Aba's Hakka Kitchen

Review

Aba's Hakka Kitchen is at No. 118 Zhongshan Road in Sanxia, about a seven-minute walk from Sanxia Old Street. News reports say it opened in Sanxia in 2000, so it has been running for over twenty-five years, and chef Kuo Min-chang comes from a Hakka village in Kaohsiung with more than thirty years at the stove. It made the MICHELIN Bib Gourmand list for the first time in 2026; curiously, the owners had said publicly in June that they never applied and did not accept evaluation, yet the guide still included them in the July list.

The menu is homestyle Hakka cooking, built around ingredients the kitchen sun-dries, pickles and ferments itself. The signature steamed fish uses a sauce of native Dashu pineapple from Kaohsiung cured for more than three months with soybean meal, liquorice and salt, then paired with fresh pineapple for a layered sweet, sour and savoury taste. Other frequently mentioned dishes include braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, basil eggplant, beef stir-fried with house-fermented sour cabbage, and pumpkin with tofu braised in fermented bean curd, all suited to sharing.

Fans praise the distinctive fermented sauces, the tender pork trotter with springy skin and the layered sourness of the pickled cabbage, and many visitors build it into a Sanxia day trip. Critics find the overall taste average and some dishes oily, and one diner noted that only set menus were served over a holiday weekend. The owners themselves admit guests have become more demanding since the listing and ask people not to judge them by Michelin standards.

Online listings show hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., with weekend lunch running to 2:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays; check before you go. None of the sources give exact dish prices; given its Bib Gourmand status and shared-dish format, expect a few hundred NT dollars per person, better value in a group. Phone ahead to book at weekends. Parking near the old street is tight, so use the underground car park at Sanxia Elementary School and walk.

Ideal for families and friends who want a proper Hakka meal after visiting Sanxia Old Street and Zushi Temple. Three or four people can share the pineapple-sauce fish, the preserved mustard pork belly, the sour cabbage beef and a vegetable dish to taste the kitchen's fermentation style; ask for less oil if you prefer lighter food.