Local Lunch Spot in Tainan: Juicy Shrimp Rice with Duck Eggs and Sausage

Text & Photos /Old K

In MJ’s memory, many of Tainan’s street foods are related to shrimp—like shrimp rice balls, shrimp rolls, and shrimp rice. Among them, shrimp rice is especially rare elsewhere. On MJ’s food adventure trip to Tainan with friends many years ago, shrimp rice was one of the must-try snacks. The first time she had it was at Ai-Zai Cheng Shrimp Rice on Hai’an Road, and it was truly mind-blowing. Maybe it’s just that the first time you try something, it always tastes the best—because when she went back to Ai-Zai Cheng later, it didn’t seem as good.

Since she’d already been to Ai-Zai Cheng Shrimp Rice twice, this time MJ wanted to try something different. So this time she went to Ji Pin Shrimp Rice across the street. On a weekday lunchtime, most of the customers at Ji Pin were locals, so no one seemed to mind the heat—everyone was sitting outside the shop, while the inside was empty.

There were menus on the tables. For rice, there were only two options: shrimp and shredded pork. The other two were larger portions at higher prices. There were more soup choices. In the heat, MJ really couldn’t drink hot soup, but all the local Tainanese at other tables ordered soup. She remembered that when eating shrimp rice, you should also get a duck egg—because ducks are fed with shrimp shell scraps, the eggs are said to be especially delicious.

The upside of street food is that everything comes out really fast. One bowl of shrimp rice ($55), one bowl of shrimp rice with shredded pork ($70), one plate of old-school sausage ($25), one duck egg ($15), plus a bottle of cola ($20).

The shrimp rice and the version with added shredded pork—there were about eight shrimp in the plain shrimp rice, while the shredded pork portion was more generous.

To be honest, the shredded pork wasn’t anything special—it probably just added bulk to the meal.

The shrimp meat had a nice texture and bounce—MJ hates it when shrimp is mushy.

The rice was moist and the shrimp were fresh. But MJ and her friend vaguely remembered that Ai-Zai Cheng’s rice had a stronger shrimp flavor. This time, she couldn’t taste much shrimp flavor in the rice. It was a rich and moist rice, which MJ found a bit too salty.

You could see that the rice was coated in sauce.

The duck egg was fried into a comet shape, with a long tail dragging behind—it didn’t look very appetizing. Old K’s mom fries eggs way better.

Side view of the duck egg—the yolk looked super thick. It was half-cooked, with some yolk juice on the top. Flavor-wise, nothing special—maybe because the rice was so strong in taste, other flavors didn’t stand out.

The sausage had an old-school flavor, though MJ thought it was a bit salty.

Next door, Yu Jin Shen Seafood Soup was doing great business—it might’ve even been busier than Ji Pin Shrimp Rice. You should definitely give it a try if you get the chance.

Because MJ didn’t eat at both shrimp rice shops on the same day, and because it’s been a while since she visited Ai-Zai Cheng—and street food flavors often change over time and with prices—it’s hard to say which one is better. Just speaking about this visit to Ji Pin Shrimp Rice, the shrimp were quite fresh, but the rice and sausage were a bit too salty, making MJ want to buy a drink right after.

Ji Pin Shrimp Rice
Address: No. 107, Section 1, Hai’an Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Phone: 06-226-3929
Business Hours: 9:30–21:00

Old K
Keep it coming, Old K!
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