Zhutousan Dakeng Fritters & Oyster Cakes

Review

Zhutousan's shop is on Section 2 of Dongshan Road in Dakeng, and the three pig statues at the entrance make it easy to find; Dakeng hikers and locals know it well for fried snacks. The open-sided metal-roofed shed is split in two, with fritters fried to order on the left and noodles and pork bone soup on the right, and one blogger who has eaten here for years still counts it a favourite.

You pick your fried items, pay, and collect them when your number is called. The batter is lightly seasoned so the ingredients come through. The oyster fritter (NT$50) is packed with chives and plump oysters; fried cilantro, fried chives and shredded taro are about NT$25 each and crisp outside with a solid bite, and cilantro and chives are rarely found at other stalls. Sweet potato (NT$20) is not dry, fried sticky rice cake is crisp outside, chewy inside and lightly sweet, and eggplant and shiitake also get recommendations. The pork bone and bamboo shoot soup (about NT$90) is clear and sweet, the shoots crunchy and not bitter, and the marrow sweet rather than greasy; one article says the shop provides straws and gloves for sucking out the marrow and the broth can be topped up. The fritters and soup each come with their own dipping sauce, and both are worth trying.

Praise centres on the wide range, freshly fried crunch and consistent quality. The downsides are that the bone soup often sells out, with one writer getting it only twice in seven or eight visits, and orders are occasionally mixed up. In summer the shed has no air conditioning, afternoons are stuffy and small black midges are plentiful.

Fried food and soup have separate queues, so it is easiest with two or more people; there are plenty of seats and tables turn over fast. Weekends are crowded and there is no car park, only roadside parking within the white lines. It closes on Mondays, and listed hours differ (9:30–17:00 in one source, until 18:00 in another), so check before you go, and arrive early if you want the bone soup.

It suits anyone who wants fried snacks after a Dakeng trail: split up, with one person queuing for oyster fritters, fried cilantro and shredded taro and the other for the pork bone soup, and bring insect repellent.