Sunshine Food Court Taiwanese Food

The Minced Pork Kung Fu Rice at Sunshine Food Court Taiwanese Food (8 December 2016)


Quite often, food that is sold by the hawker is tastier than food sold in fancy restaurants. But we won't know it until we allow ourselves to make discoveries.

9 December, 2016

Yesterday, my wife and I went to Sunshine Square. We decided to go to its food court for dinner. We entered from the car park, and the first stall we came upon was the one selling Taiwanese food. I think it might not be doing good business, because the lady manning the stall immediately enticed us to try her food. I usually decline - after all, if you have to persuade us to eat your food, it means you are tak laku.

At that time, I wasn't aware that it was Taiwanese food. I just thought it is one of those set rice meal stalls. Nevertheless my wife and I scanned the photos showing a selection of set meals, and both of us decided - almost in unison - to try the "Minced Pork Kung Fu Rice". It is one of the cheaper items at the stall, only RM5.00.

I honestly did not have much hope that this is going to be tasty, and ordered it out of courtesy than of anything else. When it arrived at our table, its appearance was "not too bad". To be honest, judging from the colour, I didn't think much of it.

But when I started eating, memories of my first trip to Taiwan thirty years ago, came rushing back. It is the taste that I have missed for so long, and even many local Taiwanese restaurants have not been able to duplicate. It's the taste of the sweet soya sauce on the rice that brought back the memories. But after that, I started to appreciate and enjoy the crispy chicken, the egg and the preserved vegetables as well.

This meal reminds me of the time we were traveling through the mountainous part of Central Taiwan. It was very late at night, but we were still far from our destination. Eventually, we arrived at the town of Puli. I remember it as a very rural place, all dark and quiet. We were tired and hungry. We managed to find restaurant in the dead of night, and there, in that restaurant, I had the most memorable meal of all the meals I have had in Taiwan. This meal I had at the Sunshine food court is the closest to that meal, and I felt like Anton Ego in the scene from Ratatouille.

After I finished my rice, I hurried over to the stall to take a photo of it. And that was when I noticed its signboard saying Taiwanese food. I was very pleased and told the lady I want to take a photo of the meal I just to tell people about it. My only adverse comment to the stall is that the minced pork was too little. I want to eat more of it. The lady told me she didn't put a lot of the minced pork because there are already four pieces of crispy chicken. That aside, now I couldn't wait to return to the stall to try the other set meals available.

In terms of appearance, the meal I had it Taiwan looked much better. It came in a tray, where the different items were separated into individual sauces and the rice in a beautiful lacquerware bowl. However, the taste of that meal I had at Sunshine Food Court is the closest I have had for "Taiwanese food" anywhere in Penang.

This is a reminder to me that good food doesn't have to come in fancy restaurants. Even a humble hawker stall in a food court can be the place to discover it.

The Minced Pork Kung Fu Rice at Sunshine Food Court Taiwanese Food (8 December 2016)


Signboard at the Sunshine Food Court Taiwanese Food Stall (8 December 2016)


10 December, 2016

Just two days after I tried the Taiwanese set meal at Sunshine Square, I was back for a second round. This time I ordered the Fried Chicken Fillet with Rice while my wife ordered the Spicy Sour Chicken Thigh. Each was priced at RM8.90, which make them substantially more expensive than our previous set (which was just RM5.00).

Although I still enjoy the meal, it was more value for money the first time around. Now that I have come to expect what is served, some how it wasn't as special as it was before. The pickled cabbage is a bit less than on my first round. The fried chicken fillet was quite large, so that explains the higher price. Now that I pay more attention to all the items on the menu, I was a bit disapppinted that there aren't any stewed pork which I would love very much, and would be exactly as the meal I have had in Taiwan.

If I return to this stall, I think I will say with the RM5.00 set meal, which is by far the best value for money, and which got me raving about the stall in the first place.

The Fried Chicken Fillet with Rice which I ordered, with my wife's Spicy Sour Chicken Thigh in the background. (10 December 2016)


The Fried Chicken Fillet with Rice on the menu. (10 December 2016)


The Spicy Sour Chicken Thigh on the menu. (10 December 2016)

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