AoBa Taiwanese Restaurant

Review

AoBa was founded in 1964 by sisters Shen Yun-ying and Wei Yu-hsia. Back then the phrase Taiwanese cuisine wasn't in use, and they simply put it on their sign. In 1970 they set up a food company that was the first to can Taiwanese dishes such as braised pork for export. After the founder died in 2008 and the landlord reclaimed the old site, the family restarted in the current spot in the Liutiao Tong lanes off Zhongshan North Road. Second-generation Yao Cheng-chang is chairman, and Taiwanese opera star Yang Li-hua is a shareholder.

Reports name classics such as braised pork, dried radish omelet, pan-fried pork liver, mullet roe fried rice, squid and conch garlic hotpot, and egg-yolk prawns. Longtime regulars like to order spring rolls with slack-cut noodles, whose broth is simmered from an old hen for hours. Sources give few à la carte prices: a 2017 Japanese report lists three cuttlefish balls at NT$210, and a six-person set was offered for the 60th anniversary in 2024. Overall it is a mid-priced Taiwanese restaurant.

Diners like that the seasoning is restrained and ingredients fresh, with steamed fish, braised pork and stir-fried greens that taste like home cooking, and staff who are warm, even with children. Complaints include higher prices than a casual stir-fry place, an added service charge, and limited English for some foreign visitors.

AoBa announced a pandemic closure in 2020 and reopened on December 30 that year; reports differ on the exact closure dates. Current hours are lunch 11:00–14:30 and dinner 17:15–21:30, closed Mondays, so check before you go. It is about seven minutes' walk from Zhongshan MRT Station, and booking is wise for groups.

It suits anyone introducing elders or foreign friends to old-school Taiwanese food, or a family gathering. Three or four people can share braised pork, dried radish omelet, a steamed fish and a plate of greens, with spring rolls or slack-cut noodles as the staple; seafood lovers can add the squid and conch garlic hotpot.