2.23 Railroad Bento
Posted on July 2, 2008
Filed Under Taiwanese | 2 Comments
This place is such a hole in the wall. I swear. THREE TABLES in this tiny joint. So bare bone, there’s no room for a cash register. One man runs it with some occasional help, so don’t come here if you have a party of 15 looking for a quick dinner. You need to give the owner / chef / waiter / cashier time to get to you.
Update July 14th: Per Tony the owner, they have expanded their team with helpers and also their menu. I will return sometime and give this entry an update.
So, with that said, what’s so special about the food here? Well, it’s traditional Taiwanese train station packed lunches. Commonly known as Bentos. Bento is a Japanese word, actually, a carry over from the days when Japan controlled Taiwan before and during World War II. During this time, Japan modernized a lot of the infrastructure in Taiwan, especially the train system. Taiwan train bentos are thus a descendent of the Japanese bentos, which are usually meticulously made and differ from station to station to showcase the local cuisine. This restaurant also has some spectacular smoked duck and goose, so be sure to try that when you come.
Soup. Simple tofu and miso soup, very traditional and very authentic.
The Bento comes in this traditional Bento Box. Back in the day the food would be prepared, packed into these boxes, and steamed in giant steamers when lunch time rolled around.
Open up the bento and you’ll see rice on the bottom, a braised egg, some pickled turnips, and your main course. Here I had the braised pork. I thought I was back home in Taiwan, everything tasted so authentic. The rice was a little too wet but everything else was dead on.
The Bento box also has a separate shelf for vegetables. Again, very simply prepared cabbage and marinaded cucumbers that were amazingly authentic.
Here is the Taiwanese sausage bento. It’s not homemade sausage but it’s still very solid. Some braising stock is drizzled over the rice for extra flavor as well.
Smoked Goose. It’s rare to come across goose here, but this place nailed it. Beautifully intense smoky flavor, lots of goose fat. This was just delicious and goes perfectly with rice.
Our table full of food.
I ordered some braised pig ears, but they ran out, this is all they had, so it was on the house. My American friends might be grossed out or just think pig ears are for their dogs to chew on, but I love this stuff and have grown up eating this in Taiwan. Here, the ears are perfectly made. Not too much fat, a good crunch from the cartilage, and expertly braised with a full, round flavor. Best pig ears I’ve had in a LONG time.
If you get stuff to go, it’ll be packed in this attractive and much more modern bento box.
Service is a bit slow, of course, because it’s pretty much a one man operation. But the food is very authentic and the smoked goose is spectacular. Cash only, be sure to go when you’re not in a hurry and enjoy!
Railroad Bento
311 E. VALLEY BLVD. #103
SAN GABRIEL, CA 91776
626-569-9868