Hongbao Miners' Canteen

Review

Hongbao Miners' Canteen is at No. 58 Jingtong Street in Pingxi; turn right out of Jingtong Station and walk to the end of the old street to find its bright sign. Jingtong was once a major coal mining town, and this canteen takes miners' life as its theme. The room is packed with the owner's antiques and old objects, which the media compare to a small museum, and bloggers often include it in roundups of food in Pingxi, Shifen and Jingtong as a nostalgic favourite.

The signature miner's rice is essentially an old-style pork chop rice with braised pork, braised egg, bamboo shoots, fried tofu, kelp knots and spicy radish, homely and filling. The real talking point is the railway bento, served in a replica stainless steel box with steel chopsticks and a hand-dyed wrapping cloth that you can take home as a keepsake. For dessert there is potato starch sweet soup, which sets into a jelly-like texture when hot water is poured over it and is topped with brown sugar syrup, plus flour tea, coffee and popsicles.

Fans love the nostalgic atmosphere, the fresh, tasty pork chop, fair prices, the friendly owner and fast service, and say a bowl is especially comforting on a rainy day. Critics note that the miner's rice is basically ordinary pork chop rice, so you come for the mood rather than a revelation; the menu leans towards desserts with few main dishes; and the short hours mean it may already be closed if you arrive in the late afternoon.

Sources disagree on hours, with some listing 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and others until about 5 p.m., and on whether the closing day is Monday or Tuesday, so check before you go. No source lists exact prices; diners report the miner's bento at a little over NT$100, with the full set including the lunch box costing considerably more, so budget about NT$100 to NT$400 per person. Take the Pingxi Line to Jingtong Station and walk; the old street gets busy at weekends, so arrive before noon.

Ideal for a day trip on the Pingxi branch line and anyone wanting the nostalgic feel of a mining town. On a first visit, the miner's rice with potato starch sweet soup is the most representative order; if you want a souvenir, choose the railway bento and keep the tableware, then stroll to the nearby mining life museum or the coal-plant café afterwards.