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Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age (TAIPEI Quarterly 2019 Summer Vol.16)

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Post date:2019-06-12

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TAIPEI #16 (2019 SUMMER)

Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age
We Give the Best to Our Customers: Fresh Ingredients, a Warm Atmosphere, and Kind Service. None Shall Be Missed.

WORDS BY C.c Foodie
TRANSLATION BY Joe Henley
PHOTOS BY Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government


TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age
MORE THAN PORK RIBS
Taking a stroll in the old urban area of Taipei to the west of Beimen (the North Gate, 北門), you can see an old traditional green signboard from Zhongshan Hall (中山堂), the words “Dongyi Pork Ribs Taipei Main Restaurant” (東一排骨台北總店) written in large lettering. Located on the second floor of an old building, the restaurant not only fills up the empty stomachs of the people in this city, but also welcomes admiring tourists from around the world. 

Dongyi Pork Ribs Main Restaurant carries many memories of locals, young and old. It has seen the time when the old city was housed between the boundaries of the four gates, and watched the Taipei area go from plain to prosperous, witnessing the city change faces several times over. At the restaurant, many customers have come across an elegant and beautiful lady. She finishes a call before greeting the customers. From time to time she checks the ingredients at the preparation area, or affably tells the staff what to do in a kind by straightforward manner. Her name is He Shuli (何淑麗), hostess and founder of Dongyi Pork Ribs.

“In the beginning, I just wanted to find the easiest thing to do. Since I can cook, I would not lose much if I failed.” In a gentle tone, Shuli notes that her idea wasn’t that complicated. Still, Dongyi, founded in 1971, has survived nearly five decades, no mean feat for a restaurant. Over the years, the original small shop of 30 square meters has evolved into a much larger scale of nearly 300 seats. Shuli’s diligence and warm kindness never fail to win over her customers.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age​▲In 1971, He Shuli created the “Dongyi Pork Ribs Traveling Mealbox” while the signboard claimed that “Traveling is the best time to have a meal.”

Shuli states that every dish on the menu is her creation, and she continues to master other kinds of cuisine to this day, refusing to restrict herself solely to pork ribs. Quality is her top priority when selecting ingredients. The pork must be fresh and handled by human hands. Various vegetables shall be the freshest ones in season, and even the soup provided free of charge has to be finely made. In the lively atmosphere of this older enclave of Taipei, a fruit bar is the standard perfect ending of any meal. In Taipei or even the whole of Taiwan, Dongyi can only be matched by a five-star hotel for its exclusive selection that offers a wide variety of fruits and icy desserts.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age▲Shuli even focuses upon the quality of other ingredients. Side dishes must be diverse as well.

The environment of the shop seems to bring customers back to the past, entering some fancy ballroom in Taipei 40 years ago. There is a huge porcelain vase, a classical piano, a Bosch sound system, red sofas that can only be seen in shaved ice and fruit split shops or old fast food restaurants, a colored glass ceiling, a glass freezer full of fresh fruits, various kinds of antiques, and a dance floor where stylish boys and girls used to move and groove in the 1970s! The usual greasiness or mess of a pork ribs shop is nowhere to be seen. Rather, Dongyi is a restaurant finely created by the host and hostess. Different from the crowded nature and noisiness in regular lunchbox restaurants, you can dine and chat with your friends while experiencing extreme comfort.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age​▲The fruit bar at Dongyi can even match the level of a five-star hotel.

There are always 10 to 20 staff members on duty in the shop, waiting to lead customers to their seats at any time, then delivering soup that nearly spills over, vegetables and rice, along with the main dishes. These staff look like they could be your favorite uncles and aunties. Some of them have been with the shop for 20 or 30 years, watching customers come and go with trays in their hands.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age​▲Dongyi Pork Ribs, which looks like a fancy ballroom, carries the memories of many Taipei people.

You can often hear those old customers say, “I’ve been coming here for a meal since I was 10 or 20, and the flavor is still the same!” Such touching moments are golden memories that can only be seen in an old shop. TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age▲This is the second generation of Dongyi. Shuli’s son works in the kitchen, and her daughter helps with marketing.

All of this comes down to Shuli’s simple philosophy. “I just want to have a pork ribs restaurant that is different,” she says humbly. Though she has been the best in the city for decades when it comes to pork ribs, her quaint, refreshing attitude is that of someone who has only recently reached the pinnacle of success.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age▲A banana split set after the meal is the perfect ending.

CRISPY PORK RIBS TO SATISFY THE SENSES
Each of the dishes at Dongyi has its own cast of raving fans. It’s a difficult task to satisfy everyone when it comes to food. However, when every one of the dishes on the menu in a shop is favored by someone, you know that the host has an earnest soul. 

Dongyi’s menu is unexpectedly simple. The main dishes include pork ribs, chicken thigh, fish, beef brisket, curry, and sesame oil chicken, six in all. “The best and the most masterful” is the golden rule that the shop adheres to. Customers entering the shop for the first time must have their iconic pork ribs rice, and the portion size will definitely surprise them. With the golden skin fried in a secret sauce, the first bite of the ribs gives you a unique sensation in which you are not experiencing its firmness, but instead enjoying alternating layers of crispiness, softness, and chewiness, all accumulating to a perfect texture and taste. The smell of cured meat flows into your nose, and this is a process that cannot be interrupted. TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age
Later, biting into the tendons brings an aroma of oil and the sensation of chewiness. To enhance the flavor, you can add some black vinegar, whose sourness can take some greasiness of the oil away. 

At this point, you might be suddenly aware that fantastic rice and vegetables, along with a bowl of soup are still waiting for you. In fact, some regulars come for the rice and vegetables alone, and there are even fans who favor the sauce and stir-fried vegetables in particular. The pork rump, specially selected and butchered, can be braised in the sauce and then put on the rice. It’s no wonder that the pleasant stickiness of the dish can attract so many patrons to come back for it over and over again. 

If you’ve had your fill of ribs and braised pork on rice, you can try some stir-fried vegetables that are crispy and refreshing. Cabbage with bonito flakes and garlic cauliflower are the most common varieties, just ahead of stir-fried chives, cucumber, and dougan (豆干), a kind of firm, braised tofu. When you feel satisfied with those, end the meal with their soup filled with a variety of ingredients, in which you can feel the perfect good will and persistence of Dongyi, where they demonstrate a meticulous attention to even the smallest of details.TAIPEI Summer 2019 Vol.16--Dongyi Pork Ribs: A Taste of a Golden Age

Dongyi Pork Ribs ( 東一排骨 )
61, Yanping S. Rd., Zhongshan Dist. Tuesday to Sunday, 
10:00am - 8:00pm ; Closed on Monday

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