猪扒和控肉便當 (NT$100 each) — Taipei pork chop & braised pork bento!
Taipei lunch — pork chop bento (猪扒便當) + braised pork bento (控肉便當) at NT$100 each. The Taiwanese train-station / convenience-store bento classics.
Taipei takeaway lunch with BB — 猪扒便當 (pork chop bento) + 控肉便當 (braised pork bento) at NT$100 each. The Taiwanese train-station / convenience-store bento format.
We ordered:
- 猪扒便當 (pork chop bento) — NT$100
- 控肉便當 (braised pork bento) — NT$100
Total: NT$200 (~SGD $9) for both.
The Taiwanese bento (便當 / biandang) is the iconic train-travel meal format that’s expanded into convenience stores, work canteens, and casual restaurants across the island. The classic format is a single-portion meal box with rice as the base and multiple accompanying dishes laid out in compartments.
The pork chop bento (猪扒便當) was the classic. Fried pork chop on top of rice, with the proper Taiwanese flavour profile — the chop marinated in soy, garlic, and five-spice, dredged in sweet potato flour, and deep-fried until the surface goes crispy gold. The chop is the headline component that defines the bento.
Side compartments included the standard Taiwanese bento set:
- Stewed cabbage (the proper soft-braised version, slightly sweet)
- A piece of stewed tofu (square slice, dark-soy braised)
- Half a stewed tea egg (the marbled brown one)
- Pickled vegetables (shredded preserved radish or sour cabbage)
- A small portion of stir-fried green vegetable
The braised pork bento (控肉便當) was the second box. Lu rou (braised pork belly) chunks over rice instead of the pork chop, with the same side compartments. The lu rou had the proper Taiwanese braising flavour profile — five-spice, dark-soy, slightly sweet from rock sugar, slow-cooked until the fat went silky and the meat melted apart.
The two bentos cover the two iconic Taiwanese protein styles — the fried (pork chop) and the braised (lu rou) — so ordering both lets you compare side-by-side.
NT$100 (~SGD $4.50) per bento is fair convenience-store / train-station pricing. The same quality boxes from family-chain Taiwanese restaurants run NT$120-150.
Bento eating in Taipei is the proper holiday lunch when you’re train-station hopping. Hot, substantial, portable, and properly Taiwanese.
Overall: 4.4 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid Taiwanese bento duo — would re-order regularly.
