At 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, the Raohe Street Night Market in downtown Taipei is heaving. A line snakes in front of a stand selling caramelized pork buns near the grand, red gate that marks the entrance, and groups wander through the rows of vendors, munching on skewers of grilled squid and slurping down bowls of noodle soup with fish balls. Amid stalls pungently redolent of fermented stinky tofu — an iconic Taiwanese snack — hawkers sell local versions of Japanese dishes such as tempura, kushiage (breaded, fried morsels on skewers), and takoyaki (octopus dumplings) made with baby octopus, their curled tentacles peeking out of the dough like fleshy, purple chrysanthemums.