品嚐老店肉焿 / Tasting Pork Geng at a Local Gem

羹是一種黏稠濃湯，主要由肉、菜及勾芡調和而成，當人們走在台灣大街小巷時，常常看到店家會賣各式各樣的焿，像是香菇肉焿、魷魚焿、花枝焿等，聽說正確的字應該是「羹」，不是「焿」，但是因為「羹」字太難寫了，早前的店家錯寫為「焿」字，但是人們都知道說的是甚麼，所以店家也將錯就錯，久而久之，在台灣賣的類似的小吃，都使用「焿」字，這也算是一種在地特色吧？總之，肉焿就是一種羹湯類的在地特色小吃。

這家店的位置，就在之前提過的開業七十多年的老麵攤附近，也是一家老店，也有很多旅遊書的介紹，它專賣一些傳統小吃，所有的品項中，以肉焿最為出名，因為我想吃飽一點，所以點了一份肉焿飯，很快就上桌了，一看到，我有點傻眼，我的認知，飯的話，應該會用飯碗裝，但是店家確用盤子裝，盤子看起來很淺，也沒有很大，所以，我猜想，份量應該不多，不過，重點是味道如何，嗯，一吃看看，味道普普通通，說實話，有些失望，好像沒有人們推薦的那麼好吃。

聽說中部人吃什麼都會加甜辣醬，那我也來加看看，於是，我小心翼翼地擠了一些甜辣醬，攪拌均勻後舀了一口，咦！沒想到這微微的辣味竟然讓整碗肉焿飯的滋味瞬間提升了不少，多了一層香甜微辣的口感，真的好吃了很多。完全停不下來的我，不一會兒就把這碗肉焿飯吃得乾乾淨淨，連湯汁都沒浪費。

仔細環顧了一下店內的情況，發現座位幾乎都坐滿了人，用餐的人來來去去，翻桌率也相當高，看來這家店應該是當地的名店無誤，要不是味道好，哪會有絡繹不絕的客人跑來這裡吃飯呢？還是我點錯了，應該要點肉焿麵，看別桌客人吃得津津有味，湯頭香氣撲鼻，讓我忍不住開始懷疑自己的選擇，算了，這次就先這樣吧，反正我已經吃得很滿足了，假如還有下次的話，一定要點上一碗肉焿麵試試看！

A geng is a thick, starchy soup made with meat, vegetables, and a thickening agent. When walking around the streets of Taiwan, you’ll often see shops selling different types of geng, like mushroom pork geng, squid geng, or cuttlefish geng. Technically, the correct character is “羹” (geng), not “焿” (geng), but since “羹” is more complicated to write, earlier shop owners mistakenly wrote it as “焿”. People understood what they meant anyway, so the mistake stuck. Over time, this unique usage became part of Taiwan’s food culture. In short, rou geng (pork geng) is a classic local dish in the geng family.

This particular shop is located near the 70-year-old noodle stand I mentioned before. It’s also an old establishment, featured in many travel guides. The shop specializes in traditional Taiwanese snacks, but among all their offerings, their rou geng is the most famous. Since I wanted something more filling, I ordered rou geng fan (pork geng with rice). The dish came out quickly, but I was a little surprised when I saw it. I had expected rice to be served in a bowl, but they served it on a plate instead. The plate was shallow and not very large, so I guessed the portion wouldn’t be that big. But, of course, the most important thing was how it tasted. After taking a bite, I thought the flavor was... just okay. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed—it didn’t live up to the rave reviews I’d heard.

I’d heard that people in central Taiwan like to add sweet chili sauce to almost everything, so I decided to give it a try. I carefully squeezed a bit of sweet chili sauce onto my plate, mixed it well, and took another bite. Wow! That hint of spiciness completely transformed the dish! It added a sweet and slightly spicy kick, instantly making the rou geng fan taste so much better. I couldn’t stop eating and ended up finishing the entire plate, even drinking up all the sauce.

I took a moment to look around the shop and noticed that almost every table was full. The place was buzzing with people coming and going, and the turnover rate was incredibly high. It seemed clear that this was a local favorite—after all, a restaurant wouldn’t be this busy unless the food was good. Then I started second-guessing myself. Maybe I ordered the wrong dish? Perhaps I should’ve gone for the rou geng mian (pork geng noodles) instead. I saw other customers enjoying their bowls of noodles, the aroma of the broth wafting through the air, making me wonder if I’d missed out. Oh well, I was still pretty satisfied with my meal. If I get the chance to come back, I’ll definitely order a bowl of rou geng mian to see if it’s even better!

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