60-year bawan business in Kaohsiung draws crowds with traditional recipe

60-year bawan business in Kaohsiung draws crowds with traditional recipe

2026-04-24

Bawan, or Taiwanese meatballs, can be prepared in different ways. Some are steamed, some are fried. Now there is a bawan shop with a long history in Qishan, Kaohsiung, where the traditional snack is first steamed and then fried. The result is a texture that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Every weekend, the shop is packed. Now the family business is run by the third generation as it approaches its 60th year in operation.

The steamed bawan sizzle on the griddle and the translucent skin gradually turns golden and crispy.

When the surface is slightly charred, you can remove it from the griddle, pour two special homemade sauces over it, add some mashed garlic, and voila, it’s ready to serve.

Wu Sheng-hua
Owner
My impression is that my grandfather started selling it around 1968 or 1969, and then my mother and my aunt took over. They worked together for about 20 some years. Now we have been doing it for about 20 years.

This traditional bawan shop is located in Qishan District of Kaohsiung. The outer skin of the bawan is made of tapioca starch, and the filling is made of fresh pork. It’s first steamed and then slowly fried with lard over low heat.

Customer
Because I spend most of my time in the north now, whenever I come back to Qishan, I will come here to get some. I like the skin, which is very chewy but not too hard.

Customer
It’s quite famous and rated highly on the web. It is different from what I have had elsewhere. The skin tastes like it has been fried, and it’s just yummy.

Wu Sheng-hua
owner
The recipe has been passed down from 60 years ago, and we keep the tradition going and see if the next generation wants to take over. If they do, then it can continue to be passed down.

In addition to bawan, the pork broth and stir fried vermicelli are also crowd pleasers. The owner Mr. Wu says when his grandfather started the business, it was just a push cart from which he peddled the snack. Now customers descend on their store in droves every weekend. They have certainly come a long way.

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#food #taiwaneats #kaohsiung #高雄美食 #yum #foodie

先蒸再煎! 旗山古早味肉丸老店傳承三代飄香一甲子

2026-04-24

肉丸的作法有好多種，有的用蒸的，有的用炸的。位在高雄旗山，有一間歷史悠久的肉丸老店，他們的肉丸是先蒸再煎，外脆內軟的口感，讓不少饕客超喜歡，每到假日店內總是人潮滿滿，一位難求，傳承到第三代的肉丸老店，從古至今經營將近60年，是不少人記憶中共同的好味道。

蒸熟的肉丸在鐵板上滋滋作響，原本晶瑩剔透的外皮，漸漸變得金黃酥脆。

煎到表面呈現微焦的感覺，就能起鍋，淋上店家自製的兩種特製醬汁，再加上一些蒜泥，就大功告成。

[[老闆吳昇樺]]
“我的印象就是，差不多57年58年(1968、1969年)，我外公就開始賣了，慢慢傳到我媽媽跟我阿姨一起做，做差不多20多年之後分開，現在我們過來這邊做，差不多有20多年了。”

古早味肉丸老店，就位在高雄旗山區，肉丸的外皮以地瓜粉製作，內餡則使用新鮮豬肉，先蒸熟後，再以豬油小火慢煎。

[[顧客]]
“因為我主要現在是在北部，我只要有回來旗山，我偶爾只要有空，一定會過來吃一下。我自己是喜歡它的皮啦，它的皮很Q可是又不會到很難咬。”

[[顧客]]
“網路上推薦還蠻有名的，跟外面以往吃到的不太一樣，表皮感覺好像煎過的，特別特別好吃。”

[[老闆吳昇樺]]
“從60年前傳承到現在的做法都一樣，所以我們能保持一直傳統這樣下去，看下一代要不要接，如果要接的話可以繼續傳承。”

除了肉丸，店內的肉羹和炒米粉，也是不少饕客的必點美食，老闆說，當初從阿公開始，以推車沿路販售，到了現在，他們有自己的店面，每到假日總是忙得不可開交。

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