South Gate Niunan Beef Brisket & Stewed Pork Shop in Haikou Hainan 博爱南129牛腩店 • 钟记南门牛腩店

South Gate Niunan Shop 钟记南门牛腩店 | China, Hai Nan Sheng, Hai Kou Shi, Mei Lan Qu, 博爱南路129号邮政编码: 570102 ☎ +86 898 3666 4008 🕗 24/7

I requested our obliging Hainan hosts to take us to places locals eat in Haikou, especially where tourists normally won't go 😬

They took us to 钟记南门牛腩店.

Long, deep, narrow space with whirling fans to keep the indoor temperature bearable. Zero decor, spartan furnishings, full house, the atmosphere buzzed with chatter - this was exactly the type of place I like when I travel.

This shop opens 24/7 like a low cost, convenience food shop with freshly cooked dishes. Like the Hainan style of Mamak shop we find in Malaysia.

Enjoying the city at eye and gut level with no filters. I am making memories, not make belief.

The shop name says 钟记南门牛腩店 which means Chong Kee South Gate Beef Brisket Shop. But, most dishes seemed to be pork 😄 The signboard says they have beef brisket 牛腩, pork belly 五花肉, pork leg rice 猪脚饭 and assorted small dishes 随意小炒.

Customers stopped by the counter and made their orders direct with the chef by pointing to the dishes they want.

The dishes followed pretty quickly to our table despite the full house.

We chose pork dishes even though this was a 牛腩店 beef brisket shop 🤔

We had braised pig tail, sausage, pork belly & tripe, and intestine.

Stewed gourds, stir fried greens and preserved vegetables.

We liked all the dishes we had. Flavours were at the right intensity, tender texture, and well balanced savoury sweet. Extremely appetising. Even I who is stingy with carbs ate a whole bowl of rice 😄