猪扒 & 控肉便當 (NT$100 each): Taipei pork chop & braised pork bento!
Two Taiwanese bento boxes: a fried pork chop and a braised pork, both over rice with sausage, greens, cabbage and pickles. NT$200.
A grab-and-go Taipei lunch with BB, two classic Taiwanese bento boxes: 猪扒便當 (pork chop bento) and 控肉便當 (braised pork bento), NT$100 each. 🇹🇼😋
What we had (NT$200, around SGD$9):
- Pork chop bento: a fried pork chop over rice with sausage, greens, cabbage and pickles
- Braised pork bento: braised pork belly over rice with the same sides
The Taiwanese bento (便當) is the meal box you eat everywhere, on trains, at counters, on the go, and ordering both let us compare the two iconic protein styles. The pork chop was the fried one: a thin chop marinated in soy, garlic and five-spice, dredged and fried until the surface goes crispy and golden, sitting on rice that has soaked up a bit of the seasoning.
The braised pork (控肉) box was the rich one, soft braised pork belly stewed in five-spice and dark soy until the fat turns silky and the meat melts apart, spooned over the rice. Both boxes came with the same comforting sides: a slice of sweet Taiwanese sausage, soft greens and cabbage, and a wedge of pickled vegetable for a sour-salt lift.
One crispy, one melting, both deeply satisfying for around SGD$4.50 a box. The kind of honest, portable lunch that makes eating around Taipei so easy.
Overall: 4.4 / 5. 😋👍🏼 A crispy fried pork chop and a silky braised pork, two great Taiwanese bento classics. Would re-order regularly.
