Delicious and affordable feast: Braised Pork Rice drizzled with golden soy sauce and topped with generous side ingredients

Text and photos byBurnout Nurse

Food is the paramount necessity of the people. During workdays, my favorite time is lunch break. Speaking of bento meals, I’d like to introduce an incredibly value-for-money bento shop today — a real blessing for those who don’t cook and rely on takeout.

They say shops near markets are the best because their ingredients come straight from the market — not only fresh but also affordable. So you can often find hidden gems of affordable, everyday cuisine near markets. That day, I visited a place next to Ziqiang Market called Ah Mah’s Kitchen — quite an interesting name, and there was even a vegetable stall right in front of it~

I specifically took a picture of the exterior for everyone to see. This shop is indeed located right next to Ziqiang Market. But as a 30-year-old market veteran, its signboard does show some signs of aging.

Looking around, how’s the taste here? Unexpectedly, as soon as the door opened, a customer walked in and asked, “Are they sold out?” Then quickly packed up a bento and left. Soon after, more locals came in one after another. Hmm… it must be good.

The photo I posted on FB that day was from this very shop. Surprising, right? So everyone should give a round of applause to this burnout nurse who dared to walk in and dine here~ Actually, it was quite a surprise that this unassuming-looking bento shop even offers multigrain rice (seems healthy!).

Also, the bento prices here aren’t expensive either~

Clock? How clever, right? I asked the boss, and it turned out to be the chopping board used by grandpa to cut the braised pork. It got damaged but was too good to throw away, so they repurposed it. Anyway, the prices of these bentos are really a great deal. So good that for a moment, I didn’t even know what to order.

You can choose three side dishes for your bento. Each additional side costs 10 NT$, and adding a chicken leg is 55 NT$. You can pretty much order whatever you want as long as you have the cash.

Also, after ordering, you can add a spoonful of braising sauce for just 10 NT$ — unless you go overboard, then they might charge a bit more.

What’s praiseworthy is that the tea served here is sugar-free — it’s really refreshing and cuts through the grease perfectly~

I spotted this scene by the wall and couldn’t help but drift over. By the way, I’ve seen 10 NT$ bills before, but when I checked the issue date, this just didn’t make sense. Yet, I definitely remember seeing it. There must be some kind of misunderstanding???

But never mind the bill — when this randomly ordered bento arrived at the table, it was insanely luxurious. If I hadn’t added extra dishes, a braised pork + pork rib bento would’ve only been 155 NT$. Worth it~~~ Even ordering a full table only costs 295 NT$. Haha, super worth it. But they give you so much rice, I was still full until 2 AM. I originally wanted to get some tofu pudding before heading home, but I had zero appetite left. Even drinking a bottle of fat-burning tea didn’t help = =

Super hearty chicken rice. The bento is 65 NT$, or just 35 NT$ without sides. A huge bowl, this one bowl totally won me over...

The braised pork rice is highly recommended. It’s fried but not greasy at all, and super delicious.

The white rice drizzled with braising sauce is even more tempting.

Bowl | Kang Nao Ou Qian Gen? Ou Qie Bo? Su Ru Zhe? Na Che Na Lao Ding.

Chicken leg highly recommended!! Crispy skin but not greasy, juicy and tender meat — one bite and you’re completely satisfied.

If you really want to add some small sides, I highly recommend the fried tofu.

And this pig’s blood soup is also highly recommended~ A huge bowl, so much filling it feels like it’s free, going all out on the extravagant route...

The overall selection of dishes tastes like classic home-style cooking — not too salty, and it doesn’t leave your mouth feeling heavy or make you want to drink water non-stop. Both the portion size and price truly make this one of the bento shops worth recommending. It’s just a pity — we asked 800 times, but they currently don’t do deliveries QQ (crying)

Ah Mah’s Kitchen
Address: No. 123, Ziqiang St., Beitou District, Taipei City
Phone: 02–2827 1210
Business hours: 10:30–15:00 / 17:00–19:30

We are Burnout Nurse “Rice Ball” & “Bowl | Jun Bao?? Suo Jiao Pu Shi Diao Pu Zhi Yao Mian Cheng Duo De Mu Shu He Xiao Na Qing Kuang, Qi Wang Neng Gei Da Jia Dai Lai Dian Di Qu De Mei Shi Jiao Se Yu Xia Ri De Huan Xiang, Rang Bu Neng Hao Hao Chi Fan De Ni Men Ye Neng Ti Gao Yin Shi De Xing Fu Gan.
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