I had the most satisfying Lu Rou Fan experience, and is nestle within the alley ways of Taipei Lin Sen North Road, served up by a husband and wife tag team, whom shout and cuss in Hokkien with each other. Guess that's what you call food made from love.
The joint like stall was not easy to find, and you would miss it easily as the signs are hidden, if it wasn't because of the smell of the boiling braised pork on the cart, I wouldn't have stop and take a interest of it. The joint was small, with really tiny table and flimsy stool which barely support my weight.
They served authentic, no nonsense, simple staple food called Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice or Lu Rou Fan. Is the ultimate comfort food for a lot of Taiwanese including myself, the bowl of rice is topped with chopped up bits and pieces of fatty minced pork that are braised in soy sauce, rice wine , five spice powder and many more ingredients till is tender and almost gluey.
What you get is a compact umami bomb with every spoonful of braised pork rice, and it always makes you wanting more. Wanting to have more meat, I ordered another serving of pork ribs 排骨. Somehow the funny thing is, only you see in Chinese cooking, something that was deep fried, supposedly crispy, is then being steam and glazed in specialty sauce. So what you get is another round of umami bomb, as the meat is tender and juicy with the perfect balance of salty and tanginess.
Here's a picture of the husband and wife, each mining their own business. Wife takes care of the cash register, while the husband is the master behind that delicious bowl of braised pork rice.
And lastly boiled cabbage to balance up the diet. But you know is just a lie.
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