Eat 3 Bowls: Braised Pork Rice Set + 3-Bowls Set ($26.75)!
Eat 3 Bowls (口呷三碗) Taiwanese trio set: braised pork rice (lu rou fan), shredded chicken rice, intestine vermicelli (da chang mian xian), with sides of pickled cabbage and ajitama egg. $26.75.
Lunch at Eat 3 Bowls (口呷三碗) the Taiwanese specialty shop. Combo $26.75. 😋👍🏼
What was on the trays:
- Two bowls of braised pork rice (lu rou fan, 滷肉飯): glistening minced pork belly cubes braised in dark soy, rock sugar, shaoxing, five-spice, served over a mound of white rice, topped with chopped spring onion
- Shredded chicken rice: poached chicken hand-shredded, with a sweet-savoury sauce drizzle, similar five-spice profile to the lu rou fan
- Intestine vermicelli (da chang mian xian, 大腸麵線): thin handmade vermicelli in a thickened sweet-savoury broth, with braised pig intestine and a touch of black vinegar
- Side of pickled cabbage with bonito flakes: refreshes the palate between bites
- Side of ajitama (soy-marinated soft eggs): jammy yolk, the kind that runs over the rice when broken
Eat 3 Bowls is the Taiwanese specialty shop that focuses on the three core “small eat” bowls that anyone who’s been to a Taipei night market knows by heart. The name literally translates to “eat three bowls” and the menu format follows through: the trio set lets you sample lu rou fan + shredded chicken + intestine mee sua in one sitting without ordering separately.
The lu rou fan is the headliner. The braised pork belly is properly cut into small dice (not minced ground meat), which holds the fat-to-lean ratio crucial to the dish. The braise builds depth slowly. The classic recipe uses dark soy, rock sugar, shallots, five-spice, shaoxing wine, and crucially a portion of the pork’s own rendered fat for the glaze. Served over plain white rice so the sauce is the star.
The shredded chicken rice (鸡丝飯) is the lighter counterpoint, slightly oil-based, less salty. The intestine vermicelli is the most acquired-taste pick: thickened broth from the long boiling of the noodles in pork stock, with offal that’s been blanched and braised until completely tender.
The format works for a sharing lunch because the three bowls cover different cravings (rich, light, soup), and the sides bridge them. The pickled cabbage is the palate reset.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋😍👍🏼 Solid Taiwanese trio at Eat 3 Bowls. The lu rou fan was textbook. Would re-visit for sure.
