Longmen Pepper Bun

Review

Longmen Pepper Bun is at No. 30 Longmen Road in Sanchong, close to MRT Sanchong Elementary School Station, and Supertaste describes it as an old name that grew from an arcade stall into a proper shop. A 2019 report already put it at almost twenty years in business, a cheap snack many locals have eaten since childhood. It sells only three things, yet there is a queue almost every day.

The signature pepper bun is made with aged dough and stuck to the walls of a clay oven to bake over charcoal, giving a thick, crisp crust with smoky, sesame notes. The filling is mainly black pork hind leg, lean rather than greasy, with a strong pepper aroma, and the juices soak into the crust as you bite. The other two items are the small scallion pastry, tiny and coated in white sesame around a savoury scallion filling, and the sweet bun, shaped like an ox-tongue pastry, crisp and sweet without being cloying.

Many diners rank it among the best pepper buns in New Taipei and say it is best eaten hot; the small pastries have a devoted following too. Complaints are mainly about long queues and a hot shop with no seating, and some have had to wait for the next batch or felt quality slipped during the busy run-up to holidays.

According to online listings, the pepper bun costs NT$40 and the small pastry and sweet bun NT$13 each. Hours are about 12:30 to 19:30, closed Sundays, and it closes early once sold out; the sweet buns sometimes go first. It is takeaway only with no seating. Parking is difficult, so the MRT to Sanchong Elementary School Station is easiest. The filling is very hot straight from the oven, so take the first bite carefully.

It makes a great afternoon snack or a take-home treat, especially for fans of charcoal-baked flaky pastry. First-timers can buy one pepper bun and one small pastry, adding a sweet bun if you like sweets; groups can share a handful of small pastries. To queue less, avoid after-school and after-work hours or come right at opening.