At ten at night in Liuhe Night Market, one stall blazes with flame. The owner drops whole shrimp, flower crab pieces, milkfish belly, and fresh oysters one after another into the stock, then adds cooked white rice to boil along with them — the aroma hits before you even sit down. A bowl arrives so loaded you can't see the bottom. This is Kaohsiung's night market seafood congee: the port city's standard late-night comfort.
What is Seafood Congee?
Kaohsiung's seafood congee follows the "fan-tang" (rice-broth) method, similar to other southern Taiwan cities but with more generous portions: pork bone or shrimp-head stock forms the base, and after you order, the owner scoops fresh seafood to order — white shrimp, flower crab, cuttlefish, clams, milkfish belly, fresh oysters, small squid — and boils them with already-cooked white rice, resulting in a clear broth with separated grains and abundant fresh seafood. A final scatter of minced celery and fried shallots, plus a splash of rice wine for aroma, makes one complete late-night meal.
Liuhe Night Market is one of Kaohsiung's oldest night markets, and seafood congee has been one of its anchor items from early on. Zhuang Ji Seafood Congee, with roughly 50 years of history, has consistently been listed by Shi Shang Wan Jia food media and United Daily News travel coverage as one of Liuhe's representative stalls — generous portions and a clean, sweet broth. Unlike Tainan's or Chiayi's versions, which center on shrimp fan-tang, Kaohsiung's version is defined by the variety and quantity of seafood — suitable as a single meal or shared between two.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Objective credentials (filtered for sponsored content)
- Zhuang Ji Seafood Congee is a roughly 50-year-old stall with a long presence in Shi Shang Wan Jia and United Daily News coverage of Liuhe Night Market.
- Liuhe Night Market is listed by the Kaohsiung City Government Tourism Bureau as an official tourist night market, with seafood congee as one of its representative food types.
- This guide covers "Kaohsiung Seafood Congee" as a category. Yancheng, Qianzhen, and various night market stalls all have representatives.
Practical tips
- Night market stalls typically open from early evening to past midnight; crowds are heavier on weekends — allow time for queuing.
- MRT Formosa Boulevard Station Exit 11 leads directly to Liuhe Night Market. Drivers are advised to use the station-front parking lot.
- Seafood prices fluctuate seasonally. Confirm the per-item price of premium seafood before ordering to avoid billing surprises.
Information compiled from the Michelin Guide, Kaohsiung City Government Tourism Bureau, and a large body of public reviews, filtered for sponsored content. Photos to be replaced with channel-original material after Dio's on-site shoot.