自從不是學生身份之後，我就比較少有機會吃滷排骨了，因為市面上簡餐店或餐廳賣的排骨飯，大多使用炸排骨，較少使用滷排骨，說實話，炸得酥酥脆脆排骨，口感的確不錯，大多數的人也較喜歡吃炸排骨，所以餐廳為了簡化菜單，賣的大多是炸排骨，而我當初學校的學生餐廳，為了因應食量大、口味挑的學生們，主餐的選擇比較多元，所以，我才吃的到滷排骨。
這家台式便當店，我上次光顧過，就對它的台式便當菜，印象深刻，完美的復刻我回味中的味道，雖然菜色不算豐富，但是該有的都有，用餐環境簡陋，但是價錢很實惠，在台北市區很難找到這樣的價錢，上次品嚐過它的炸排骨後，這次，我便點了滷排骨，來比較一番。
滷排骨不算精緻，也不是什麼高級料理，不過，那一塊色澤深褐、微微泛著油光的排骨，在我肚子呱呱叫時，還是讓我不自覺地吞口水，滷排骨相較於炸排骨，多了一道工序，先炸後滷，店家是把炸好排骨，放到特調滷汁中靜置數分鐘，直到表面變濕潤，而它的軟嫩口感，是炸排骨吃不到的。
其實，對我而言，炸排骨與滷排骨是各有千秋，都很好吃，之前有人說滷排骨比較健康，後來我研究了一下，滷排骨相較於炸排骨確實油脂較低，不過，先炸後滷的滷排骨，熱量還是高，所以，滷排骨比較健康，算是一種以訛傳訛的都市傳說。
Ever since I stopped being a student, I’ve had way fewer chances to eat braised pork chop rice. Most casual restaurants or bento shops out there mainly sell fried pork chops instead of braised ones. Honestly, crispy fried pork chops do taste really good, and most people prefer them, so restaurants usually simplify their menus and just stick with fried pork chops. Back when I was in school, though, the student cafeteria had to deal with big appetites and picky tastes, so they offered more variety for main dishes. That was why I could still eat braised pork chops back then.
I actually visited this Taiwanese bento shop once before, and I was really impressed by their classic Taiwanese-style dishes. It perfectly recreated the flavors I remembered. Their side dish selection isn’t huge, but they have everything you need. The dining environment is pretty simple, but the price is super affordable. It’s honestly hard to find prices like this in Taipei. Last time I tried their fried pork chop, so this time I ordered the braised pork chop to compare.
Braised pork chop isn’t fancy or high-end food, but that dark brown pork chop with a slight oily shine still makes me swallow my saliva when I’m starving. Compared to fried pork chop, braised pork chop has one extra step — fry first, then braise. What this shop does is put the fried pork chop into their special braising sauce and let it sit for a few minutes until the surface becomes moist. That soft and tender texture is something you just can’t get from fried pork chops alone.
Honestly, for me, fried pork chops and braised pork chops both have their own strengths, and they’re both delicious. I’ve heard people say braised pork chop is healthier, so I looked into it before. Compared to fried pork chop, braised pork chop does usually have less oil. But if it’s the type that’s fried first and then braised, the calories are still pretty high. So saying braised pork chop is healthier is kind of like an urban myth that got passed around as fact.
