Restaurant #38: 阿弟仔大腸麵線 Intestine Thin Noodle, Taipei

I am a noodle lover! As Japanese, I like Ramen, Soba, Udon, Somen, and now Taiwanese noodles. The good thing about Taiwanese noodles is that the soup is pretty light tasted—simple, quick but tasty. However, this time I found a strong flavored soup, intestine thin noodle. Yeah the name is… pretty direct, but the taste was amazing.

In the Taipei guide book, there is one famous thin noodle store at Ximending called 阿宗麵線. This comes with oysters, not with intestine. I would like to try oyster noodle someday soon, but I found a small, friendly thin noodle store right next to fried chicken store that I always go. I’ve seen the lady taking care of the soup everytime I visited the chicken store, and this day, I finally tried her noodle.


The store is so small, and a woman takes care of the soup at the entrance. Probably three or four people can sit there and eat. Nothing fancy, but the inside was clean. I ordered a small bawl of the intestine thin noodle, TW$ 35, for take-out. She asked me if I wanted all the ingredients. Well, it was my first time and didn’t know what she would put, so I said yes…


The noodle soup was cooked for a long time. Don’t know like… a day or even more. She added some slices of intestine, grinded garlic (yummy), some kind of sauce (soy sauce!?), spicy sauce (you can ask no if you don’t like), and 香菜 (cilantro).

I was afraid to eat in the beginning, but once I put the noodle in my mouth, it was amazingly delicious! The broth was different than other Taiwanese noodle soup. I tasted katsuobushi taste believe or not. I am not sure whether they put the oyster or not, but I felt some ocean flavor.


Noodle was thin, but still chewy. I don’t like overcooked noodle, like Taiwanese spaghetti, but this kind of noodle was still in good shape even though it was stewed for a long time. It was chewy, but was thin, so not difficult to eat.

Pork intestine was stewed enough; juicy and tender. The saltiness was perfect. I was right to add spicy sauce and grinded garlic, because those sauces erase the smell associated with intestines. Also, I didn’t smell the star anise. Yes! I am not a huge fan of that taste…

Overall, I was very satisfied with this noodle. Small bawl was actually enough to make me full. I am just wondering how they deal with those during summer time. All ingredients were simply put in the outside of the store. Should I go back there after summer?

Total: TW$ 35

阿弟仔大腸麵線: Intestine Thin Noodle
Lane 30, Young-Ji Rd., Xinyi Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02-2767-2828

Night Market #01: 士林夜市 Shilin Night Market, Taipei

The best sightseeing spot in Taiwan is the night market, and the biggest, most popular night market is this Shilin night market (士林夜市). This was my first time to visit there. Most tourists say that Shilin night market is an amazing place, so I was very excited.


To access to the market was convenient; take a red line subway and get off at Jiantan MRT station. Just follow the crowds so that you can reach the night market within about five minutes. The market was big! I found a big food court building, so I decided to find some snacks over there.


Inside of the building was full of small restaurants. Chicken, drinks, ice cream, sausages, beef noodles, oyster omelette, and so many other night snacks. I personally like those foods and was ready to try all of those, but once I saw how they made those, I noticed to be careful to choose the item. Some restaurants were fine, but some had a serious problem in their hygiene. Some tourist might not care because of the exoticness, but I do! I just can’t eat food right next to the rats… Just want to say, look at each restaurant and check how they cook the food…


I found a fried chicken store. I tried some other similar chicken, but this chicken was really huge! One chicken was the same size as my face! There were a long line for this restaurant, but it only took me five years to get a slice of fried chicken, TW$ 50.

Crispy Fried Chicken

It was fresh, and was hot! Outside was a bit greasy, but the meat was so tender. I felt that the chicken was marinated too much spices, though. I liked the strong taste. You must try this if you go to this market.




Since last summer, I became a fan of pan fried stuffed dumplings (水煎包). I found one store near by the chicken store. It was small, but it cost only TW$ 10, so I bought one piece.





Some sausage stores were there. The one near by the chicken store was interesting. The sausages were… HUGE! How can I eat that?!? I really wanted to try the big one, but I was already full with a fried chicken and a dumpling, so I tried a black pepper sausage, served with the mochi rice wrap. Next time, I definitely want to try the big one.

The only regret was that I didn’t eat oyster omelette, one of popular Taiwanese snacks. I tried to find a good store, but after I saw them cooking with the plastic plates directly putting on the heated pan (it’ll melt!) and saw them adding water to the beaten egg, I lost my appetites…


After I ate some snacks, I walked around the market. So many people were taking a walk and enjoying the evening by watching clothing and dessert stores. I would recommend this night market for a tourist. For me? Nah… I liked the atmosphere and some foods, but again, I couldn’t be a fan of their hygiene. Weird smell and the rats’ voice… Maybe I am just picky… I prefer smaller night markets but better hygiene or at least no rats…

Total: TW$ 110

Yatai #01: Sichuan Noodle Stall 四川特色滷味麵攤, Taipei

Yatai (屋台) is a Japanese word meaning “a stall”. We, in Sapporo, enjoy eating in Ramen stalls at Susukino or ice cream stalls at Odori Park. Here in Taipei, many types of food/snack stalls do business and those are quite successful; they sometimes make much more money than the regular store/restaurants. Near my house, there are so many food stalls, but I found a quite popular noodle stall for Taipei native, called “Sichuan Noodle Stall” 四川特色滷味麵攤 (actually this noodle stall does not have a name, but I named it in English!)

This is one of popular restaurant/stall in this area. Every time I go there, there is a long line waiting for the food. I cannot recommend you if you hate waiting, but it only takes 15 min max to get a ball of noodle. Their menu is quite various. Besides about sixteen noodle/soup menus (they may have some secret menu), they also offer variety of 滷味 (luwei). 滷味, lu-wei, is a Taiwanese-style stewed food; different kinds of food and vegetables are stewed in soy sauce with Chinese medicine and seasoning, including Chinese’ favorite, Star anise (八角). 八角 (Hakkaku in Japanese) has a strong special taste, and some Japanese people cannot eat this. I think it is just because we do not use Hakkaku in our food and don’t get used to it. In the beginning, I couldn’t eat Hakkaku at all, but now I can eat it no problem!

Three workers constantly cook and serve the dishes. One cooks noodles, one takes care of order and serve Luwei, and the other one takes care of others, such as serving the food and bills. NEVER STOP! They are always busy, which is great for their business. I heard that a lady who takes care of Luwei came from Sichuan area of China. According to her, they use good and expensive ingredients, so that the taste of their sauce is fresh. I agree. When I ordered some luwei, I told her not to put any sauce because it might be sweet. She told me that their sauce is not sweet at all because they use good ingredients, but many restaurants use sugar to make this type of sauce, that is why I feel it is sweet… I believed her and tried their sauce. Wow… She was right. It was not sweet and was actually fresh.

You can eat besides this noodle stall, but there are only 2, 3 tables available, therefore I usually bring noodles back and eat in my house.

Tan Tan Noodle

Their specialty is Sichuan style, so I ordered 川味担担麺 (Tan Tan Mian) (NT$ 45). It was SOOO SPICY! I like spicy food, but it was different spiciness than Korean or Thailand’s. I like it, though. Thin noodle was used, and the soup was made of 麻醤 (Majiang), 辣油 (La-yu), and their original Sichuan pepper sauce. Crushed peanuts, fresh green onion added more delicious flavor. The smell of the sauce spread immediately after I opened the container. I think the quantity of noodle and sauce was appropriate. I also liked the thin noodle.

Yang Chun Noodle

陽春麺 (YangChun Mian) (NT$ 30) is the simplest noodle of their menu; it contains only thin noodle and green vegetable. The soup is simple but solid flavor, so this item is good for quick dinner or night snack. If you are a big eater, then I definitely recommend you to order some Luwei on the side.

Chao Shou Noodle

炒手麺 (Chao Shou Mian) (NT$ 60) is so far my favorite. You can choose spicy or non spicy. Chao Shou is a Sichuan style wonton, and it is delicious! They have Chao Shou only (紅油炒手) (NT$ 40), but the quantity is less for me, so I like it with noodle. This Chao Shou Mian contains six pieces of wonton over Majiang noodle. You can enjoy the taste of both popular menus!

Well, they serve more items, so I will update some info when I try new items. You go there and try some. I am sure you would fine some of your favorite!

Thank you for reading.

四川特色滷味麵攤: Sichuan Noodle Stall
Lane 30, Yong Ji Rd. Xinyi Dist.
(Intersection of Yong Ji Rd. and Song Long Rd)
Taipei, TAIWAN
0926-765-661
18:00-01:00 (close: wed & thu)