Wei Zhen Xiang on Tiansongbi's old street draws a line out the door starting at noon. In the fryer, long strips of pork loin are dipped in batter and dropped into hot oil, then lifted and drained seconds later — golden-crisp, still steaming inside. A bowl of clear soup and a plate of stir-fried cabbage alongside: that is the burou meal Sanxing locals in Yilan have been eating for over eighty years.
What is Burou?
Burou is Sanxing's signature home-style dish. Pork loin is cut into long strips about the width of a finger, coated in an egg-based batter, and deep-fried. The word 'bu' in Taiwanese approximates the sound of the batter puffing and popping in hot oil, which is how the dish got its name. The result has a thin, crispy shell while the meat inside remains tender and juicy. Because the batter contains a little sugar, there is a lingering sweetness on the finish — an approach rare among Taiwanese fried dishes, relying on neither thick breading nor breadcrumbs.
The undisputed originator of burou is Wei Zhen Xiang (Zhen Xiang means 'genuine flavor') in Tiansongbi, Sanxing. The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau's Agricultural Easy Travel website records the restaurant as the founding shop of Sanxing burou, now in its fourth generation with approximately 80 years of history — one of the few Yilan flavors for which both the shop name and origin can be definitively traced. Originally a comfort food for forestry workers coming down from the mountains, it later spread across the county as Sanxing tourism grew. Today shops with 'burou' on their signs can be found throughout the Sanxing-to-Luodong area.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Verified sources (sponsored content filtered out)
- The COA Soil and Water Conservation Bureau's Agricultural Easy Travel website records Wei Zhen Xiang as the founding shop of Sanxing burou, fourth-generation, with approximately 80 years of history.
- Burou is listed by Yilan County Government tourism departments as the signature street food of Tiansongbi in Sanxing, alongside the Sanxing Scallion Pancake.
- Numerous snack shops in Luodong and Yilan City also sell burou, but the Sanxing old shop remains the publicly recognized origin for the recipe and concept.
Visitor tips
- Wei Zhen Xiang often has long queues on weekends. Try a weekday lunch or afternoon visit for noticeably shorter waits.
- Burou is calorie-dense. Pairing it with vegetables and clear soup keeps the meal from feeling too heavy — avoid ordering an entire table of fried items.
- Takeaway burou will inevitably lose its texture. If you must pack it up, eat it in the car on the way out rather than taking it home for the next meal.
Information compiled from the Yilan County Government's Bureau of Commerce and Tourism, local township farmers' associations, and large-scale public reviews. Sponsored listings have been filtered out. Photos will be replaced with channel-exclusive footage after Dio's on-site shoot.