瞎逛艋舺夜市 / Just wandering around Mengjia Night Market

剛好逛到龍山寺附近，看到有名的艋舺夜市就在附近，雖然肚子不餓，也想去還未正式營業的艋舺夜市看看，艋舺夜市又稱為萬華夜市，是萬華區知名的美食商圈，有許多傳統古早味的道地小吃，白天下午的時間，逛的路人並不多，有一家日式風格的紅豆餅店，我仔細一看價錢，哇！價錢不便宜，一顆紅豆餅賣20元台幣，不過口味還蠻多的，查了一下，網路上評價還不錯，看到幾家20元的仙草冰，還蠻想喝的，但是今天有點冷，還是下次吧。

因為是臨時起意，沒有事先查看艋舺夜市有甚麼美食，所以，就算想吃，也不知道要吃甚麼，但是我依稀有聽過朋友提到小王煮瓜，是米其林必比登推薦的美食，假如人少的話，倒是可以試試看，逛到一家叫頂級甜不辣的店，居然有客人在排隊，應該是有名的美食，我最喜歡往小巷內尋寶了，在巷弄間看到一家賣牛排的店，哇！它賣的是典型的夜市牛排，一客最便宜的套餐要180元台幣，還送酥皮濃湯，我喜歡先把玉米濃湯上面蓋的酥皮麵包中間戳破，再塞進去濃湯裡面吃，邊邊在用手撕開，麵包吸飽玉米濃湯，更好吃，沒想到還能在這裡找到傳統的夜市牛排。

另一家梧州街上的攤販，蛋炒飯居然只要30元台幣，真是太便宜了，便宜到我不敢吃，短短的巷弄間，都是賣傳統小吃的攤位，價錢都蠻合理，甚至有些還蠻便宜的，突然逛到爺爺在世前，常住的一家醫院，頓時，往事浮上心頭，我記得，只要當爺爺身體不舒服，一住進這家醫院，我們家族就必須常常來這家醫院看顧爺爺，所以，醫院旁邊的這一排攤位，我可能之前有吃過的，只是忘掉了，而自從爺爺離世後，我們就沒有再出現在這一帶了。

因為肚子不餓，我逛了一圈下來，完全不想吃東西，不過，假如，想來這裡用餐的話，我一定會試那家牛排館的夜市牛排，來一杯20元的仙草冰，假如可以的話，我會試看看30元的蛋炒飯，確認看看是否值得吃，還有去醫院旁邊的攤位，尋找遺失的好味道，另外，我還懷念之前艋舺夜市知名的蛇肉料理，聽說因為保育還是觀感不好的關係，夜市的蛇肉料理店都關了。

I happened to stroll near Longshan Temple and spotted the famous Mengjia Night Market nearby. Even though I wasn't hungry, I decided to check out the market before it officially opened. Mengjia Night Market, also known as Wanhua Night Market, is a renowned food hub in the Wanhua district, offering lots of authentic and traditional snacks. During the afternoon, there weren't many people around. I came across a Japanese-style red bean cake shop, and wow, those cakes were pricey, selling at 20 NT dollars each. But they had quite a variety of flavors, and based on online reviews, they seemed pretty good. I also spotted a few stalls selling grass jelly drinks for 20 NT dollars, which I was tempted to try, but it was a bit chilly today, so maybe next time.

Since it was a spontaneous decision, I didn't check beforehand what delicious treats were available at Mengjia Night Market. Even if I wanted to eat something, I wasn't sure what to go for. However, I vaguely remembered a friend mentioning Xiao Wang's Cooked Gourd, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recommended delicacy. If it wasn't too crowded, I thought I might give it a shot.

As I wandered, I stumbled upon a place called "Top-Class tempura" and there was actually a line of customers waiting. It must be a popular spot. I love exploring hidden gems in alleyways. In one alley, I found a steakhouse selling typical night market steaks. The cheapest combo was 180 NT dollars, which included a crispy pastry soup. My favorite thing to do with the soup is to tear open the pastry on top and dip it into the soup, letting it soak up all the flavors. It's even better that way. I didn't expect to find traditional night market steaks here.

At another stall on Wuzhou Street, they were selling egg fried rice for only 30 Taiwanese dollars. It was unbelievably cheap, almost too cheap for me to trust. The short alleyways were filled with stalls selling traditional snacks, and the prices were reasonable, with some even being quite cheap. Suddenly, I came across the hospital where my grandfather used to stay before he passed away. Memories flooded back. I remembered whenever my grandfather felt unwell, we would have to come to this hospital often to take care of him. Therefore, I might have eaten at some of the stalls beside the hospital before, but I forgot about them. Since my grandfather passed away, we haven't been in this area.

Even though I wasn't hungry after my stroll, if I were to come back here for a meal, I'd definitely try the night market steak at that steakhouse, have a cup of 20-dollar grass jelly drink, and if I felt adventurous, I'd give the 30-dollar egg fried rice a try to see if it's worth it. I'd also revisit the stalls near the hospital, searching for those lost flavors. Additionally, I miss the famous snake meat dishes that used to be popular in Mengjia Night Market. I heard they closed down due to conservation or public perception issues regarding snake meat.

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