Jiang Family Wontons

Review

Jiang Family Wontons is at 204 Huamei Street in Taichung's West District, near the Xiangshang Road intersection and part of the snack scene around Xiangshang Market. Media call it a long-established shop, and locals treat it as a personal favorite. Its signature is oversized hand-wrapped wontons in pork or shrimp, served with thin noodles, yi mian or glass noodles; there is also braised pork rice, and frozen raw wontons are sold to cook at home.

The wontons are big and plump, packed high in the bowl, and the owner even warns diners about the portion. Each shrimp wonton holds a whole shrimp with pork filling, and the shrimp is bouncy; the plain pork wontons have a fine filling in a clear broth scented with bonito. The chili-oil wontons open with a peppery aroma followed by sesame paste; descriptions of the heat vary, from gentle to enough to make you sweat. Supertaste recorded chili-oil pork wonton noodles at NT$60 for five large wontons, and the braised pork rice is described as not greasy.

Praise centers on generous portions, good value and whole shrimp. One blogger felt the shrimp and pork tended to separate and the pork flavor was mild, preferring the plain pork wontons, and some find the table chili-bean sauce too salty, so add it sparingly.

The shop runs separate lunch and dinner sittings with a mid-afternoon break, opens only for lunch on Saturday and closes on Sunday; sources give slightly different times (lunch about 11:30 to 14:30, dinner about 17:00 to 19:30), so check first. On weekdays the room is fairly full at mealtimes, with a steady flow of takeaway and phone orders.

Ideal for office workers and students wanting a filling meal on a budget, or for picking up raw wontons to cook at home. First-timers can order the shrimp wonton soup for the whole shrimp, choose chili-oil wontons for bolder flavor, and add a bowl of braised pork rice to be well fed.