lonely girls in Taipei

KC. This, boys and girls, is one of my favourite Taiwanese street food. To me, it's more like a meal than street food because it's very filling. But what's best about it is that it satisfies both your craving for something sweet, for something salty or those odd times when you want something both sweet and salty. All-in-one!

Originating from Fuzhou, 割包 is a common street food in Taiwan. Though strictly speaking, 割 is pronounced as "ge" (first tone), here in Taiwan we all say gua bao. Picture a warm, soft, and fluffy steamed white bun cut in half. Then fill it up with delicious, mouth-watering tender pork and mix in some pickled vegetables too. And finally add some grounded peanut and sugar on top. Ohmygosh - SO GOOD.

Another awesome thing about it is that you can choose how fatty you want your pork.

You can choose to have it fat 肥肉, slightly more fatty than skinny 偏肥, half fatty half skinny 綜合, slightly more skinny than fatty 偏瘦, and skinny 瘦肉.

I love how the top coat of finely-grounded peanut and sugar balances the meatiness.

The default one comes with 香菜 (parsley/cilantro) but as an avid hater of parsley of any kind, I'll pass.

If I'm feeling indulging (e.g. after a test, I haven't ate all day, I am a pig), I'd choose half fat, half skinny. The feeling of the warm fatty pork meat melting in your mouth with each bite is MMM...


Definitely add this to your must-try list when you come to Taiwan.


LOCATION: a place with street food
PRICE: around $45 NT (~$1.50 CAD)