Yonghe Zhou Family Rice Cake Introduction
Yonghe District was known for its many military personnel and public servants from Mainland China in its early years, making various provincial dishes such as village cuisine and rice cakes quite famous. Speaking of rice cakes, Zhou's Rice Cakes, located in the Dachen Village, is a must-try delicacy during festivals in New Taipei City. This long-established rice cake shop has steam baskets that are almost never idle throughout the year, with regular customers coming in one after another, not only for the unforgettable Dachen rice cakes but also for the Korean rice cakes made to cater to a large number of Korean expatriates. Zhou's Dachen rice cakes have a chewy texture and are usually stir-fried with other delicacies. The production process is quite labor-intensive; the Punglai rice is soaked, ground, dried, crushed, and then steamed in a special steamer before being mixed together, shaped, and air-dried. Besides buying the delicious food, simply standing in front of the shop and watching the rice cake-making process is also a very interesting experience.
