Ruifeng Night Market is the largest and best night market in Kaohsiung. While tourists tend to visit Liuhe Night Market, locals generally flock to Ruifeng.
Just like Shilin Night Market in Taipei and Feng Chia Night Market in Taichung, Ruifeng is a creative hot spot where new dishes are innovated.
It is also known for its local classics, including the best fried chicken cutlets in Taiwan, plus international foods like Spanish paella and German pig knuckles.
For first timers, the night market can be a little overwhelming. Below I will guide you through it, introducing the best (and my personal favorite) foods, based on my many visits over the years. Hope you’re hungry!
Welcome to Ruifeng Night Market
Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市, also spelled Ruifong Night Market) started out in the early 1980s as a small collection of food stalls on Ruifeng Road nearby.
After a few moves, the night market set up in its currently location in Zuoying district (the same district as Zuoying HSR Station and Lotus Pond) in the year 2000.
Over time, it reached an enormous size (3000 m2), with over 1000 registered food vendors at its peak.
Unlike night markets in Tainan (which are mostly in parking lots) or night markets in Taipei (which are vehicle roads in the daytime), Ruifeng Night Market is in a permanent, semi-covered space with approximately 10 north-to-south lanes.
Ruifeng Night Market has declined somewhat – when I visited during COVID, nearly half of it (especially at the back and western side) was empty.
On a more recent visit, it had recovered quite a bit, but still not back to its peak.
If I had to guess, I’d say there must currently be 500+ stalls in operation.
Still, it remains the largest night market in Kaohsiung, one of the largest night markets in Taiwan, and was absolutely packed with locals last time I went.
Read about other night markets in Kaohsiung and Qishan Old Street, Kaohsiung’s daytime foodie street.
Important note: Ruifeng Night Market is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Getting to the Night Market
Coming from the Kaohsiung city center or Zuoying HSR station, simply hop on the Kaohsiung MRT Red Line and ride it to Kaohsiung Arena Station. It is three stations north of Kaohsiung Station or two stations south of Zuoying HSR Station.
From exit 1 of Kaohsiung Arena Station, it’s a one-block walk to the southeastern corner of the night market. Most of the best foods stalls are found in the first three lanes coming from that side.
If you happen to be coming into the city by local train (for example from Tainan, less than an hour away), get off at Zuoying Station (NOT Zuoying HSR Station) and walk (20 minutes) or ride a YouBike (5 minutes) to the night market.
From Lotus Pond, walk (30 minutes) or ride a YouBike (10 minutes) to the night market.
There’s a YouBike station here on the eastern side of the night market.
What to Eat at Ruifeng Night Market
There are so many yummy things to eat in Ruifeng Night Market that you may have trouble narrowing it down.
Here are some of the best and most famous options that you may want to seek out. I’ll introduce them row-by-row, starting from the southeastern corner, where you are most likely to arrive.
Lane 1
Lane 1 is the first lane you should walk up after arriving at the southeastern corner of the night market. You may or may not notice it, but the lanes are indeed numbered.
Xinchuan Yuanyang Milk Tea
At the southern end of Lane 1, Xinchuan Yuanyang Milk Tea (鑫川鴛鴦奶茶, here) is known for its super creamy iced drinks.
Instead of using milk powder like many vendors across the country, each cup of their signature coffee mixed with tea (鴛鴦 or yuan yang, TWD 45) or milk tea (紅茶牛奶, TWD 40) is made with a newly opened bottle of Gaomu (高牧) brand milk. You can now find many other copycat stalls in the night market doing the same.
Ignore the low rating on GoogleMaps – locals tend to be hyper critical in their reviews, and you’ll find the same at many other stalls in this night market. I tried a milk tea here and thought it was excellent!
Due to its location right at the corner where most people arrive, it tends to have a long line.
Light Green Lemon Milk
A few steps up Lane 1 is another milky (but totally different) drink stall called Light Green Lemon Milk (淺綠色奶香檸檬, here).
For the signature drink, Lemon Milk (奶香檸檬, TWD 65) the stall boss throws several entire lemons, sugar, and some milk into a blender then filters out the chunks.
The end result is a thick, sweet, creamy, and tart drink that I found surprisingly delicious and refreshing.
And before you say that those fruits are green so they’re actually limes – sorry, but nope. They are a local kind of lemon hybrid called Taiwan green lemon (台灣綠檸檬). They are very common in Taiwan, and it blew my mind when I first found this out.
Make sure to ask for “little sweet” (小糖) if you don’t want too much sugar.
Master Shao’s Shanghai Soup Buns and Oyster Omelets
Further down Lane 1, watch for Master Shao’s Shanghai Soup Buns and Oyster Omelets (邵師傅上海湯包, here on the left side). This is a popular and long-running xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) and oyster omelet stall.
I’m can never say no to an oyster omelet, so I tried their “double egg assorted oyster omelet” (雙蛋綜合煎, TWD 90), which comes with oyster, shrimp, and squid.
My oyster omelet was huge, crispy on the edges (the best way!), with a darker sauce than usual. I got to add my own fresh ginger slices, black vinegar, and spicy sauce.
Once again, ignore the weirdly low rating on GoogleMaps – I thought it was top notch. I didn’t try the xiaolongbao, so let me know in the comments if you have!
Lane 2
Assuming you’ve walked up Lane 1, turn left to Lane 2 and begin walking down it. Therefore, the below three stalls are in order from north to south.
Gandan Thick-Cut Fried Yogurt
I highly recommend Gandan Thick-Cut Fried Yogurt (甘丹厚切炒酸奶, here). The name is misleading – the yogurt is not fried, but rather frozen and cut up into pieces.
It’s because the pieces are cut on a iron grill similar to what locals fry things on, except in this case it’s a cold grill.
There are a numerous flavors to choose from and they change daily, but I found the blueberry (藍莓), sweet osmanthus lemon (桂花檸檬), and salted caramel (焦糖鹽之花) especially delicious.
Not only are the slices beautiful but I felt they are high value – for TWD 80 I got to choose six different flavors. This is easily enough for 2-3 people to share.
Fire Soul German Pork Knuckle
About halfway down Lane 2 is Fire Soul German Pork Knuckle (火魂德國豬腳, here). This is the original one – don’t be confused by the copycat at the top (northern) end of the lane.
This is one of the best-known stalls in Ruifeng Night Market and is frequently covered in local media.
The pork knuckles are slow-roasted to perfection over charcoals.
The boss cuts them into bite-sized pieces and serves them with topping such as signature salt and pepper (招牌椒鹽), honey mustard (蜂蜜芥末), or lemon tartar (檸檬塔塔).
I went for the honey mustard and regret nothing! The meat was incredibly tender. It’s TWD 150 for a half portion (plenty for me), so it’s not the cheapest, but in my opinion worth the price.
Wen’s Fresh Milk Mochi
Close to the southern end of Lane 2, I found Wen’s Fresh Milk Mochi (文鮮奶麻糬, here). This is the first place I’ve ever tried southern Taiwan-style mochi and it was a revelation for me.
The mochi here is extremely soft and almost liquid in texture, unlike the more QQ (chewy) texture of mochi in the north of Taiwan. The mochi practically melted in my mouth.
The mochi come in many different flavors, like black sesame (黑芝麻), matcha (抹茶), and cocoa (可可). They are TWD 15 each, 6 for 70, 8 for 90, or 10 for 100.
Like most Taipei people, I’m now on the lookout for this kind of mochi every time I go to the south. In Tainan, you can find a similar one at Garden Night Market.
Lane 3
The third lane has several more snacks worth seeking out. We’ll be starting from the bottom (southern) end and walking up it.
Z Paella
Along with the German Pork Knuckles (see above) and Angel Fried Chicken Cutlets (see below), Z Paella (Z的西班牙燉飯, here) is one of the most popular stalls typically associated with Ruifeng Night Market.
I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first saw it. Taiwanese versions of European and North American foods often miss the mark or are purposely adapted to local tastes.
However, few people (myself included) disagree that the paella here is absolutely delicious. It may not perfectly match the paella out of Valencia (the homeland of paella), but it is rich, aromatic, filling, and incredibly flavorful.
The paella comes with pieces of chorizo sausage, chicken thigh, and their homemade smoked bacon.
It’s also easy to order, as the paella is the only thing on the menu and it only comes in one size (TWD 130). When I ordered, I got the option to add some creamy/spicy sauce.
Youchigui Stuffing Fried Fritters
About halfway up Lane 3, I found something I’d never seen before, so I had to try it.
At Youchigui Stuffing Fried Fritters (油吃鬼百花釀油條, here), the boss takes deep fried dough sticks (油條 or you tiao, a common Taiwanese breakfast item), stuffs them with shrimp, cuttlefish, and fish paste, then deep fries them.
When I ordered mine, I got to choose from a variety of seasonings, including thousand island (千島), ketchup (番茄醬), sweetened condensed milk (煉乳), salt and pepper (胡椒鹽), or Thai (泰式). A small order was TWD 70.
These are a great example of a vendor throwing a few unexpected Taiwanese ingredients together with delicious results.
Other Lanes
While there are still seven more lanes to go, I found that the remaining ones lacked any absolute must-eats or famous stalls. In fact, they had fewer food stalls in general, with many empty spots.
However, I’ve saved the single most famous stall in Ruifeng Night Market for the end.
Angel Fried Chicken Cutlets
At the bottom (south end) of Lane 12, roughly equidistant from the eastern and western ends of the night market, stands what is most likely the most popular stall in Ruifeng Night Market: Angel Fried Chicken Cutlets (天使雞排-瑞豐店, here).
“Lane 12” is a little misleading – for some reason, they’ve skipped lanes 7 and 8, so Lane 12 is actually the 10th lane in from the eastern entrance. But it is indeed labeled Lane 12.
Locals once votes this as the best deep fried chicken cutlets (雞排 or ji pai) in all of Taiwan. The lines for it get so long that there’s a roped off area for lining up.
Of course I had to try it, so I can now confirm: the fried chicken cutlets here are indeed enormous. One Taiwanese blogger says the meat is thicker than a TWD 50 coin.
Mine was super crispy on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside. While I certainly haven’t tried every “famous” ji pai in Taiwan, this was without a doubt among my best.
Above I’ve only introduced 9 out of 500+ food stalls at Ruifeng Night Market. I’ve surely missed some other great foods! So, please tell me in the comments below, what did you try at Ruifeng Night Market, and do you think it should be added to my list?
Hi, I wastl just here last week and found the market extremely quiet. I’m not sure what was going on but it was a real disappointment – lots of stalls closed and not too many people there. The chicken cutlets were great, though. Liuhe was much better all around – yes, a bit touristy, but also livelier and a much more interesting variety and array of food. I’m not sure if we hit Ruifeng at a bad time – it was two days after the typhoon had passed – or what. Otherwise have been loving your guides and finding them very useful.
Hey, what day did you go on? Ruifeng NM is actually closed on Monday/Wednesday, so if it was one of those days, you might have found that only a few stalls are open. Also, you could be right that the typhoon had an impact. Someone in my Facebook group mentioned they went recently on the long weekend and it was absolutely packed!
hi,
angel fried chicken was at the end of lane 12 south end.
I think that depends how you count the lanes. For my article, I’ve counted each lane you can walk down as one lane. And I counted that Angel was at the 6th lane (starting from the east side where most people arrive). Some locals might count each lane as 2 (right side stalls at lane 1, left side stalls as lane 2). Then yes, it would reach 12 by the time you get to Angel. I hope that makes sense!
Just visited Ruifeng on a Friday night. Two things: first, it is fairly lively on a weekend. Not as busy as the night markets in Taipei, but there were plenty of people.
Second, Angel fried chicken is definitely not at the end of lane 6. The lanes are numbered, and 1 through 6 are labeled exactly as described in the article. Then for some reason the numbering skips straight to 9. As the previous commenter notes, Angel chicken is at the south end of the lane numbered 12 (which is actually the tenth lane if you’re counting from the east).
Thank you – I’ve added this information to the article!