Hai Rui Pork Meatballs (Ximen Main Store)

Review

Hai Rui's Ximen main store is at No. 98 Ximen Street in Hsinchu's North District, a few minutes' walk from the City God Temple area. United Daily News reports that founder Huang Hai-rui ran a noodle stall in Nanmen Market from 1948, and in the 1960s converted blacksmith machinery into a wooden-mallet pounder, lifting daily output from 30 to 500 catties. That brought meatballs into temple snack stalls and helped create Hsinchu's classic pairing of rice noodles with meatball soup. Huang has since passed away at 97, and his family carries on his devotion to doing one thing well.

The shop is known for all-meat meatballs made from same-day black-pig hind leg with no added starch, firm and springy with plenty of juice. Smile Taiwan notes that the third-generation owner stresses pounding freshly slaughtered pork with strict temperature control, and each ball weighs about 30 grams. In store you can have meatball soup sprinkled with celery, with noodles added or a side of fried rice noodles, while frozen meatballs are the gift most often taken home by locals and visitors.

Fans praise the dense, bouncy texture, rich pork flavour with hardly any starchiness, a light broth, a clean shop and friendly staff. Critics find it a little pricier than ordinary meatball stalls and mention waits for seats at peak times, suggesting booking ahead or coming off-peak. Current prices are rarely published and sources vary, so go by the in-store menu.

Google lists the Ximen main store as open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. There are dine-in and takeaway areas, and you can ask for an insulated bag for frozen meatballs on longer journeys. Parking around the temple is hard; walk about fifteen minutes from Hsinchu Station or use a nearby paid car park.

Ideal for anyone wanting to take home a classic Hsinchu gift, or to taste proper meatball soup with rice noodles. Start with meatball soup and fried rice noodles in store, then buy frozen packs if you like them; boxed sets make good gifts and work well in soups or hot pot at home.