Guiren Oden

Review

Guiren Oden stands at the corner of Zhongzheng North Road Section 1 and Datong Road. NOWnews says it started as a food truck and has operated in Guiren for about twenty years, and Yam Travel's listing also calls it a twenty-year local favourite. It opens each afternoon, and the stall is crowded after school and work, a roadside snack Guiren locals grow up with.

The stall has two sections: oden and charcoal grill. Oden includes fish cake, rice blood cake, fish paste slices, pork skin and intestine in a rich broth that many single out; the grill handles sausages, rice sausages and the 'big sausage wrapping small sausage', with a smoky char. There is also fresh-fried tempura, fried snacks and squid paste fish cake, crisp outside and soft inside. Prices are very low: oden items are NT$8 each or NT$15 for two, pork balls NT$15, and old-style black tea is free and unlimited.

Diners most praise the low prices, flavourful broth and fragrant grilled sausage, with endless black tea a bonus. Downsides: it opens only about five hours and popular items sell out for latecomers; the corner stall has no proper seating, so you stand or take away when busy; and parking nearby is hard if driving.

Hours are about 14:00 to 19:00. Closing days differ: older reports say Mondays, while recent data shows Mondays and Thursdays, so check or phone first. A scooter is easiest, and bring small change for cash. For the full range, arrive before 3 or 4 p.m.

It suits anyone wanting cheap snacks or a mid-afternoon bite. First-timers can pick a few oden skewers, rice blood cake and fish paste with broth, then add grilled sausage or the sausage-in-rice-sausage; fans of fried food can add fresh tempura and a free black tea, a satisfying spread for under NT$100.