Dongmen Night Market is a local night market located beneath a bridge in Yilan City. Dongmen as in east gate in Chinese was name after the no longer existed old gate from the Qing Dynasty in this location. The official name of the market is Yilan Dongmen Tourist Night Market, but the night market is actually popular only among the locals and very few tourists visit this place. A unique location, under the DonGang Bridge, Dongmen Night Market was once SanJiao Park where the local food stands gathered then slowly grew into the night market today.
Like all other night markets, Dongmen Night Market offers the usual night market snacks. But the Yilan’s only, YiChuanHsin, which means hearts on a stick is a local special where you can only find it in Yilan and of course, Dongmen night Market. YiChuanHsin is dried tofu wrapped around a sausage on a stick; you can always replace the sausage with other ingredients of your choice. The Yaoyao Ice is also a local special. Yaoyao Ice meaning shaking ice is a cold dessert topped with fruits, beans, syrup eventually turning into a cold drink. When you come to Yilan, don’t miss out on the scallion pancakes. The crispy Chinese pancake topped with local proud scallion, it is better than other places. Another worth mention snack is the DoHaoShao, it is a traditional snack that’s been passed own for a hundred year, third generation. It is sort of like fried donut with taro and bean stuffing inside.
Though Dongmen Night Market is actually a local night market, but the hospitality and the good food made this night market worth visiting for any travelers in Yilan. So keep in mind, even though the official name has a tourist in it, but English menus or English speakers may not be available. They will overcome the language barrier with friendliness and passion.
