Can young people make traditional-style braised pork rice? The meat practically slides off the bone with just a chopstick lift.

Text & Photos /San Gao Chi Han

It’s been a while since my last Hsinchu food post (I’ve run out of what I had written), so today let’s do another in the home-cooked series. If you ask me which place in Taiwan has the highest average standard for braised pork rice, I’d without hesitation say Changhua (Taichung gets second place for now). Changhua is full of decades-old family-run shops with flavors you just can’t find elsewhere.

In Hsinchu, besides the Yuanlin braised pork rice I mentioned before, I later came across a review on “Living Elsewhere” about the braised pork from “San Dun Qing” near Nanshiya Street—it’s pretty good too. I’ve eaten there three times.

San Dun Qing is probably a fairly new shop? Inside, there’s a cart-style cooking station, and it seems to be run by young people. Some who are used to old-school shops might raise an eyebrow at first glance.

The first time I tried it, I thought it was pretty good, but after the second and third visits, I found the rich flavor of the braised pork getting even more intense—so I’d say it gets better with each visit.

＜Second visit photo: Braised pork rice 45 NT＞

The pork is quite thoroughly braised, though overall it’s a bit more oily. It doesn’t have that completely non-greasy feel you get from Changhua’s old shops. But the meat separates easily with just a chopstick lift, without being too soft or mushy—it’s truly a killer with plain rice.

＜Third visit photo: Braised pork bento 70 NT＞


I’ve also tried Tainan-style pasta here—it’s pretty good, with a nice bite and slightly oily. As for rice dishes, I’ve only had the melon pork rice. The ground melon pork is a bit finer, and the saltiness and sweetness are a bit heavier than expected, but it still has a nice garlic aroma and goes well with rice. It’s just that for 45 NT, you basically just get plain rice with the melon pork poured on top, which can feel a bit sparse.

＜Pasta, melon pork rice, and cabbage stew—all were OK＞

Speaking of things that get better with each visit, I think of a pig trotter specialty shop—Liuding Braised Pig Trotters. But I’ve only bought the middle section from the Food Road branch. I bought it twice recently, and it’s improved compared to when I first tried it last year—it really wasn’t great back then. I’ve tried several braised pig trotter shops in Hsinchu: Liuding, Teikeiwei, Nanshiya Street Pig Trotter King, Qiaowei Pig Trotters, Yuanlin braised pork rice, the Qingda Jinzhiyuan bento shop, and the NanDa Road Jinxiang ribs... Most of these are mid-tier to upper-mid-tier in quality. It’s just a shame that Hsinchu currently lacks a truly high-end pig trotter specialty shop—you have to go to other counties for that.

San Dun Qing Hakka Canteen
Address: No. 82, Guanghua North Street, Hsinchu City
Business Hours: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM (Closed Mondays)
 

San Gao Chi Han
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