Taiwan is known for the portable eateries you encounter at night markets – the ones who couldn’t pass an FDA evaluation if their life depended on it, yet provide the uniquely tasty dish non-reproducible anywhere else on this planet.
But there’s a hidden gem tucked away in southern Taiwan that is well-lit and sanitized with excellent customer service, yet still meets Taiwan’s affordable and delicious standards.
One of the places I constantly yearn for is a little restaurant called “Jiu-fen-bao,” literally translates to being “90 Percent Full.” This derives from the Chinese saying where you should only fill yourself up 70% for the purpose of healthiness and conservation (an advice many Americans should take). The name means to splurge every once in a while, especially at this restaurant of feel-good and affordable household dishes.
This is the restaurant my mother and I have been going to since it first started – before they expanded the restaurant by purchasing the adjacent condo, and before the purchase of land for their own parking lot. The success of this business is the result of the well-mannered employees and warmhearted manager who greets you, a rarity in southern Taiwan’s food industry.
Below are some pictures I took of my favorite dishes from the restaurant. Every dish is around 100-200 NT, which is equivalent to 3-7 dollars. Did I mention every meal comes with free appetizers, rice, tea and jello at the end?
九分飽家常餐廳
No. 319, Xinyi Road, Pingtung City, Pingtung County, 900
Lena Morris 