Zhuqi Old Shop Bawan & Mutton Soup

Name: Zhuqi Old Shop Bawan & Mutton Soup
Address: 嘉義縣竹崎鄉中正路1號, Chiayi County, 竹崎鄉 Zhuqi Township, TW
Telephone: 05-261-3378
Price range: NT$60–150

Not enough ratingsNT$60–150 / per personTaiwanese

08:00–19:30Chiayi County Zhuqi Township

Long-standingBudgetLocal favorite

VerdictWarming mutton soup and crisp bawan before heading up Alishan

A stall in central Zhuqi with nearly ninety years of history. Its mutton soup has no gamey smell and a light herbal aroma, while the mutton bone soup comes with big bones to suck the marrow from. The bawan is fried to a crisp shell around bamboo shoot and pork, and a bawan with soup fills you up for about NT$100.

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Review

Zhuqi is the mountain-town gateway on the way up to Alishan, and Zhuqi Old Shop Bawan & Mutton Soup sits at the corner of Zhongzheng Road. Reports describe it as having served Chiayi for about eighty-eight years, an old stall locals visit from breakfast through dinner. The shop is an open-air stall with more than a thousand Google reviews, and many travellers heading to or from Alishan or Zhuqi Riverside Park stop for a bowl.

There are two signature soups. The mutton bone soup comes in a large bowl with two big bones, and one blogger suggests sucking the marrow out with a straw. The mutton soup has generous meat and was the writer's personal favourite. Both are known for having no gamey smell, with a light herbal aroma and a clean finish. The other star is the bawan, fried until the skin is crisp and filled with diced bamboo shoot and pork, quite different from the steamed-then-fried styles of Changhua or Taichung, and a natural partner for hot soup.

Diners widely praise the mutton for not being gamey, the gentle broth and the good-value bawan; a bawan and a bowl of soup fill you up for about NT$100, making it one of Zhuqi's most representative snacks. The drawbacks are the setting: the open stall is awkward on rainy days, parking is a walk away, and seats are limited at peak times, so you may wait briefly.

Reported prices are NT$75 for mutton bone soup, NT$60 for mutton soup and NT$30 for bawan; go by the prices on site. Reports list hours of 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, while Google shows it open until 8 p.m.; sources differ slightly, so check before you go. No fixed closing day is reported. The shop is near Zhuqi Station and the main streets, convenient whether you arrive by the Alishan Forest Railway or by car; drivers should use a nearby car park and walk.

It suits travellers on the way to or from Alishan or Fenqihu who want a warming snack, and early risers looking for breakfast before setting off. First-timers can order one bawan with mutton soup; marrow lovers should choose the mutton bone soup and ask for a straw. It is especially good on cold days, followed by a walk around Zhuqi Riverside Park or the station area.