In these challenging economic times when people fume at the price of a fast-food burger meal, they ought to consider that for not much more, they can sit down to a far more flavorful, nutritious, and soulfully satisfying dish at a place like Flaming Ox in San Jose.

For about $16 to $18, you can enjoy a Taiwanese specialty rice or noodle bowl in a sizeable portion that’s sure to warm you through and through, which is what I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant recently.

The casual cafe opened 10 months ago in the same strip mall as City Sports Club on East Brokaw Road. It is the brainchild of Eric Chung, a chef of Taiwanese heritage, who was a former lead chef cooking Asian food at Apple in Cupertino before launching his food trucks.

The restaurant is sparse, save for a large mural of street food stalls that covers one wall. Tables are set beside the open kitchen. You order with your phone via a QR code.

Start with a cold or hot appetizer. The chilled eggplant ($6) features planks of custardy Asian eggplant in a sweet hoisin-like sauce with fresh cilantro. The green onion pancakes ($7) are crisp and come with a savory soybean sauce for dipping.

The popcorn chicken can be enjoyed as a rice plate ($16) or as an appetizer ($8.50). We got the latter, requesting a medium level of spice. If you’re a fried chicken lover, this dish is a must-get with its boneless, juicy nuggets battered and fried to a deep crunch with the haunting flavor of five-spice. The fried basil leaves strewn over the top was an especially nice touch.

Indeed, as one Yelp reviewer noted, it pays to like five-spice at this place, because the fragrant mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel is used liberally in dishes. Thankfully, I am a big fan of the stuff.

Beef noodle soup bowls are this restaurant’s specialty, offered three ways: with just beef bone broth, with bone broth seasoned with soy sauce (the “Traditional”), and “Mala” that’s a spiced up version. You get your choice of thin or thick noodles.

My husband went with the “Traditional” with thin noodles ($17.50). The bowl arrives with bok choy and a quarter pound of cinnamon-scented, thick beef slices arrayed over the top, braised until so tender that they fall apart with just a nudge from your chopsticks. The noodles are bouncy; the broth is beefy and restorative without being at all oily. It’s comforting and satisfying.

I opted for the braised pork belly rice plate ($16). The tender, juicy pork is diced in a rich, thick gravy scented with anise. Lightly pickled cabbage acts as a palate cleanser, while a hard-boiled, soy-sauce egg adds even more substantialness to this homey dish.

Flaming Ox also offers its own chili oil that is moderate in heat with a subtle smokiness to add a little more kick to any dish. From now until the start of Lunar New Year, Jan. 29, 2025, the restaurant is discounting the chili oil from $8 to $6, and donating all proceeds to Taiwan American Professionals, a volunteer organization that fosters professional development and community service in the Bay Area. The chili oil jars are available at the restaurant.

Next time you’re steaming over big-chain, fast-food burger meal prices, opt for a steaming beef noodle bowl instead at a family-owned local joint. Chances are that you won’t feel fleeced, but rather quite content.