The Taiwanese American Student Coalition’s held its 19th annual Night Market Saturday, featuring traditional Taiwanese music, food and games.
Shen-En Lee, a junior majoring in psychology, said the market was a chance for people who came to the event to learn about her country.
“For people who don’t know a lot about Taiwan, [Night Market] is a great introduction,” Lee said. “They will see all the places they should especially if they travel the rail.”
According to TASC secretary Eva Fan, this year’s theme was the Taiwan High Speed Rail.
“It’s one of the things Taiwan is really proud of,” said Fan, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience.
Old Union Hall was adorned with murals and depictions of cities the high speed rail passes, from Kaohsiung to Taipei.
Crystal Wang, TASC financial vice president and a junior majoring in economics, said a night market is just like other festivals and markets.
“[It is] a traditional market in Taiwan that only takes place at night where people eat and play games,” Wang said.
The 200 students and alumni at TASC’s biggest event of the fall semester could enjoy traditional food like lu rou fan, scallion pancakes, celery dougan and milk black tea.
Fan said she enjoys the food at traditional night markets.
“You can go through it and get little baggies of food for a really cheap price and by the time you exit the night market, you would have eaten 20 different things for the equivalence of $20,” Fan said. “We cooked the food [for BU’s Night Market] ourselves to make it a more authentic taste. We change some of the dishes every year.”
Students could also play mudslide, a game TASC discovered on a Taiwanese game show, test their chopsticks skills by picking up Skittles, and play games like ring toss, hook a bottle, and fishing for goldfish.
Fan described traditional night markets as “chaotic,” but she said it feels like Taiwan.
“[It is] an Asian combination of a street fair and a festival put together except it’s at night,” Fan said. “And it’s so crowded, you have to walk through waves of people. We bring the night market from Taiwan to BU for students. They can walk through it and feel like they’re in Taiwan.”
She said events like the night market highlight how special Taiwanese culture is.
“It brings out the uniqueness of the culture, especially if you live in the U.S. and never travel there,” Fan said.
Jamie Lhungay, an undeclared freshman, said the food tasted as though it were really from Taiwan.
“I like how the food is authentic,” Lhungay said. “Very different from Sodexo.”
She added that she heard about the market from the friend, and that she had fun at the event.
“I like how Night Market really shows the cities and different scenarios around the country,” Lhungay said. “It’s fun and has a good atmosphere.”