Donggang Bah-kué Rice Cake | Pingtung Signature Dish

At six in the morning, the bah-kué shops along Guangfu Road in Donggang are already packed. Snow-white rice cakes on the griddle are cut into cubes and pan-fried until the edges turn golden, then topped with overnight-simmered shrimp-paste braised pork and milkfish broth, and finished with a few sakura shrimp — this is the signature breakfast Donggang people have eaten since dawn, and one of the 'Small Three Treasures' that visitors should put first on their Donggang meal list.

What is Donggang Bah-kué Rice Cake

Bah-kué (Taiwanese: bah-kué) is a rice-based snack made by grinding non-glutinous rice into a slurry, adding a pinch of salt, and steaming it into a firm slab, which is then cut into cubes and cooked together with shrimp-paste (a small crustacean similar to tiny shrimp), braised pork, milkfish, or sakura shrimp as a broth; there is also a dry-tossed version and a pan-fried version. The rice cake is soft yet slightly chewy, soaking up the savory broth. The sweetness of the shrimp-paste and milkfish, the fragrance of the braised pork, and the crunch of sakura shrimp all arrive on the same spoon — a simple structure with layered flavor, a true fishing-port dish.

Why Donggang? The Donggang Township Office lists bah-kué as one of the 'Small Three Treasures of Donggang' (the other two are shuanggaorun and, by some counts, oilfish roe), and it has long been the heart of local breakfast culture. Ye Family Bah-kué on Guangfu Road is a representative shop, with three generations of operation spanning decades, serving shrimp-paste braised pork and milkfish broth. Lin Ji and A-rong are also choices frequented by locals. The category is a cluster rather than one dominant shop; several old establishments in Donggang each have their own following, with slightly different flavors, but all uphold the Donggang standard of freshly steamed rice cakes and freshly simmered broth.

How to eat it like a local

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Eat it as breakfastBah-kué is a breakfast tradition; most old shops open at 6 a.m. and close around midday. Show up in the afternoon and you'll almost certainly find nothing left.

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Start with the soup versionFirst-timers should order the broth version, which lets you taste all four flavors at once — rice cake, shrimp-paste, braised pork, and milkfish.

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Add the pan-fried versionIf you have room, add an order of pan-fried bah-kué: the griddle side is crispy and fragrant while the inside stays soft and chewy — a completely different texture from the broth version.

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Add a side dishLocals often add a bowl of milkfish ball soup, braised tofu, or a soft-boiled egg, pulling together a filling breakfast for around NT$100.

Local knowledge

Verified endorsements (sponsored content filtered out)

The Donggang Township Office designates bah-kué as one of the 'Small Three Treasures of Donggang' and a representative local breakfast.
Guangfu Road is the core of the bah-kué cluster; Ye Family Bah-kué has operated for three generations over several decades.
Donggang's coastal location means ingredients like shrimp-paste, sakura shrimp, and milkfish are all sourced directly from local fishermen.

Visitor tips

Almost all shops are breakfast-only; they frequently sell out by 11 a.m. On weekends, aim to arrive by 8–9 a.m.
Shrimp-paste comes in the shell; if you're not comfortable with that, ask the shop to reduce the amount or strain them out — don't eat them aggressively.
Parking is scarce; the recommended approach is to park near Huaqiao Market and walk over.

Information compiled from the Pingtung County Government Tourism Bureau, Donggang Township Office, and large volumes of public reviews; sponsored content has been filtered out. Photos will be replaced with exclusive channel footage after Dio's on-site shoot.

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