Ningxia, Raohe, Shilin, Fengjia, Ruifeng — the list is a genre. Once you live here, the night market stops being a destination and becomes a refrigerator you walk to.

The way to use it well is boring. Go slightly early or slightly late. Sit if there is a seat. Order one thing you already know and one thing you do not. Do not treat the oyster omelette as a personality. It is dinner.

Kaohsiung and Tainan will tell you, correctly, that Taipei is not the last word. They are right. If you are in the south this month, skip the famous name and walk until the lighting gets worse and the plastic stools get better. That is usually the place.