beef noodle soup: YONG KANG DAO XIAO MIAN

YONG KANG DAO XIAO MIAN 

(YONG KANG KNIFE CUT NOODLES)

永康刀削麵 

No. 5, Lane 10, Yong Kang Street

(02) 2322-2640

MRT: Dongmen Station

 $ (cash only) (about NT$150-200 per person)

Visit reviewed: 4/5/2017

[TAIPEI] YONG KANG STREET HAS A LOT OF FAMOUS EATS (mango shaved ice, original Din Tai Fung, spring onion pancake that now always has a line- for more details, check out my guide to Yong Kang Street ), but also a lot of unexplored side alleys with restaurants filled with locals rather than tourists. Tried this knife cut beef noodle shop for the first time today (there are two on Yong Kang, this one is in an adjacent alley. The other one, Yi Ping, where I took a writer for CNN ended up including it in his best beef noodle soup list and now there hangs a red banner announcing its inclusion 😂). 

Enjoyed the tomato beef noodle soup, but the thick noodles are quite filling. You can probably share a bowl (like we did) if you're planning on snacking along Yong Kang Street. Don't forget to pick up some cold dishes and spicy beef butter for your soup at the self serve station!

Check off menu only in Chinese, but there are some photos with English along the wall of the restaurant. Choices are beef noodle soup, tomato beef noodle soup, zha jian mian and then variations without the beef or the noodles if you wanted just the broth and noodles. 

I tend to try the tomato beef noodle soup  (NT$200) over the regular beef noodle soup whenever I see it on the menu. It imparts a touch of sweetness and freshness to the broth. I thought the beef was tender and the portion quite sizable for the large bowl.  The three of us didn't finish two large bowls.  

Zha jiang mian (NT$90) which is a minced pork and tofu sauce with julienned fresh cucumber over the knife cut noodles. Mix up the sauce and cucumbers into the noodles before eating.

There are four beef noodle soup shops in the short Yong Kang Street area now that I've tried (five if you count Din Tai Fung's beef noodle as one).

Yong Kang Beef Noodle is probably the most famous as it has been around for over 50 years and is now a tourist spot, but it's my least favorite bowl, reaffirmed my revisit a few months ago with Chef Sheridan from Las Vegas. It's a bit too salty and the noodles didn't have any bite. The beef noodle soup shop hidden by the Smoothie House mango ice shack isn't bad. Yi Ping San Xi Dao Xiao Mian has smaller pieces of beef and shorter strands of chewy knife cut noodles.

My favorite out of the bunch? Probably still Din Tai Fung's beef noodle soup (with half tendon half beef), followed by this spot.

But if you've never had knife shaved noodles, you should definitely try it at least once (followed by some spring onion pancake from the vendor around the corner).

taiwanese/beef noodle soup: LAO WANG JI BEEF NOODLE SOUP

LAO WANG JI BEEF NOODLE SOUP
老王記牛肉麵大王
No. 15, TaoYuan Street
台北市桃源街十五號
(02) 2375-8973

MRT: Ximen

hours: 10am-9pm

$ (about NT$180/person)

Kid friendliness: old school two story noodle shop, no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed:10/2/2013

Finally got a chance to try the infamous Lao Wang beef noodle soup, although it was by accident. I was with some out of town friends in Ximending and we lost half our group who were off to "that famous beef noodle place on Tao Yuan Jie" when they turned a corner. So we hopped in a taxi, exclaimed our destination and he drove half a block and stopped at this signless shop. Doh! 

From the outside, the shop looks like it's been here forever (ok, over 50 years). It doesn't have any fancy signage, much less signage at all to signal that it's a beef noodle shop. Once you step closer you can see the front of the house kitchen dishing up bowls to serve (with a giant no photos allowed sign) and inside is packed despite it being past the prime lunch hour (which I hear there is often a line). 

We make our way upstairs where everyone is busy eating, hunched over on stools. When the staff takes our order, we have the choice of ordering the braised beef noodle soup or the clear broth beef noodle soup- I opt for the classic braised beef broth (NT$180). The pickled vegetables, self serve chopsticks and condiments are already on the table, although the owner might grab the vegetables once you're done to share with another table. 

We also try to order the steamed pork rib (NT$110), but they've run out, so we share with our friends who've gotten the last order. (Yong Kang St Beef Noodle Shop's steamed pork ribs and intestines are more memorable as it also comes with sweet potatoes)

The braised beef noodle soup (NT$180) is impressive looking when it comes to the table, with several thick slices of beef piled atop the huge bowl of noodles and soup.  Because I had heard how amazing the beef noodles were here, I wanted to love it. While the beef was tender and plentiful, I found the soup to be on the salty side for me so I couldn't drink more than a few spoonfuls with the noodles. But Lao Wang is the favorite of quite a few people, so if you're in the Ximen area, you could give it a try.

The search for my favorite beef noodle soup in Taipei continues! So far my favorites are still Shan Xi Dao Xiao Mian (knife shaved noodles, get the broth with tomato!) and Little Shanghai (half tendon, half beef). Where should I try next?