Yongle Shao Rou Fan
Shao rou fan is grilled pork with ginger and bamboo shoots over rice.
Yongle Shao Rou Fan (Yǒnglè Shāo Ròu Fàn 永樂燒肉飯)
If you judge a shop’s food by how busy it is, then the food at jam-packed Yongle Shao Rou Fan should be divine. And quite frankly, it is. This is a shop that’s been around for over 60 years and so they know their business. Specializing in the flame broiled pork dish known as shāo ròu fàn, this little place on the corner of Minzu and Guohua packs hordes of loyal customers and tourists into its street side shop on a daily basis.
I had eaten shao rou fan a couple of times before without thinking much of it. The first time I ate at this place, however, I couldn’t get the flavor out of my mouth or mind for several days. While eating it, I suddenly forgot about everything around me and whom I was with (sorry, Sweetheart). It really is that good.
Yongle Shao Rou Fan has been around for 60 years.
The dish consists of marinated pork strips grilled over an open fire and mixed with sweet pickled ginger and bamboo shoots over a bed of rice. It’s simple enough, but the flavors work together in complex ways. This is Taiwanese street food at its best. It comes with good miso soup but also a salad that’s best left uneaten. But for NT$60 for the set, who cares about the salad? There are a handful of other dishes on the menu, but I’ve not bothered to try them.
The menu breaks down like this:
- grilled pork rice – shāo ròu fàn (燒肉飯) – NT$60
- fatty grilled pork rice – kòng ròu fàn (控肉飯) – NT$60
- sailfish rice – qíyú fàn (旗魚飯) – NT$65
- chicken leg rice – jī tuǐ fàn (雞腿飯) – NT$65
- combination plate – zòng hé fàn (綜合飯) – NT$65
- combination salad zòng hé shālā (綜合沙拉) – NT$65
This is a traditional roadside restaurant, so there’s no English menu or spoken English here.
Hours: Thursday ~ Tuesday 10:00AM to 9:00PM; Closed Wednesdays
Phone: (06) 2281516
Location: No.16 Minzu Road (民族路), Section 3, West Central District, Tainan City
Tried it today for lunch….loved it! As close as I’ve found to Hong Kong’s great chasiu and siuyuhk!