Lantern Luwei

After massive protests by local residents concerning Shida Night Market, many local street food stalls and restaurants were forcibly evicted. Today, Shida Night Market consists of mostly fashionable boutique stores, with restaurants selling pizza, hamburgers or Mexican burritos dominating the food scene. So if you are after food that really makes you nostalgic for the days of good old local food like you used to find at Shida Night Market, then the only choice still available to you is Lantern Luwei.

The authentic Hong Kong style Lantern Luwei doesn’t have a “store” as such. Indeed, aside from its big red lanterns, it is best known for its not-so-good-tempered boss, who although some say is too old to be considerate to customers, has never been known to be polite anyway! But those who know how it works here are immune to his snappiness. They will first use tongs to choose what they want to eat from the display, before placing it into the blue plastic containers provided. Then they will line up the ingredients ready to hand over to the old boss, who will put the mix into the big lu pot to heat up. Absolutely don’t lose your patience and move away from the stall - otherwise you will probably have to endure a scolding by the boss, and are likely to have not found your friends in the busy night market anyway!

If you really want to compare, most braised food shops in Taipei are actually not bad at all. But to find one in Taipei with adequate serving sizes and access to convenient transport is not at all easy. Add to this the fact that Lantern Luwei’s sauces are so good that many students at the nearby National Taiwan Normal University especially come back here to buy it, even after they have graduated, makes it a real pity to visit Shida Night Market without trying the braised food at Lantern Luwei for yourself.