Golden Mile Food Centre has always been known for their interesting mix of tenants that comprises of both familiar local fare and more gentrified hawker food stalls that are run by hawkerpreneurs — there seems to be yet another round of switch-ups with the stalls operating within the hawker centre and one of the latest additions to the hawker centre is Taiwan Fan Bao 台湾饭包. Located at the second level of the hawker centre, Taiwan Fan Bao is located along the same stretch of stalls where one can also find Salmon by Hinoyama, which is also its neighbour — Taiwan Fan Bao is also located just right opposite from Cat in the Hat; a stall that is best known for their financiers, Madelines and tarts that also opened fairly recently in the food centre. While there are other hawker stalls located within Golden Mile Food Centre such as the likes of Wen Li Taiwanese Food which serves up the classic braised minced pork rice, Taiwan Fan Bao’s focus is a little different — the illustrations do suggest that they are adopting an approach more similar to the style of Taiwanese railway bento (i.e. bento-boxed meal served at railway stations). The menu at Taiwan Fan Bao features items like Saba Rice, Salmon Rice and Chicken Thigh Rice; the Pork Belly Bun serves as the the only bun item on its menu.

Making our order at the counter, it was pretty soon that we realised that patrons first decide on the choice of protein which they wish to go for here — most of the other items are pretty much customisable to the patron’s desire. There is an option to switch up the rice to Bee Hoon here (though itself being an additional charge of 30 cents), while patrons also get to choose two out or four different types of vegetables that is being offered at the counter. Each order comes standard with a seasoned egg, while patrons can also help themselves to the Taiwanese fermented chili bean paste and the house-made chili dip that is placed prominently at the self-service area.

We went with the Braised Pork Rice, and opted for the stir-fried beansprouts and stir-fried pea shoots for our order. Served on a plate, the aesthetics of the dish looked more similar to the Chinese mixed economy rice especially considering the way it is being plated. Digging into the Braised Pork Rice, what we found really intriguing was the lingering sweetness and flavour that came from the relish that sits atop the middle part of the mound of rice that also provided some crunch — couldn’t really pinpoint what exactly it is but it was most certainly enjoyable to say the least. Nothing could really go wrong with the stir-fried pea shoots and the stir-fried beansprouts that we opted for, though the beansprouts did seem to come with a sauce that seems to comprise of a bit of black pepper just for taste. The slab of braised pork belly itself came having absorbed quite a fair bit of flavours from the braising liquid; savoury with a tinge of sweetness, though the meat seems to be generally on the leaner side with the exception of the part nearer to the skin that is especially gelatinous. The seasoned egg was actually brilliantly executed; soft egg whites and a creamy, molten yolk that is to the right degree of savouriness. Meanwhile, the house-made chili dip was something close to that of the chili that usually comes with Hainanese-style chicken rice — just a little less zippy and also a touch sweeter invite starting notes. Overall, a decent eat at $5.50, though we would still say that we have some sort of preference for the other Taiwanese establishments in the food centre nonetheless.