Huai Nian Fried Pork Rib Soup

Review

Huai Nian Fried Pork Rib Soup is on Nanya East Road in Banqiao's Nanya Night Market, about a ten-minute walk from Fuzhong station. The stall has been run locally for around fifty years and is a night market taste many Banqiao residents grew up with. It appears on Supertaste's Nanya Night Market list and among the night market picks recommended by New Taipei's tourism office, and weekend evenings often bring long queues.

The signature pork rib soup is steamed continuously in big urns, giving a broth with garlic and a clear peppery kick that is rich but not greasy. The fried ribs are fragrant on the outside and tender and well seasoned inside, and the winter melon in the soup is stewed until soft and full of broth. The other must-order is sticky rice steamed in a large wooden barrel; it is lightly seasoned with dried shrimp and mushroom, and you can add sweet chilli sauce yourself.

Diners most often praise the flavourful broth and pronounced pepper, and note that although the ribs have bones, the meat is soft and comes off easily; some call it one of the best pork rib soups they have had. Complaints focus on the sticky rice, which some find ordinary, and the stall can be tricky to find on a first visit.

Hours are roughly 5 pm to 1 am daily, suitable for dinner or a late snack; no regular closing day was found online. Supertaste lists the pork rib soup at NT$80 a bowl and sticky rice at NT$40, so a little over NT$100 per person fills you up. The night market area is busy and parking is difficult, so take the MRT or a bus, and expect to queue at weekend dinner time.

It suits anyone who wants a hot soup to start a Nanya Night Market stroll, and late-night eaters looking for a peppery warm-up in winter. First-timers should order one bowl of rib soup with a bowl of sticky rice, adding sweet chilli sauce to the rice; two people can each have soup and share one rice to save room for more market snacks.