Chanji Old Street Donghe Buns

Review

Chanji Old Street Donghe Buns sits on the old stretch of Provincial Highway 11 in Donghe Township, directly opposite the Donghe police station. According to its website, Ms. Yang Lin Bu-chan founded it in 1954 as a small eatery in a thatched hut before it specialised in buns, and the name Chanji honours the founder. Supertaste calls it a sixty-year-old shop where nearly every traveller driving from Hualien to Taitung stops for buns.

There are many flavours. Prices on the website, effective from late 2022, are NT$28 for the Donghe pork bun, NT$25 for pickled mustard green, NT$28 for bamboo shoot, NT$28 for vegetable, NT$32 for mochi sesame and NT$28 for mochi red bean, plus kimchi, Okinawa brown sugar and cheese shrimp buns; soy milk is NT$20 and milk tea NT$25. The pork filling is seasoned with soy sauce for a savoury depth, and regulars eat it with the house-made chili sauce.

Fans say the pork bun is best with chili oil, the vegetable bun has thin skin and plenty of filling, the sesame bun is generously filled without being too sweet, and the soy milk tea is popular. Another Donghe bun shop nearby is run by relatives, and many people specifically seek out this old-street one. Complaints are long queues, often fifteen minutes or more, popular flavours selling out, and some find the sesame bun stuck halfway between sweet and savoury.

According to Google it opens from about 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. almost year-round, though popular flavours can sell out before noon. Parking and toilets are available beside the shop, convenient for drivers and round-island cyclists. Weekends and long holidays are busiest; around 7 to 8 a.m. or after 2 p.m. the wait is shorter. Buns travel well as a road snack.

Good for travellers driving or cycling the Hualien–Taitung coast road who want to refuel on the way. First-timers should get a pork bun with a pickled mustard green or bamboo shoot bun and a soy milk, adding a mochi sesame bun for something sweet. Buy extra to take back; they are still good after re-steaming.