Taiwan Fan Bao: Taiwanese-style cai fan with saba fish, chicken thigh & $3.50 pork belly buns
My past role as a hotel chef expanded my friend network, connecting me with people from countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China. So, I dragged my Taiwanese friend, Lily, from Chiayi County to Taiwan Fan Bao at Golden Mile Food Centre to put its authenticity to the test.
Now, there are a couple of other hawker stalls selling Taiwanese-inspired food at the same premises: Braise 卤之家 and Wen Li Taiwanese Food.
Stepping away from the competition, Taiwan Fan Bao is an under-the-radar stall with a lower fan base as compared to the other two. What drew me to this stall was the availability of gua bao or what the stall calls pork belly buns.
The stall is owned by a Singaporean lady together with a native Taiwanese. According to her, she went to Kaohsiung and learnt the art of making these dishes. The food adopts our local cai fan style, where you’ll be asked to choose 2 sides for each main.
Lily shared that in Taiwan, instead of our localised vocal ‘point-point’ system, the locals usually help themselves to whatever dishes they want and will be charged accordingly by the stall owners.
What I tried at Taiwan Fan Bao
I was torn between the Saba Rice (S$7.50) and Salmon Rice (S$8.50) and ended up with the former. It came with a heap of pearl rice, a slab of saba fish and a choice of either braised egg or tomato scrambled eggs. A side of dou miao (pea shoots) and beancurd completed the ensemble.
The skin of the fish glistened against the afternoon sun. With a gentle push of my fork and spoon, it fell apart easily like melted butter to reveal a moist, flaky centre.
The meat was seasoned just right and it was perhaps one of the best saba fish I’ve ever eaten (then again, maybe the past ones I had were horrible, haha)— Lily nodded in agreement. Just be cautious of the bones, though there were fewer than usual.
Lily said, “In Taiwan, saba fish and salmon are considered pricier, so you’ll see chicken and pork belly being served more often than these two.”
The pieces of beancurd were strongly flavoured with dou ban jiang or fermented bean paste sauce which was acceptable to me, but that might not be the case for others who mind the taste. The pea sprouts provided a fresh, slightly crunchy contrast to the otherwise soft ingredients.
I then moved on to the Pork Belly Bun (S$3.50) or gua bao. During my first trip to Kaohsiung City, I was introduced to this uniquely-Taiwanese snack by our ex-interns and I can still remember vividly, my mind-blown encounter with it.
I ordered 2 of them just because I refused to share. As gua bao is considered an old-school dish, it’s a street food that’s getting harder to find at Taiwan night markets. I fear that in a few more years, this favourite snack of mine might just vanish altogether.
For the uninitiated, gua bao consists of a soft bun stuffed with braised pork belly, ground peanuts and salted mustard greens. My teeth bit into the bun and I found it to be soft like a pillow. However, Lily thought otherwise, saying that the buns are much softer in Taiwan.
I was cracking up when she said that these buns feel like a memory foam pillow instead of feather duvet ones— what a way to put it!
The fatty portion of the pork belly was creamy, delicate and instantly disintegrated in my mouth when I bit into it. The layer of ground peanuts were dusted with a little sugar, making it slightly sweet and crunchy.
The only downside was that the pieces of salted mustard greens were slightly too salty, overpowering the entire bun just a bit. We took the liberty of giving our feedback to the owner, who gracefully accepted our honest input. She also told us that she’ll be making some changes moving forward.
Our last dish, the Braised Pork Rice (S$5.50) came with a huge piece of cut-up pork belly, tomato scrambled eggs, oyster mushrooms and you mai cai (canola greens).
Similar to the gua bao earlier, the pork belly was braised to perfection. If I had to nitpick, I would have preferred the meat portion to be even softer, even though Lily had no issues with it. The chilli reminded me of those served at chicken rice stalls; tangy with a little spice kick!
Lily shared that tomato scrambled eggs were a staple in school kids’ lunch boxes all over Taiwan. Personally, I’ve only had the version cooked by my friend from China, which is slightly drier.
Wet and slightly mushed, I was greeted by the natural sweetness of the tomatoes which contributed to its sugariness. “It’s supposed to be slightly sweet so it’ll appeal to young kids, and goes extremely well with rice. This tastes just like my childhood,” she added.
The oyster mushrooms were done in a ‘san bei‘ (3 cups) style but with mushrooms instead. Strips of ginger, basil leaves and red chillies accompanied the dish. The pieces were crunchy and had burst with multiple mini explosions in my mouth as I bit into them.
Final thoughts
The portions at Taiwan Fan Bao were substantial and we found ourselves struggling to finish. Lily gave a thumbs-up, confirming that most of the dishes tasted authentic.
It was a pity that the gua bao was slightly disappointing. Hopefully, it will be a better experience when I visit them again next time!
For a different take on cai fan, why not give them a try and let me know what you think.
Expected damage: S$5 – S$12 per pax
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