Jin Feng (金峰魯肉飯) Taipei – Taiwanese Braise Pork Rice – Food Review

Taiwan has many famous foods – there’s the Beef Noodle Soup which pretty much all tourists will have eventually – there’s the Taiwanese sausage which is excellent for meat lovers with a sweet tooth. And then there’s the Braised Pork Rice “lu rou fan (滷肉飯)” which I just cannot get enough off every time! Basically, it is fatty pork braised in a soy/sweetish sauce and acts as a topping to rice – a simple and cheap meal which offers so much enjoyment. One of the most famous stores to have Lu Rou Fan is Jin Feng (金峰魯肉飯) in Taipei.

If you’re planning to go there and you’re planning to go there during lunchtime or dinner – be prepared to be met with a line – we got there about 5pm and there was a decent line outside – although it did move quite quickly. While you’re waiting you can inspect the menu and also the efficiency of the team there!

Once you’re inside, you’ll be presented with the order sheet that you’ll be quite familiar with after eating out in Taiwan for a while.

Given that the rice is famous, we obviously went with the rice – Ms. Buddha was in the mood for some tofu and soup so she went for the ribs soup whilst I went for a pigs brain soup since that I love odd cuts!

The Rice

The braised pork and also the fat quality is excellent, and I think it’s quite deserving of the fame that this place has in the LuRouFan community! The rice could be just slightly firmer but that’s just my preference. The braising process was done well in a way that both the fat and the flesh absorbs the sauce perfectly – excellent compliment to rice!

The Tofu

The tofu is not a typical stinky tofu – this was more regular firm tofu in a sweet soy sauce – the great thing about this dish is that the tofu’s shell was slightly crunchy whilst the inside has a much softer texture – the sauce was a little bit salty for my taste though.

The Soups

Let me start off with the disclaimer that I don’t really drink traditional Chinese soups – Ms. Buddha however loves soup. While I understand and can appreciate good soup – I don’t like soup because it makes you really hot internally and leads to unnecessary sweating. That said – the soup base here is excellent and has a very light yet still has a good flavour to it. The ribs apparently were delicious and for me the brain was very fresh and soaks up the residual soup nicely.