Youchang Ba-wan

Review

Youchang Ba-wan is on Youchang Street in Nanzih, an old name locals have eaten since childhood. Food media say it has scented the area for three to four decades, and bloggers call it a forty-year-old ba-wan shop. The owners start hand-wrapping around 3 a.m. every day. The shop is a simple metal-roofed space without air conditioning, yet people ride over for takeaway from early morning.

It sells the steamed ba-wan typical of southern Taiwan: translucent, soft and chewy skin around a big chunk of pork that is toothsome rather than greasy. At NT$14 each they are small enough to eat several. The sauce is sweet with a touch of garlic, and plum-tomato sauce and spicy bean paste are on the table. The four herbs soup costs NT$25: a milky broth with a light herbal and rice-wine aroma, barley and well-cleaned pork intestine.

Diners praise the chewy skins and fragrant pork, the friendly prices, and how the soup warms and fills you; some even queue in raincoats during thunderstorms. Complaints are few: those used to deep-fried Changhua ba-wan or Pingtung versions find the style different, and seating is limited and cramped. Sources list the price as NT$13 or NT$14, so go by what is posted on site.

Hours are roughly 06:00 to 18:00, but it closes early when sold out and occasionally takes irregular days off, so mornings are safest. Lunchtime queues are long and seats are few, so riding a scooter over for takeaway is easiest. The menu has only ba-wan and four herbs soup; most people order five with one soup, usually under NT$100 per person.

It suits anyone looking for an affordable breakfast or brunch around Nanzih and Youchang, and snack fans comparing regional ba-wan. First-timers can order three to five with a bowl of soup, taste them plain first, then dip in plum-tomato sauce, and add a little bean paste if you like heat for more layers.