When in Taipei, one dish you definitely must have is the braised pork rice and you can find this dish basically everywhere. Some of the famous restaurants include the Formosa Chang 鬍鬚張 which has multiple outlets across the country. I prefer to go to smaller restaurants, night markets or new restaurants
During my recent trip, I discovered a new popular restaurant where people visit for braised pork rice. Wang's Broth is located within one of the older night markets; Huaxi Night Market. The market is famous for exotic food like snake soup so it is not really crowded with tourists
Wang's Broth has been around since 1975 but only started gaining traction with foodies when they were awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand. The newly renovated store is bright and cheery with both indoor and outdoor seats. I like how they featured a pushcart at the entrance of the bistro showing their full menu to customers who are either queueing for a seat or simply walking past
Due to the heat, most of the customers chose the indoor seats and the moment we stepped into the bistro, we could smell the gorgeous fragrance as the main cooking counter was right at the front entrance. There is a buzz happening at the entrance as staff usher new customers to available seats, take orders and payment at the counter and also dish out food to the orders received. The space is fully utilised to sit many patrons at one session and the seats are placed close to one another so it is not a space where you want to sit for long. Most customers finish their meal and leave immediately
There were a few options for the braised pork rice and we ordered the one with mushrooms. The servings are good for 1 person and for a small eater so it might not be filling for hungry customers. The bowl came with an abundance of mushroom and pork belly cubes instead of minced pork. The flavour was savoury with a tinge of sweetness and the braised soy flavour was mild and salty. Priced at TWD 75, it is not the most cost-efficient bowl of rice but it is still worth it
We put in an additional for the standalone braised pork belly priced at TWD 95 which came in huge chunks. It resembled Shanghai braised pork belly; 红烧肉 as it was in big square chunks of meat with glistening skin and visible chunky fats. Putting the entire piece in my mouth was quite daunting, so I took some of the lean meat with the fats, which were very tender and soft. The fats melt in your mouth, and an oily and savoury taste lingers. I found it too oily if I had to eat beyond 1 piece by myself but lovers of fatty meat will rejoice. It was definitely a well-braised meat with defined flavours which complemented the rice well
Other than the braised pork dishes, we also ordered the stir-fried cabbage at TWD 35, braised egg at TWD 20 and fish soup at TWD 115. The cabbage was extremely sweet and different from the ones here in Singapore as you could taste the natural sweetness from the cabbage and not by adding sugar in the cooking process. The egg was yummy as it absorbed the braised sauce which gave it a nice umami flavour. Last but not least, the fish soup was really the worst dish I had at the store as the fish was filled with bones and the soup was extremely fishy. The soup was lightly flavoured with ginger but it still did not cover up the fishy flavour of the soup. It was the only dish we could not finish eating even though we were not full
Overall, I would say they did a good job with the braised pork rice and braised pork belly dish. The flavours were strong enough for a flavourful meal but not overly salty. The mushrooms added an earthy layer of flavours to the dish while the cabbage was a good addition with the naturally sweet taste. I would return for a good bowl of braised pork rice
Address: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Huaxi St, 17之4號攤位153號
Operating hours: 9.30 am to 8 pm ( Closed on Tuesday)
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