Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup is a popular restaurant next to the famous Lehua Night Market in Yonghe District, New Taipei City. A short MRT ride to Dingxi station on the orange line will take you into Yonghe. Less than a 10-minute walk away from there is the ever-popular Lehua night market. Known for great food options, fun games, and inexpensive clothing shops, Lehua is a favourite of many for a reason.
Yonghe, one of the most densely populated places in the world, is a vibrant hub teeming with fantastic food that often gets overlooked by travellers to the popular Taipei. After nearly a decade of living here, I have become well-acquainted with its myriad food offerings, yet Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup remains a firm favourite of mine. The rich, savoury aroma of the broth never fails to draw me in. As I stroll through the bustling Lehua Night Market, I am often tempted by the colourful array of stalls, but more often than not I end up here.
Some nights, I discover delicious snacks that spark my interest, while on others, I find nothing that entices me. After wandering through the market, I usually end up just a short two-minute walk away, standing at the popular entrance of Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup, eagerly preparing to indulge in a comforting bowl of their iconic dish.
The atmosphere here can be quite crowded and loud at times, but the food does make up for it. You might have to share a table from time to time, but you can always wait for a table to become free so that you can sit in relative comfort by yourself. Don’t expect to be too comfortable, though, as those little wooden stools aren’t going to offer much back support. It’s a space for a quick bite and then to move on.
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It’s quite unremarkable as a restaurant front, but it gets busy enough simply by word of mouth. The clientele here are, by all accounts, mostly regulars. I would say that the good food in Yonghe tends to be crowded around a 20-minute walking radius of Xiagang Crispy pork ribs soup, with places such as Yonghe Soy Milk King, Zhulin Chicken, Incredible Roast Cantonese Food, and the amazing value He Mei Ice Cream all within striking distance from one another.
So, if that’s the case, then why choose Xiagang Crispy pork ribs soup over any of the other great spots in the area?
If you aren’t sure how to order or what to do when you arrive at Xiagang Crispy pork ribs soup, then this is the post for you. See below for How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
The Menu at Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup
This is a fairly typical Taiwanese-style menu. It's split into 5 main sections, they are:
- 飯類 fàn lèi
- Rice dishes
- 湯類 tāng lèi
- Soup dishes
- 湯/乾 麵類 tāng/gān miàn lèi
- Soup/Dry noodle options
- 麵類 miàn lèi
- Noodle options
- 小菜類 xiǎo cài lèi
- Small plate options
While I would say that you can't go too far wrong with anything on the menu, here are some of the specific things that I would recommend:
- For a big appetite:
- Belly pork with rice 焢肉飯 khòng ròu fàn
- Sticky rice with pork floss 筒仔米糕 tǒng zǐ mǐ gāo
- Braised pork over rice bento 魯肉便當 lǔ ròu biàn dāng
- Pork spare rib soup with noodles 排骨酥麵 pái gǔ sū miàn
- Filling, but shareable:
- Braised pork over rice 魯肉飯 lǔ ròu fàn
- Pork spare rib soup 排骨酥湯 pái gǔ sū tāng
- Braised napa cabbage 魯白菜 lǔ bái cài
- Pork cheek 嘴邊瘦肉 zuǐ biān shòu ròu
- Braised bamboo 魯筍絲 lǔ sǔn sī
- Optional extras
- Braised egg 魯蛋 lǔ dàn
What we ordered
This was a set shared between two people. Two hungry people, I should add.
Braised pork over rice 魯肉飯
It should be no secret to any of you that I love braised pork over rice. I've waxed lyrical about it in previous posts, in podcast interviews, and to anyone who will listen. There's just something about the umami flavours that are brought out in the long, slow cooking process of belly pork in Taiwan that, when mixed with fragrant and fluffy rice, is a perfect match. But, here at Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup restaurant, they go further by adding pickled mustard green and even pork floss, too!
Pork spare rib soup 排骨酥湯
So when the name of the restaurant contains the words 'crispy pork rib soup', you expect their signature dish of crispy pork rib soup to be good, but does it deliver?
You'll get a lightly battered chunk of pork rib that has been deep-fried with plenty of seasoning to bring out this delicious aroma. You'd think that dunking it right on in there in soup would be a bad move for anything deep-fried, right? Surely it's going to make it soggy and horrible?
There's a reason so many people are lined up outside of this place on a regular basis, and a further reason why they built an extra area dedicated to take-out just around the back - their pork rib soup is fantastic! It's juicy, crispy, soupy, and sticky all in one mouthful. Restaurants serving great food in Yonghe are aplenty, so it's a testament when the line is around the corner to eat here.
Fragrant deep-fried pork mixes with this daikon radish soup that punches with umami flavours. It may look translucent and watery, but the magic of Taiwanese soup comes out right here at Xiagang crispy pork ribs soup restaurant and demands that food in Yonghe stand up and be counted.
Sticky rice with pork floss 筒仔米糕
I'm no stranger to sticky rice, being a frequent patron at A Yue zi in the Shida night market, and also the incredible sticky rice vendor at Nanjichang night market, too. So my expectations were relatively high when I saw it on the menu, ordered it, and thought about it continuously until it landed on my table with all of the other delicious food.
While I really liked it, I found that it was a little dry. It could have been done with a squirt of that reddish chilli sauce. The flavours were really good, with the pork and pork floss mixing together with the sticky rice nicely, but it just needed some moisture up in there.
Pork cheek 嘴邊瘦肉
To the uninitiated, pork cheek sounds disgusting. But if you know, then you know. Pork cheek, when cooked well, is a delicate cut of meat that contains thin layers of fat interspersed with delicate layers of meat that melt away when you chew down. This pork cheek was pretty good, and went nicely with the squirt of thick soy sauce it came with.
Braised bamboo 魯筍絲 & Tofu 油豆腐
Braised bamboo is one of those fragrant vegetable dishes that I can't get enough of. There's that deep, rich almost grassy flavour that seems to punch out of it as you chew down on each of the individual strands, with this concentrated flavour of unmistakable bamboo. Put some of that delicious soy braised cooking juice on top and it hits the spot.
As for the tofu, I'd go as far as to say that this is a must-order here at Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup. In terms of classic Taiwanese food in Yonghe, I'd say even more so than in Taipei, this kind of tofu is quintessential. There's a resistant skin to this style of tofu, that has first been fried, then dumped into a braising liquid to continue the cooking process. The result is a delicately fluffy tofu inside, but this chewy skin on the outside has been imparted with that braising liquid flavour.
The Bottom Line
Is it worth it? It's one of my staple restaurants in Yonghe, a place that is dear to my heart. There's a reason - it's worth it, especially being so reasonably priced.
What is the best dish? Get that crispy pork rib soup - it's delicious.
Are there other places like this? There are plenty of places dotted around New Taipei and Taipei City that serve crispy pork rib soup, but I tend to find that they are mostly just deep-fried bones with very little meat. Not Xiagang Crispy Pork Ribs Soup. This place is solid.