By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
Sales revenue for Taiwan Railway Corp （TRC） boxed meals reached a record NT$876 million （US$26.89 million） last year, with a total of 9.42 million sold, the company said yesterday.
The TRC began selling boxed meals in 1949 to continued acclaim. It is often jokingly described as a boxed meal shop held back by its railway business.
Last year, the railway sold about 25,800 meals a day, with total revenue from the business up 9.07 percent from the year before, the TRC said.
Although total sales fell short of the record 10.54 million sold in 2019, the revenue reached an all-time high, it said.
The TRC’s early offerings were primarily pork chops paired with braised eggs and dried tofu or tofu skin, it said, adding that the pork chop meal remains its specialty.
Chicken leg, braised pork belly and fish meals were later added to the menu, it said.
The pork chop boxed meal is by far the most popular, selling 7.18 million last year, while only 560,000 of the second-most popular chicken leg boxes were sold, the TRC said.
By location, Taipei Station sold the most boxed meals nationwide last year at 2.65 million, followed by Xinzuoying Station in Kaohsiung with 800,000 and Banqiao Station in New Taipei City with 680,000, it said.
On the production side, the boxes are supplied by six catering divisions in Taipei, Keelung’s Cidu （七堵）, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Taitung, the company said.
The Taipei catering division produced the most last year at 3.507 million meals, it said.
In addition to continuing to improve the quality of its boxed meals, the TRC said it plans to introduce specialty seasonal options and incorporate local ingredients to attract more customers and maintain strong sales.
新聞來源：
TAIPEI TIMES