Zheng Lao Pai Pingtung Ba-wan

Review

Zheng Lao Pai Pingtung Ba-wan is stall 59 inside Pingtung Night Market on Minzu Road. Supertaste's guide to Pingtung ba-wan says it has served locals for more than 80 years, and Yam Travel notes it was once picked by a newspaper as one of Pingtung's everyday-food classics, a breakfast many locals grew up on. Unlike most night-market stalls, it trades only in the daytime and closes once sold out.

Pingtung-style ba-wan is steamed, then kept warm in braising sauce. The skin blends rice flour with sweet potato starch for a smooth texture and a hint of rice aroma, while the filling is marinated chunks of pork hind leg, firm to the bite with a faint note of cinnamon. Each serving is dressed with sauce, garlic paste, coriander and celery, and you can ask for clear broth to turn it into ba-wan soup. Many diners add a bowl of pig's blood soup. The articles list no prices, but diners generally describe it as pocket-change cheap.

Fans praise the soft, chewy skin, the chunky meat filling and a sauce that is fragrant without being too salty, and they love the low prices and the taste of childhood. On the downside, some note that pork lard is added by default, so say so if you don't want it; others find the sauce heavy or the market-stall setting basic and crowded.

Sources differ on hours: Google lists 05:00 to 12:30 daily, while Supertaste gives 4:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a limited daily quantity, so check before you go. There is often a queue at peak times, but tables turn over fast. Parking near the night market is tight, so come by scooter or walk about 10 to 15 minutes from Pingtung Station.

It suits early risers after an authentic Pingtung breakfast and food lovers comparing regional styles of ba-wan. Two dumplings and a bowl of pig's blood soup make a filling meal for one; for something lighter, ask for broth to make ba-wan soup, and mention it when ordering if you want no lard.