Linjiang St is short. Tonghua St to Keelung Rd, about three hundred metres; ten minutes if you walk, half an hour if you eat. Taipei people call it Tonghua Night Market, the sign says Linjiang St Tourist Night Market, and locals just say "go eat at Tonghua" — three names, one street, sitting beside the priciest blocks in Da'an and still one of the least touristy markets in the city.
Stalls light up around 6pm and most run until midnight; it varies, so check on the spot.
Why it counts as local
Taipei 101 is a fifteen-minute walk; MRT Xinyi Anhe exit 3, left, five minutes down Tonghua St and you're at the entrance. Anywhere this central should have been swallowed by tourists by now. Linjiang hasn't been, because it is simply the kitchen for people who live in Da'an. At 8pm the queue is office workers who didn't cook, parents with strollers, neighbours in slippers. It's food-first, almost no game stalls, one loop doesn't tire you — that's the difference from Shilin or Raohe.
The crowd curve is predictable: Friday and Saturday 8 to 9:30pm is the crush; weekdays before 7 or after 10 are easy.
How to eat: categories, not stall names
Braised snacks, pepper buns, herbal pork ribs, oyster omelette, rice noodle soup, cut fruit, shaved ice and sweet soups — that's the base. One rule: if a queue is over twenty minutes and you didn't come specifically for it, skip it; the same category is usually ten metres away. Budget NT$50–100 per item, three or four items, NT$200–300 and you're full.
Afterwards: Tonghua St south, Anhe Rd north
The market's real asset is its location. Head south on Tonghua St and the massage density is striking: Zhiwu Chunqiu Foot Massage, Tonghua branch at No. 19-2 with 1,800+ reviews; Er Zu Xing Guan at No. 6; Zu Tang tucked into Lane 38 at No. 5, 400+ reviews at 4.7. Under five minutes from the last stall to handing your feet over. The Da'an massage list is half Tonghua St.
For a drink, turn onto Anhe Rd. Potions Magic Bar at No. 55-1 Sec. 1 has 4,000+ reviews and is the easiest seat around; further along, Bar Without at No. 27 Sec. 2 is quiet cocktails for two. Right beside the market, Leqi Yakitori Izakaya at No. 3, Lane 19 Tonghua St (1,400+ reviews) is for people who want to keep eating. More on the Da'an bar list; cocktails here run NT$350–500.
Honest notes
Parking around Linjiang is a disaster and red-line towing is aggressive. Take the MRT. After drinks, cab or designated driver — rides come fast in Da'an. Weekends are tough with a stroller; go on a weekday. Rain: stalls stay open but the aisle is narrow and umbrellas don't fit, so skip the market and give the night to the massage rooms and bars.
The market-then-bar logic repeats in after Raohe Night Market; for dodging tourists at Shilin, see Shilin local night. The whole district is on the Da'an guide.