The classic snack "rice meatball" in Banqiao — a plate of offal cold cuts makes for a super satisfying meal!

Text and photos by /Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

Not long ago, while visiting Shanghai, I met a successful Taiwanese businessperson who said the Taiwanese food she missed the most was the "rice meatball." A few days ago, a blogging friend also told me she was a rice meatball enthusiast. Suddenly, this stirred up my long-dormant love for rice meatballs... So I Googled "Banqiao rice meatball," and up popped this place — "Stone Rice Meatball" — not far from my home. I also hope this article can awaken the rice meatball memories of many others, as after all, the rice meatball is a representative of Taiwanese street snacks.

Exit 5 of Jiangzicui MRT Station isn’t actually far from my home, but I rarely come to this area for food. I usually head to Juguang Road in Xinpian for meals. However, I recently discovered that there are quite a lot of street snacks in this area up to Wensheng Street. Maybe it’s time to start exploring the food scene in this neighborhood more!

If we’re talking purely about buying rice meatballs, this shop may not be huge, but it doesn’t just sell rice meatballs — it also serves typical small eats you’d find at regular noodle shops. It’s open from noon until evening.

Before going, I did a bit of research. According to online reviews, what’s really impressive here isn’t the rice meatballs but the side dishes like offal cold cuts — especially pig ears.

Unfortunately, the pig ear dish was sold out, so I ordered my usual favorites: pork intestine and pig tongue to go with noodles. I also tried pig heart soup, which is relatively rare in northern Taiwan.

The pig tongue was fairly tender and had a good level of sweetness. If I had to nitpick, maybe it lacked a bit of the crispness I prefer.

My favorite part about the pork intestine is its soft, powdery texture in the middle, which is quite nice. The intestine itself is also very tender — at least not tough or hard to chew. The soy sauce drizzled on top is rather light and low-salt, which I personally love, especially when paired with some shredded ginger. The side dishes were as great as the online reviews said.

The pig heart turned out to be even crisper than the pig tongue, which really surprised me. The portion was also quite generous. The soup had a lovely sesame oil aroma, along with a hint of ginger flavor from the offal. I absolutely loved it — I even thought it tasted better than a famous one in Tainan!

Finally, of course, the star: the rice meatball. Generally, fried rice meatballs have a crispier and chewier skin, but this one had a smoother texture. The skin wasn’t too thick to get in the way either — even someone with bad teeth like me enjoyed it a lot. I’m guessing maybe this rice meatball is steamed before frying?

As for the filling, I’ve always felt that red yeast pork and bamboo strips are what a rice meatball should have. This one didn’t have red yeast pork, but the texture was similar to what I prefer in Keelung-style rice meatballs. The bamboo strips were also pretty good, plus there were quail eggs, which are more popular in southern Taiwan. Overall, both the skin and filling were delicious, although it didn’t leave a super strong impression afterward, haha XD.

Stone Rice Meatball
Address: No. 11, Lane 410, Section 2, Wenhua Road, Banqiao District, New Taipei City
Phone: 02 2251 2473
Business Hours: 12:00–20:30

"Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog
If “eating” is just about filling your stomach, then “food” would be far too boring~~~"