Located on Zhengqiang Street in Yongkang, Tainan, "Nanbei Meat Sauce Rice Shop" is a recently opened restaurant, and it seems to be part of a chain, although it's my first time eating here. During the opening period, they have special promotions, such as chicken chop rice, pork rib rice, and salted fish rice, all at a special price of 75 TWD, which comes with a complimentary cup of barley tea. Overall, it's very appealing. This time, I ordered braised meat rice and noticed its unique feature: a hint of charcoal flavor. While I think this adds complexity, my wife thinks it tastes burnt. 😆
Besides the braised meat rice, I also tried the salted fish and pork ribs, both of which are above average. The salted fish has a moderate salty and savory taste, perfect with rice; the pork ribs are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with decent meat quality. The overall taste is indeed good, but the only issue is that the original price of 100 to 110 TWD feels a bit high for such a portion. The amount of rice is so little that it comes off as a bit ridiculous; you can check the photos—it's just a thin layer of white rice with fewer side dishes. If the prices return to their original rates, I probably won’t make a special trip here again.
In summary, the taste at Nanbei Meat Sauce Rice Shop is okay, and the special prices are very worth it, but if they go back to the original prices, it becomes less appealing.
I think what makes this place special is that food trucks like this are quite rare in Taiwan! Typically, these food trucks have a unique theme for their dishes, and this one specializes in selling shrimp 🦐. We ordered two types to try out…
❤️Scampi
This flavor is the most popular and most ordered; it's sautéed with garlic for a fragrant taste. Personally, I enjoy the combination of garlic with shrimp and the creamy texture. They also provide a small salad 🥗 on the side, which adds some different textures overall, but I personally didn't like the rice they offered 🍚 because it feels sticky and somewhat off-putting!
❤️Hot and Spicy 🌶️
For this dish, they specifically stated that it can't be returned or exchanged, and I think I understand why! The moment I took my first bite, I could feel the sour spiciness! If you don’t usually eat spicy food, you might find it really hard to handle! The taste is somewhat reminiscent of Thai flavors, sour and spicy~ but the heat stays on the tongue!
Overall, there's not much to criticize. If you like shrimp, I think you should give it a try, but since the location isn't particularly easy to find, it's probably more convenient for those who can drive! I hope everyone gets to try out other flavors too!
📍Datong District, Taipei City (Dadaocheng Shopping District)
The crowd continues to flow in | A rice noodle snack shop originating from small food carts 🥣🥡🥢
Walking on the streets of Dadaocheng in the scorching summer is indeed very hot 😆 We found this air-conditioned snack shop to dine in.
When we arrived just after eleven in the morning, there was no need to queue. The shop's aunties warmly welcomed us to our seats. Upon entering, we discovered that the shop had a surprising amount of seating inside! By the time we left, there was a long line.
🥘
Order items:
🥄 Rice noodles (small, $35) dry/soup:
We ordered one bowl of dry and one bowl of soup. Personally, I think the rice noodles are very light, with only the flavors of chives and crispy shallots. The soup had a bit more flavor, reminiscent of dried bonito stock.
I was a bit disappointed with the texture of the rice noodles; they didn't have the chewy bite I expected and broke apart easily, somewhat like a thicker rice vermicelli soup. I later found out that these noodles weren't made from pure rice flour but also included corn starch.
The small bowl was quite filling, packed with rice noodles, and paired with side dishes, it made for a satisfying meal!
🍢 Mixed platter ($65):
Delicious 😋 A rare sight, a mix of sliced meats 😝 paired according to the day's side dishes, with about 1-3 pieces of each type.
Although I wasn't sure what some of the ingredients were 😆 everything was prepared well and tasted great. I particularly enjoyed the sausage (maybe it was fresh sausage or a chewy type of sausage).
When served, they didn't add sauce, but the auntie reminded us that we could add our own condiments at the table, including soy sauce, chili sauce, and pepper.
🐽 Pork skin ($25):
Cooked until it has a transparent color and substantial thickness, recommended for pork skin lovers.
🫔 Fried tofu ($10):
An average level of tasty fried tofu.
🍄
Would I revisit? Yes!
The prices are very reasonable! I would come back just for the sliced meats 🫶🏻
✏️
Notes:
🔸 Cash only 💰
"A long-established restaurant I’ve been eating at since I was little sells stinky tofu rice noodle soup. This week, my parents wanted to go eat, so they asked me if I wanted to go. Of course, I’m all for it—free food!"
<About the meal 🥣>
This time, the stinky tofu I ordered wasn’t as crispy as it used to be… I don’t know if it was because there were too many people on-site or what, but it wasn’t fried long enough, and the stinky tofu I saw when served was all soft… The pickled cabbage still tastes very flavorful just like before, and it pairs well with the stinky tofu. Eating the pickled cabbage on its own is also fine.
Additionally, I also ordered sesame sauce noodles, and overall they performed decently. The taste of the sesame sauce was quite sufficient; however, the noodles were too soft and mushy. I hope the noodles could be a bit firmer.
<About the environment 🐾>
This time, the dining environment when we went to eat was really poor. There were so many flies flying around that we couldn’t get rid of them… It made me and my family lose our appetite while eating (damn flies). I hope the restaurant can properly address the fly issue in the environment.
The snack shop in the Minsheng community is very famous, and the crowd never stops. The atmosphere inside the shop is very nostalgic.
I love braised pork rice! It feels more like meat sauce rice, with not much fatty meat, but the seasoning is balanced and aromatic. However, the portion is very small, and I finished it in just a few bites... The side dishes are fresh and delicious. Although the sauces are all similar, it's rare to find fresh intestines at a snack shop; they are cleaned well and crunchy when eaten. I would be willing to return just for the braised pork rice and fresh intestines.
The reason for one star less is that the price isn't attractive and the portions are very small; three of us spent over a thousand NT dollars. 🤦
A long-established shop that has been serving meatballs since childhood is located near the train station, where there are many other delicious places to explore. After eating the meatballs, you can also go to Dunaj to buy some bread. There are a lot of people! However, the speed of serving is extremely fast; as soon as you sit down and order a few meatballs, they arrive immediately, and table turnover is quick since they only sell three items. The skin of the meatballs has a chewy texture, and they are filled with solid chunks of meat, but my favorite is still the kind from Puli that is filled with bamboo shoots.
The winter melon soup is incredibly tasty, featuring meat and shredded bamboo shoots. You can drink two bowls without getting tired of it. It's been a long time since I last had it, and recently I've been enjoying winter melon soup for several days—tasting just like my childhood, unchanged! It's okay if you don't eat meatballs; you must definitely try the smooth and delicious winter melon soup! Highly recommended.
🔅Actual takeout date: 2024/08/31
*Please do not reproduce or use the photos for commercial purposes without permission.
It seems to be a local shop that has been open for over 80 years, so I decided to try takeout.
▪️Mixed vermicelli, small bowl $55
▪️Crispy stinky tofu, small bowl $65
I actually liked the seasoning of the mixed vermicelli; it had a fragrant dried fish flavor, and the consistency was just right. However, unfortunately, the flavors of the intestines and oysters were quite strong... not so overwhelming that I couldn’t eat it, but definitely some of the strongest flavors I've had recently, which is a bit disappointing.
The stinky tofu became soft on the outside after being taken out, and its flavor was average. The kimchi was also moderately sour and crunchy, and there was a decent amount overall, which I quite liked (with added spice).
Overall, I wouldn’t particularly recommend it, but eating there won’t make you angry, something like that.
The affordable snack shop in Ximending can be considered one of the safer bets, as this area is easy to trip up in, often being derisively called a food desert.
The oyster omelet has few oysters, a lot of batter, and is soft rather than crispy. The egg is not the main focus, but it comes with classic bok choy, and the sauce is quite good—slightly sweet and sour, with a suitable salty balance.
The turnip cake (two pieces) has a slightly charred and crispy surface, and its sweet and sour sauce mixed with soy sauce brings a savory sweetness that is fairly good.
This place serves food quickly, especially since these two dishes are continuously being fried, making it a decent choice for a quick bite, although it can't really be called gourmet.
I've always known that Shezi Island's hottest chili sauce is really spicy. I happened to be nearby, so I decided to try it out. The snack shop is at a corner and quite crowded; overall, it's fairly well-ventilated and not too hot.
I ordered the Taiwanese-style vermicelli with large intestines, sweet potato balls, and meatballs. The intestines were quite chewy and flavorful with the braising sauce, while the vermicelli was ordinary. The sweet potato balls had delicious radish, but the rice blood cakes and meatballs were mushy and had poor texture. The meatballs were really boring; the bamboo shoots on the side didn't add anything, and the meat filling was dry and bland. There was a quail egg inside, which was pretty cool.
All the snacks would definitely score points with their chili sauce. But the essence of the food is still quite average.
🥩 Chiayi East District ▫️ Dongmen Roundabout
🥩 A must-visit store for designated souvenirs from afar
This dried meat store located in the market
is the only souvenir my mother insists on buying every time we visit Chiayi 🔥
The jerky and meat strips are handmade and grilled on-site
and you can also purchase sausages.
The entire street is filled with the aroma of charcoal,
and you can see how genuine the products are compared to factory-made ones 👍🏻
This time coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival gifting season.
On the second day of our trip, before returning to Kaohsiung,
I bought several packs upon my mother's request (demand)
to show my filial piety as a daughter ❤️
In addition to popular jerky that we could sample,
the store also kept offering us squid slices, guava chips, and other items
to try, and they even provided paper cups for tea to soothe our throats.
The store owners are incredibly thoughtful‼️
In the end, I chose the most popular original flavor,
but there are also Thai style, pepper, and more options that are quite good.
The total was 200 TWD for 2 packs of shredded meat,
300 TWD for 2 packs of meat strips, and 200 TWD for a large bag of 3 packs.
The store owner proactively asked if we needed a paper bag for gifting 🎁
The market was too crowded, so I'm sorry I couldn’t take one photo of each pack 🥹
Seeing how much I bought on my own
just proves I'll definitely be back in the future.
I sincerely recommend it to everyone ✨