Ying Ming Lin's Meatballs Introduction
With nearly a hundred years of history, this old shop is a well-known representative of Hsinchu meatballs. Located beside the entrance of the Cheng Huang Temple, the wall next to the seating area, painted with large red letters "Lin Family Meatballs," is covered with signatures and messages from many famous artists. Operating food stalls in Hsinchu Cheng Huang Temple for several decades, Lin Family Meatballs is currently managed by the fourth generation. Although the brothers each have their own stalls and operate independently, the recipes all come from ancestral methods. The specialty features lean meat marinated in red yeast rice for one day to half a day as the filling, while the outer skin is made from sweet potato flour and non-glutinous rice flour, then steamed and fried, resulting in a fragrant and chewy texture! The red appearance is distinct from meatballs found in places like Changhua. In addition to the traditional scallion and meat flavor, they now offer shredded bamboo shoots and chestnut flavors, providing a variety of options that have become a highlight of the Cheng Huang Temple food stalls. Besides meatballs, the accompanying soups include Four Herb Soup and Hsinchu's famous Kong Wan Soup. The Four Herb Soup is simmered to perfection, becoming a perfect match for the meatballs. On weekends, a single stall can sell two to three thousand meatballs; during the week, many people wholesale meatballs from them for sale. The authentic flavors of Lin Family Meatballs have attracted numerous prestigious food programs and magazines for interviews and reports, adhering to tradition while innovating in a timely manner, which is likely their secret to standing strong among the myriad of food stalls in Cheng Huang Temple.
