The "perfectly chaotic" description is spot-on for Taipei's night markets. What I appreciate is how you frame December as the sweet spot when weather makes wandering sustainable. I visited Raohe couple years ago and that pepper bun line was no joke, but watching them come out of that clay oven made the wait totally worthwile. The compact layout really is an advantage over sprawling markets like Shilin where half the time gets burned just navigating.