Taiwan Fan Bao at Golden Mile Food Centre: Bento-style cai fan and pork belly buns

What to expect at Taiwan Fan Bao

The humble one-year-old hawker stall is owned by Wendy Wong, 42, who had such an immense love for Taiwanese food that she’d headed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to learn more about its cooking techniques. 

An experienced cook who has worked in various establishments such as Beard Papa’s, Xing Fu Tang, Ya Kun Kaya Toast and a nasi lemak stall that has since closed, Wendy took only a few weeks to learn the art of making these dishes. 

She’s also tweaked the recipes to meet the local palate. 

Wendy says she personally enjoys milder flavours, so the dishes at Taiwan Fan Bao are cooked in less oil, less salt and with no MSG. And it’s worked well for her, too — she counts among her most regular customers fitness lovers and office workers who are more health-conscious. 

Food at Taiwan Fan Bao

Start your meal by selecting one of four proteins: saba (S$7.50), salmon (S$8.50), braised pork (S$5.50)  and chicken thigh (S$5). 

Then, choose two side dishes to go with the meal. Wendy says she usually starts the day with 12 dishes, but these are usually sold out by the time lunch is over. 

The set also comes with a choice of egg: Either braised or as tomato scrambled eggs.

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Indeed, when we arrived after peak lunch hour, just before 2pm, the stall’s glass display was relatively sparse.

Of the four proteins, the salmon was sold out, so we went for the chicken thigh and saba fish.

For our first plate, we paired our chicken thigh rice (S$5) with stir-fried broccoli and french beans, with a braised egg. (During our visit, the alternate egg option of tomato scrambled eggs was already sold out.)

The portions are generous, with the chicken thigh taking up half of the space on the plate. 

The highlight of the dish is the chicken thigh, due to its succulent texture. For those who are looking to clock in their daily protein intake, this dish is definitely for you!

We also appreciated that the braised egg was not overcooked, leaving the centre of the egg still soft. 

On our second plate, we topped up 30 cents for bee hoon — instead of the default pearl rice — bringing our total to S$7.80. Besides the braised egg, we also got mapo tofu and stir-fried white cabbage to round out the meal.

The saba fish meat was surprisingly moist, unlike what we usually have at food courts or hawker centres, where it tends to be drier and more tough. 

Meanwhile, the bee hoon was flavourful and comforting, just like what we’d enjoy at home.

The mapo tofu was well seasoned with fermented bean paste sauce, without being overly salty. Despite having chunks of chilli, the dish retained a good balance between its savoury profile and spiciness — we think even those who can’t handle spice will find it palatable. 

If you have a relatively small appetite, Taiwan Fan Bao offers smaller bowls from S$3. It comes with its signature chicken thigh rice and a special braised chicken rice — the key difference being that you get one side dish instead of two.

There are also other dishes on the menu such as fried bee hoon (S$1), vegetable rice (S$4.50), and vegetable fried bee hoon (S$4.80). 

We ended off our visit with the highly anticipated gua bao (S$3.50), comprising a pillowy soft bun and thickly cut slice of pork belly. Sandwiched in between we also found ground peanuts, which infused each bite with a slightly sweet crunch, and salted mustard greens — we did find this latter ingredient a little too salty, such that it overpowered the dish as a whole.

We found Taiwan Fan Bao’s offerings hearty as a whole. The portions were substantial and we struggled a little to finish it all — but that’s a happy problem, in our opinion.

If you’re working in the area or you’re looking for healthier options besides the go-to cai fan, maybe it’s time to pop by!

For more places to explore, check out our latest articles on the Irvin’s and Wingstop limited-time collaboration, as well as our compilation of places to explore around Katong. 

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Golden Mile Food Centre to check out Taiwan Fan Bao.