Overview

Jin Wei Bawan (津味肉圓) is a bawan (Taiwanese meatballs) shop that has been in the Huajiang Evening Market of Jiangzicui area since 1986. Its specialty is steamed bawan (清蒸肉圓). It is made by hand with a soft, chewy skin using indica rice paste and sweet potato starch. The filling combines pork with seasonings before the bawan are steamed and topped with the shop’s special sauce, sweet chili sauce, garlic, and cilantro. Unlike the deep-fried meatballs commonly found in northern Taiwan, Jin Wei follows a southern Taiwanese steaming method. Other traditional dishes include Four Herbs Soup (四神湯) and Rice Dumplings (肉粽). 

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General Info

Name : Jin Wei Taiwanese Meatballs (津味肉圓)

Type : Shop

Location : LINK

Price : NT $100 – NT $150 per person

• 10% service charge : No

Menu : 

Chinese (Traditional) : ✅

English : ❌

Japanese : ❌

Korean : ❌

Payment : 

Cash : ✅ 

Credit Card :❌

Cleanliness : ⭐⭐⭐

Dining Options : 

• Vegan : ❌ 
• Vegetarian : ❌
• Pescatarian : ❌

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How to Order

(1) Seat yourself. Go inside the shop and find an available seat

(2) Grab a menu from the sauce area

(3) Fill out the menu and bring it to the front counter

(4) Pay first when the food will be brought to your table

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Sean’s Review

steamed Bawan

Four Herbs Mixed Soup

Northern-Style Sticky Rice Dumpling

1st visit :

July 20nd, 2026 : steamed Taiwanese meatballs + Traditional Northern-Style Sticky Rice Dumpling + Four Herbs Mixed Soup

The fresh bawan I saw by the counter when I visited

When I arrived, it wasn’t quite dinner time yet. I saw the staff preparing fresh bawans for steaming, so I already had a feeling they were going to be good.

Although I personally prefer deep-fried bawan. Their steamed bawan really surprised me. I’m from southern Taiwan, where the filling often includes bamboo shoots and other seasonings. Here, the filling is much simpler, consisting mainly of ground pork. However, the soft, chewy skin paired perfectly with their signature secret sauce, making the meatballs delicious and surprisingly refreshing.

Their Four Herbs Soup (四神湯) wasn’t as rich as I expected, but the pork intestines and pork stomach were cooked until extremely tender. I especially liked the aroma of the cooking wine, which gave the otherwise mild broth a distinctive fragrance.

This was also my first time trying a Northern-Style Taiwanese Rice Dumpling (北部粽) in Taipei. I noticed that the sticky rice was firmer and had a more distinct grain-by-grain texture than the Southern-Style Rice Dumpling (南部粽) I grew up eating. They certainly didn’t hold back on the filling, either. It included ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms and salted egg yolk, which I don’t commonly see in southern-style versions. I found the difference quite interesting.