Ah Quan's bowl rice cake and fish soup are highly praised. The bowl rice cake is chewy and firm, aromatic, and the minced pork filling melts in your mouth, paired with a delicious sweet garlic sauce. The fish soup contains fish meat, with a thick broth that pairs well with vinegar. Overall, the prices are reasonable, offering great value for money.
When it comes to the famous bowl rice cake (碗粿) in downtown Tainan, I can't help but mention A-Chuan! I'm a bit surprised that there are no points for it on Fooday.
A-Chuan's menu is very simple, focusing on just two items: one is the bowl rice cake (with a vegetarian option available), and the other is fish soup. The bowl rice cake itself is incredibly chewy and firm, thanks to the added scallions and dried shrimp, making the whole bowl fragrant. The minced pork filling is in chunks and melts in your mouth, paired with a sweet garlic sauce—oh my god, it's just delicious to the point of tears! Maybe having stayed in Taitung for too long has lowered my culinary standards, but when it comes to bowl rice cake, I still really prefer many from Tainan!
I eat fish soup less often, but it also contains some fish meat—not entirely fish paste—which really impressed me. The soup is thicker, and adding a bit of vinegar makes it quite tasty.
Moreover, the overall price has only slightly increased since my first long stay in Tainan, so the value for money is still extremely high.