of the night market Street that 75% of the store are made of foot massage store, which is kind of sad because in the old days there are many different type of stores you could browse through and they weren't any foot massage stores.

Cash only, but the place was vibrant and lively after 11pm. Worth a go for some good street food.

This is a typical night market. We visited it in the afternoon, so only a few shops were open. But we did dine at Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant here.

The first and the oldest tourist night market in Taiwan, Huaxi Street Night market was also known as the "snake alley" for live performances of killing snake, extracting snake blood/bile, and serving exotic snake cuisine/shots. Nowadays, the snake soup shops have dwindled, and the night market has become a bit run down and not as nice as other local night markets. The section with food stalls/restaurants are okay, and the section with the massage parlors are a little sketchy.  However, if you're visiting LongShan Temple,  it's worth the short walk to try some street food here, especially the ones listed on Michelin Guide distinguished with Bib Gourmand for good quality and good value cooking: 1. 小王煮瓜 (Wang's Broth ): try 滷肉飯 (braised pork rice) and 清湯瓜仔肉湯 (steamed minced pork with pickles in broth) - they've remodeled the shop and is probably the cleanest and most modern of all vendors 2. 昶鴻麵點 (Chang Hung Noodles) try 菊花肉麵 (pork cheek noodle soup)，白斬土雞 (boiled chicken) and 豬尾巴 (pork tail) 3. 源芳刈包 (Yuan Fang Guabao) try 刈包 steam bun stuffed with pork belly & pickles Go early as these popular stalls may close early when food sells out.

Huaxi Street Night Market is the first and oldest street market in Taiwan (per our guide). Though it is one of the oldest street markets running, it does boast that it has one of the remaining snake soup vendors. Are you daring to try snake soup which includes the bile and blood? Whether if you are or are not, you should stop by at this establishment just to see the huge snakes they have there. There are also tanks of white mice/rats which you know..........are to food the snakes. Besides the snake soup, you can try all other types of different food and goodies sold on the street. As for shopping to be done here, unless if you are looking for trinkets or items you find at flea markets, then you are in luck. The night market is not that large as compared to other night markets. I would encourage you to come visit this night market solely for it being one of the oldest and to view the snakes. Look for tour packages that bundle this night market with dinner. More bang for the buck or in this case yuan.

Beware that this is no 5-star tourist spot. It is very old & worn down but the street food is good, as so some light shopping. Scooters are allowed in the complex, which is why I took a star off.

Started in 1951 as the first night market targeted towards tourists, with signs in English and Japanese, Huaxi is famous for its snakes. Known as Snake Alley Night Market, you can find it just behind Longshan Temple. Here you can get live snakes straight out the tank, indulge in a shot or two of snake wine, and partake in various other snake-based products. These days though, the snake thing's not quite as prominent as it used to be, and you can, of course, find most of the usual popular eats here too. There are numerous street restaurants and vendors. Don't be alarmed like me when you walk through the market and notice the huge snake restaurant; argh! Apparently, there was a time when you could choose your snake and watch it being killed and cooked for you - arghh! Very different and unique from the rest of the night markets that I experienced in Taipei. This was the one that didn't fully make it on my high rating list. You can find mostly nail salons and massage parlor, that's 'bout it! In all honesty, this was an interesting market, but certainly not the best in Taipei, in my opinion, that title goes to Shilin Night Market. This one was a long hallway filled with shops and restaurants with some very quirky food. Good for a first-time experience but will not go out of my way to return. Food to try: Stir-fried snake, tasted like chicken. The snake soup was average but had lots of bones. You can also try the crazy shots that they sell, such as the snake blood, venom, and bile. Good luck with that!

Don't waste your time going to Huaxi Night Market. It's just filled with massage parlors and vendors selling junk. There are restaurants in the covered alley that have pet snakes in cages on display, and some with fake plastic snakes in front. It's all for show to lure in tourists. Most of the restaurants located under the covered walkway were dead. Some of them didn't have a single person inside. Walk outside to the open area on Guangzhou street and you'll see a much more lively area with street food, like you'd see in a typical night market. Overall, I wouldn't recommend going to Huaxi. There are so many better places to go in Taipei. Ximending shopping district is nearby, and much better. Or take a train to Shilin Night Market if you want to go to a real night market.

Now this is a traditional night market! Everyone goes down to Shilin Night Market, but you definitely have to find a non touristy night market when you're in Taipei and Huaxi is a great one. You'll see prostitutes, cheap porn, "massage parlors" and more of the local flair. Just kidding. That's not what this night market is about, although you'll find all of those things. You can try the traditional street foods of Taiwan here along with some interesting ones like snake. It's a little pricey for Taiwanese food, but it's something to try if you're adventurist enough. There's shopping here if you want and random stuff to look at. It's not super busy like Shilin, but it's full of local flair, which makes it so much better. Plus, you don't have to snake through ridiculous amounts of people here.

I can't really recommend stopping here. There's minimal food and minimal shops. Don't waste your time coming here. We just walked through and left. Go to Shilin or Raohe instead.

The infamous Huaxi Street Night Market aka Snake Alley... where do I begin. I came here with the sole intent of eating snake and seeing what else this market had to offer. For me, this market consisted of 2 parts, the arched covered walkway where you could find the snake restaurants and massage parlors, and just outside of that, the outdoor street vendors selling food and porn movies side by side. Walking through the walkway, we found several snake restaurants but settled on the one with the most customers... and by most, I mean 2 seated tables. A dish was promptly served with 1 large red shot glass of snake blood, 5 smaller shot glasses of various mysterious looking liquids (ginseng wine, snake medicine wine, snake venom, snake wine and snake bile), a snake oil capsule and a clear soup with snake meat. I had to drink half the blood, pour in the ginseng wine into the larger shot glass, drink half of that concoction, pour in the next small shot of snake medicine wine, drink half of that again and repeat until I drank everything. Only then could I drink the capsule and soup. One quick point on the snake blood, it seemed watered down and very sweet. It didn't taste like what I was expecting. The soup itself was very herbal and light, it actually tasted quite good. The boiled snake meat, not so much. The sheer amount of bones ruined it for me as it was too hasslesome to eat. In any case, I'm glad I crossed that off my foodie list.

Very sketchy alley with questionable stores, foot massage or other types of massage parlours, and empty restaurants. We went for some snake soup here and it was ok. Broth was clear and herbal and suppose to be good for you. I wouldn't go back here though.

(Disclaimer: Review based on visit to Taipei in November 2013.) Huaxi Street Night Market is located near Longshan Temple. It is a bit of a creepy area to visit at night. I preferred Raohe and Shilin Night Markets over Huaxi. It is similar to those markets as far as the food, though it is more sketchy with things like sex toys and porn sold on the street to give you an example. Huaxi Night Market is also known as Snake Alley which yes includes restaurants selling snake food items. The area is quite dimly lit, so I would not recommend it for a traveler unfamiliar with the area. However if you are looking to try weird foods, Huaxi would be the place to go in Taipei.

One of the oldest night markets in Taipei is unfortunately deteriorating. Many shops are now closed. The Hua Xi Night Market is just an area beside the Long Shan temple. Many of the stalls here sell seafood and beer. There are many prostitutes nearby as well becuase maybe of the drinks. Beware of massage parlors as they might not be the legitimate kinds.

Besides this night market having mostly massage parlors...this does seem to be a place for the locals. However, I was actually very uncomfortable walking through this night market and from my way from ximending to Huaxi. I was stalked by a guy (I'm a woman) while walking there. He was following me and I can tell because I made fake turns and went into a store. On my way to the night market, I had a lot of stares and it was just very uncomfortable. Finally I told my Taiwanese friend and she said this area has a lot of prostitutes and pretty unsafe...so for my solo travelers and ladies - pls be careful coming here or just go to raohe or shilin. I would recommend other night markets instead. That explains why there are so many massage parlors and even someone selling vibrators and dildos at the night market...

This night market has long been one of my favorite parts of Taipei. It is unapologetically old school in every possible way. From the "man power" snacks of Snake Alley to semi-authentic (and really real) antiques, it has a blast-from-the-past vibe to it. I brought my mother here, partly to show her some old-timey Taiwan fun, but also to help her get over her fear of snakes. We also picked up a lovely painting, a nice antique(ish) souvenir, and looked at some of the more intense foods on offer in the market. This place is awesome for tourists or foreigner looking to recapture that recent arrival vibe. I'm constantly shocked with the number of kids here, however, and the number of toy stores. Adult videos and... let us say "marital aids" are proudly displayed in street market stalls and Snake Alley storefronts. For those with a Puritanical streak, or who are uncomfortable with facsimiles of genitalia, this may not be the place for you.

Huaxi Night Market I'd say is split in two, the shitty Snake Alley running down with a lot of dirty stalls and establishments, restaurants of varying quality and porn; and the open-aired street perpendicular to it, where you'll find the actually good food, juices and nice people. I mean, you'll find a lot of useless stuff in both places, but there's a huge difference when it comes to the atmosphere. I will probably never come back here, as you have a lot better options in Taipei for a better time, and the same food. But it was an experience for the memories having been there, considering how it differs (the snakes, the porn, sex toys, stripper clothing and whatnot) from the other nightmarkets, but also being the oldest one in the city. After having walked down Snake Alley, you've been there, seen it; with certain parts hopefully being erased from memory, the best thing to do is go sit down somewhere on the street perpendicular to it. There are some good food stalls at the very end on the L/H side. You'll also see Longshan Temple on the outside, which makes it worthy of a visit.