Taipei’s 30-year-old gem: “Jin Bing” (wheat wraps) with authentic shredded pork in sweet bean sauce — a perfect match

Text & Photos /San Gao Eats Han

It was raining heavily at night when I finally stepped into this little shop near Siping Park that I’d had bookmarked for ages. I’ve always enjoyed northern Chinese flatbread-style dishes, but Jin Bing is something I’ve had fewer opportunities to try — I’d only eaten it at two or three places before.

Zhongfuyuan has set up a transparent window at the entrance where you can watch elderly chefs making Jin Bing on the spot — rolling out the dough and cooking it on the griddle. Some beef noodle shops that sell Jin Bing also have such a “performance.” Compared to others, Zhongfuyuan’s version seems to use relatively less oil.

The young man who appeared to be the second-generation owner was chatty and friendly. When he heard a family at one table ordering, and they asked for plain rice, he quickly recommended their signature Jin Bing. The interaction was amusing, though personally, isn’t coming here all about the Jin Bing? I ordered two wraps on my own, paired with a mixed vegetable dish “wearing a hat” and shredded pork in sweet bean sauce.

The Jin Bing I’ve had before were usually thicker, with a more obvious layered texture on the surface. In comparison, Zhongfuyuan’s Jin Bing is much thinner. Ordering the wrap also comes with scallion sauce. I tried it plain first — just the aroma of the wrap itself, along with a good chewy texture. Then I added a bit of the sauce and scallions. The sweet bean sauce was a bit salty, so you don’t want to overdo it, but even just like this, it tasted really good.

The “mixed vegetable dish wearing a hat” is a common home-style dish from northern China. Ingredients like leek, yellow bean sprouts, and wood ear fungus are stir-fried together, then topped with egg crepe — like putting a hat on it. Eating this dish on its own, the tofu, leek, glass noodles, and soft egg crepe come together with the fragrant oil used in the stir-fry, blending the ingredients nicely. Wrapping it in the flatbread adds another layer, but also makes everything come together even better — a great way to enjoy it.

The shredded pork in sweet bean sauce here comes with a choice of beef or pork. I went for the small portion of beef, which wasn’t very generous — tender but slightly thicker strips. The smaller serving of sweet bean sauce was actually much sweeter than usual, with a slight wok hei (breath of the wok). The beef flavor was rich. Wrapped in the Jin Bing, it was both delicious and offered textural variety. I definitely made the right choices with these two dishes.

Zhongfuyuan
Address: No. 12-1, Lane 123, Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Business Hours: 11:30 AM–2:00 PM, 5:00 PM–8:30 PM

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