Delicacies enjoyed by Zouying Veterans / 左營眷村裡的外省味
◎Text by Yi-Chun Lin ◎photos by Wei-Ren Yang
Kaohsiung's district of Zouying is home to some of the largest compounds for elderly veterans. As most of these soldiers originated from mainland China, these veterans enjoy an entirely different cuisine from the traditional Taiwanese food. Two of these delicacies include steamed sour cabbage hot pot from North East China and mouth watering pocket bread.
Liu's Sour Cabbage Hot Pot
Liu's Sour Cabbage Hot Pot restaurant is located in Zuoying, next to the Jhongjheng Hall. It is a popular restaurant and is always packed with loyal customers. The secret of Liu's success lies in the way his hot pots are prepared. In Liu's hot pot the cabbage is steamed so that it stays soft. Even if it's cooked for a long time it doesn't get mushy. The cabbage stock is clear and tastes sweet. The cabbage is tangy but not too sour and is popular even during the hot weather.
The restaurant has been serving this famous hot pot for 50 years. Originally located in Zouying Chongshih New Village, it began as a boiled dumpling shop. When owner veteran Liu retired, he handed the shop over to Hong-Gen Wang, another veteran from the marines. Wang kept the name "Liu's" and expanded the size of the restaurant. Wang also extended the menu to include more choices of Northern China's cuisine. These delicacies included sliced noodles, spring onion pancakes and sour cabbage hot pot (usually a specialty only in winter). The restaurant soon became know for its authentic taste and Liu's hot pots began to be available year round.
Mr. Wang chose Taiwanese cabbage instead of Shan- dong cabbage for his famous hot pot. This is due to the fact that Shan- dong cabbages are only available during the winter in Taiwan. Wang also found that the sour cabbage grown in Taiwan tasted even sweeter than Shan- dong cabbage. Taiwanese
Haiching Wang's Clay Oven Rolls
cabbage leaves are thicker and can be cooked for many hours without losing its texture. With such delicious food, Mr. Wang doesn't need much advertising. The constant crowds in his restaurant speak for themselves.
Mr. Hanru Wang is the owner of Haiching Wang's Clay Oven Rolls and has been serving breakfast in Zouying Zihjhu New Village for more than 20 years. Wang's Clay Oven Rolls are prepared differently than their traditional counterparts. Wang's rolls are not wrapped with twisted cruller but with a variety of snacks that are commonly found in breakfast shops. The other main difference is that they are shaped like a pocket. This unusual shape earned them their nickname "pocket rolls" by their loyal customers. These days "pocket rolls" have not just become a local breakfast favorite, people from all over come to enjoy this famous delicacy. Previously, clay oven rolls weren't the only items on the menu. They also included traditional rice porridge and breakfast snacks. Although Mr. Wany served Clay Oven Rolls, he has never served fried bread sticks in his establishment. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Mr. Wang does not like to offer greasy foods. He also worries if he buys the fried bread from somewhere else, he cannot guarantee the quality of the oil used to fry them in. It is because of these reasons he decided not to serve twisted cruller at all. The customers then began to complain their clay oven rolls were without fried bread sticks. To solve this predicament, Wang came up with another innovative idea which was to wrap his snack dishes in the delicious clay oven rolls. The customers really enjoyed it and the pocket roll was born.
Although Haiching Wang's clay oven rolls look like they taste the same as other traditional rolls, you will be surprised that the crispy exterior could be so soft and moist on the inside. The customers were finally won over by Wang's clay oven rolls' delicious duel textures and unique shape.
◎文．攝影／楊為仁
左營是高雄眷村的大本營，來自中國大陸各省的老兵，在眷村裡落地生根，進而發展出不同於竹籬笆外的飲食生活習慣，不論是煙囟式的東北酸白菜火鍋、還是簡單中透出創意的口袋型燒餅，都讓人食指大動。
劉家酸白菜火鍋
左營中正堂旁的劉家酸白菜火鍋，一年四季都有川流不息的人潮，劉家致勝的關鍵為獨門自製的酸白菜久煮不爛，且湯頭愈煮愈清澈，酸而不嗆，難怪客人一吃就上癮，就算大熱天也擋不住想嚐鮮的念頭。
劉家酸白菜火鍋已有50年歷史，原本只是左營崇實新村裡賣水餃的小舖，後來，劉姓老士官長萌生退休念頭，將店交給海軍陸戰隊退伍的王鴻庚經營，除了保留「劉家」的店名，並擴大產品線，賣水餃外，也賣起刀削麵、蔥油餅等北方麵食，冬天還賣酸白菜火鍋，由於風味道地，很快就做出口碑。
老闆以結球白菜替代山東大白菜來醃製酸白菜，他說，劉家酸白菜火鍋一年四季都賣，但山東大白菜的產期只在冬季，就算用進口的，貨源也不是很穩定，經他長期試驗，用台灣的結球白菜醃製酸白菜，味道甘甜更甚於山東大白菜，而且結球白菜的葉片較肥厚，耐煮不爛。其實用不著王老闆多說，從店內滿座的盛況，就可以看出劉家酸白菜火鍋受歡迎的程度。
海青王家燒餅
左營自助新村裡的海青王家燒餅吃法和一般燒餅不同，人家是燒餅夾油條、但王家卻是燒餅夾小菜，由於外型像口袋，因而獲得「口袋餅」的封號，如今，口袋餅不但早成為附近居民的早餐，更有不少遠地客人慕名而來嚐鮮。
海青王家燒餅老闆王涵儒表示，王家在自助新村賣了20幾年的早點，早期除了賣燒餅、也賣清粥小菜，但就是沒賣油條，原因是他不喜歡油膩，又擔心跟別人批來的油條是用回鍋油炸的，索性不賣油條，但卻經常有客人反映，燒餅不夾油條要怎麼吃呀？於是他試著把店裡的小菜包在燒餅裡試味道，沒想到客人吃了後讚不絕口，燒餅夾小菜的「口袋餅」就這樣誕生了。海青王家燒餅看似和坊間燒餅相同，實際咬上一口，可以發現表皮酥脆、裡面卻很軟，這種雙層口感，加上外型突出，海青王家燒餅想不出名也難。
Information
Liu's Sour Cabbage Hot Pot
Address: Next to the Jhongjheng Hall, Jieshou Road, Zouying District, Kaohsiung City
Tel: (07)581-6633
Hours of operation: 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Haiching Wang's Clay Oven Rolls
Address: No.137-1, Zihjhu New Village, Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
Tel: (07)581-3491
Hours of operation: 05:40 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
劉家酸白菜火鍋
地址：高雄市左營區介壽路中正堂旁
電話：07-5816633
營業時間：11:00~23:00
海青王家燒餅
地址：高雄市左營區自助新村137-1號
電話：07-5813491
營業時間：05:40~10:30