鬍鬚張魯肉飯(台北華山店) — Restaurant in Zhongzheng District

A decent option for a quick local meal, but room for improvement

鬍鬚張 (Farmosa Chang) is a well-known Taiwanese chain serving local comfort food like braised minced pork rice, shredded chicken rice, and Taiwanese-style bentos. This branch near 善導寺 (Shandao station) is clean, well-maintained, and sees a steady stream of both locals and tourists.

There’s a good variety of set meals and à la carte options to choose from. However, ordering might be a bit confusing for non-Chinese speakers — it’s a self-service QR code system with limited English guidance. Thankfully, the staff are available to help if needed.

As for the food, it was decent. The braised minced pork and shredded chicken were flavourful and satisfying. Unfortunately, the fried chicken was a letdown — it was overcooked and dry, with a tough texture that made it hard to enjoy. Beverage options were also very limited, so we ended up buying drinks from the nearby convenience store.

Service was average. Compared to other restaurants we visited throughout our 12-day trip from Kaohsiung to Taipei, the warmth and hospitality we had grown accustomed to was noticeably lacking here. At checkout, they also didn’t verify our order, which led to us accidentally ordering the same dish twice — a quick check could’ve easily prevented that.

Another point to note: they only accept cash or local Taiwan credit cards, which isn’t ideal for international tourists dining at a well-known chain. It would be great if they could consider offering more tourist-friendly payment options in the future.

All in all, 鬍鬚張 is an okay place for a local-style meal, especially if you're nearby and looking for something quick. But for a more authentic and satisfying Taiwanese food experience, I’d personally recommend checking out the vibrant night markets — better flavours, more variety, and often...

Still my favourite braised pork rice is Taiwan, their braised pork is not only fragrant but flavourful, you can’t taste any meat, I think they use only skin and fats, which makes it extremely unhealthy, I think? But the taste is fantastic, who cares about health. Their braised chicken is really good as well, and they do sell sealed package for people to buy , and it’s easy to reheat and prepare your own braised pork...

They serve decently sized meals. We went there for lunch. Got the rice with braised meat, fried chicken and the red fermented pork! I thought the red fermented pork could have been crispier. Ours felt a bit soggy. They have English menu, and staff...