Taipei City Hall’s “green light of democracy”: 吳集郎A spontaneous food note
Today I took a bus from Zhongli back to Taipei and got off at Taipei City Hall Bus Station right in the middle of the dinner rush. As a veteran of the “just wing it” school of eating, I followed my usual principle—go wherever fate seems to point—and started wandering around for dinner. Then I spotted a place with a very green glow and, conveniently, an empty seat inside.
More importantly, it served rice.
This matters a lot. When my wife is around, she only picks noodles, while I only pick rice. We have always been a couple united in appearance but divided at heart… no, sorry, I mean wonderfully complementary: one on Team Noodles, one on Team Rice.
Since I was operating solo today, I decided to stay true to my soul. I usually have no soul left while I’m at work, but at least dinner can still have one.
So I decided on the spot: this was dinner.
I’m not sure whether the owner’s prosperity light was simply too green, or my phone was overflowing with Taiwan values, but every photo came out green. A hopeful, democratic kind of green.
Good thing I didn’t take a selfie. Under that light, I might have looked like I had a suspicious green glow over my head.
You have to order at the kiosk outside, then go in and wait for the owner to call your number. For the socially anxious, this setup is actually pretty friendly: every sentence you don’t have to say counts.
Fried Chicken Leg Rice NT$145
The chicken leg takes the traditional freshly fried route. The skin comes out crisp enough to make a sound when you bite it, while the meat inside is unexpectedly juicy. It has the kind of quality you expect from a roadside lunchbox shop where people normally line up under the sun.
There is no fancy plating. It is pure, direct, unapologetically meaty satisfaction.
This Fried Chicken Leg Rice takes the same straight-ahead approach: fry the chicken leg properly, scoop the rice, add the sides, and let you quietly finish your meal.
Sometimes a solo dinner does not need fireworks. It just needs a plate of rice you can finish comfortably.
After the simple meal, I walked back toward the MRT and suddenly wondered: why is this place called 「吳集郎」?
The name sounds a little like a person’s name and a little like an old-school martial-arts nickname. I could almost imagine someone stepping out front, clasping their fists and announcing, “I am 吳集郎, purveyor of Fried Chicken Leg Rice.”
Only after Googling it at home did I learn that the name was inspired by a Taiwanese-language pun on the phrase for “a rich person.”
At that moment, everything clicked. Rich people really do think differently from me. No wonder my pockets are empty and I still needed Google to explain the name.
Overall, this trip from Zhongli back to Taipei started as a completely random dinner pick near Taipei City Hall, but I ended up finding a lunchbox shop with a punny name, lighting with a strong point of view, and reliably satisfying Fried Chicken Leg Rice.
The chicken is fried to order, crisp outside and juicy inside. The whole meal is comfortable, direct, and refreshingly uncomplicated.
As for that green glow inside, all I can say is that it is genuinely memorable. I left remembering the chicken leg and the shop name, but what may stick with me most is still that democratic shade of green.
If you are near Taipei City Hall next time and want an easy meal, you could consider a plate of Fried Chicken Leg Rice from this particular “rich person.”
