Buttery buns: Hao Hao Wei in ShiDa Night Market

The ShiDa area is quickly becoming my new favorite hangout spot in Taipei.  There’s an age you reach when you realize you’re too old to be shopping for kicks with all the high schoolers in Shimending and you’ve also been to Taipei too many times to be hanging out in the tourist clusterfuck that is Shilin.  It’s time to find a new place.

The Shida area is built around the local universities, namely Taiwan’s National Normal University.  It also caters to Taipei’s artisan and hipster crowds with its plentiful cafes, bars, and independent stores.  What’s most likely to interest visitors is the very lively Shida night market, full of famous Taiwanese eats and small shops.  It’s open every night from 5pm on, but I would highly suggest you avoid the larger crows Fri-Sun if you possibly can.

One of the first things my cousin took me to was a small shop called Hao Hao Wei that sold butter buns.  Flaky, crisp buns that have a buttery filling.  Oh man, this is part of the reason why I’ve gained almost 5 pounds in a week.

There was quite a long line for this sucker, but just like all lines at night markets, it moves very fast.  It’s hard to take a long time at the counter when every store only sells one or two things (but make it so well).  It’s a Hong Kong store originally, but has gained a lot of attention in Taipei as they show through all the newspaper articles hanging on their storefront.

So this is what you get at Hao Hao Wei.  Now that I look at it again in this picture, it’s hard to describe it as anything other than a butter sandwich.  If you love butter, than this is just the treat for you.  Very sweet, savory, and creamy all at once.

To get to the ShiDa Night Market, use the MRT  Taipower Building (Tai Dian Da Lou) off the Red Line bound for Hsintien.  When you exit, walk along ShiDa road for a few small blocks and you will find it in the little streets off to the right.  Just follow the crowd, they know where to go.  More ShiDa to come.