Loud, Messy, and Cheap: Taiwanese Stir-Fry

Re-chao (熱炒) restaurants are a staple of Taiwanese cuisine. Meaning “hot stir-fry,” these beer houses are loud, messy, and full of mouth-watering fried food served fast and hot. Best of all, they’re cheap!

Perhaps the loudest and messiest of all is Pin Xian, located near Liuzhangli MRT. It’s usually packed full of locals getting saucy in the evenings alongside in-the-know foreigners. Women in small dresses patrol the tables advertising their respective beer brands and selling cold bottles on the spot while servers rapidly distribute steaming hot dishes.

We’ve visited countless weeknights after work, hungry and craving stir-fry. Pin Xian is great for meeting up with large groups of friends — especially if you’re in the mood for a boisterous feast to start the night’s festivities. We refer to this place as the “party re-chao” for a reason!

The restaurant is huge: what’s pictured is only one section of many. Dozens of tables get packed with groups of locals and foreigners on stools. This place is popular and there’s often a wait — we recommend calling to make a reservation in advance, but  you can always put your name down and hang out on the sidewalk until a table opens up.

The atmosphere inside is loud and fast-paced. It’s full of enthusiastic drunk people, bangs from the kitchen, and servers darting back and forth in a frenzy. Let us stress that Pin Xian is not the place for a relaxed meal.

The great thing about coming with lots of friends is you can order more dishes to share! The paper menu for recording your order only comes in Chinese, but there’s an accompanying booklet with pictures and English translations to help you.

Order beers on arrival and start checking off menu items. The first dishes will begin arriving literally a few minutes after you hand in the paper, and they’ll continue coming in a steady stream after that.

Here’s what we ate on one particular visit:

Sauté sauce beef – NT$100

Sweet and sour stir fried fish – NT$100

Black pepper bean curd and oyster – NT$150

Gongbao chicken – NT$100

Fried shrimp balls with pineapple – NT$100

And of course some fried rice with pork for NT$80!

Everything was delicious and affordable. In total, with multiple rounds of beer, it was only a couple hundred Taiwanese dollars per person.

What’s the vibe?

Big, fast-paced, loud, and messy. It’s a fun setting for a large group looking to order many dishes and beers for sharing. There are English menus with pictures to help you.

Worth it?

Yes.

The food was cheap and delicious, and the atmosphere felt like a pre-party before hitting the bars.

Would you go back?

Yes.

And we’ll bring more friends!

Updated: September 2018