A-Niang Garlic Pork Thick Soup

Review

A-Niang Garlic Pork Thick Soup is the shop many locals still call Beimen Garlic Pork Soup. Supertaste records that it opened in 1966 and later took its current name; it sits on Taishan Road in Yilan City. It is the garlic pork soup shop most often named in Yilan, appears on almost every food site's list of Yilan City snacks, and is often full at weekend mealtimes.

The signature is, of course, the garlic pork thick soup. According to reports, the broth gets both raw minced garlic and fried garlic chips, and the long simmer turns the garlic rich and slightly sweet. The pork is front-leg shoulder meat, marinated for more than twelve hours and then given a thin coat of potato starch, so you bite into whole tender pieces rather than minced paste. You can have it with noodles, flat rice noodles, rice vermicelli or plain rice, or order the soup on its own.

Fans most often praise the bold garlic aroma, the smooth broth that is not gloopy, and the generous, tender pork, saying it is especially comforting on cold or rainy days. Some add that a dash of black vinegar and chili gives it more depth. Complaints include difficult parking nearby, a garlic hit too strong for people who dislike it, and black vinegar that can drown the garlic if you add too much.

Sources differ on opening hours, roughly from 9 a.m. to between 5:30 and 6 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays; check the shop's page before you go. Ordering is well organised and food comes out fairly quickly. The busiest time is around noon, so avoid midday if you want a shorter wait. Parking is mostly on the street and hard to find at weekends, so park a little further away and walk.

It suits anyone who wants to try a defining Yilan snack and loves a strong garlic flavour, and it works well as brunch. First-timers can order the pork soup with noodles or with rice vermicelli, taste the broth plain first, then add a little black vinegar and chili to taste. If you are wary of garlic, share one bowl with a companion to try it first.