March 28, 2009
永康牛肉麵
The birth of the baby is definitely going to put a crimp on our eating-out habits. But the wife's post-partum maternity care center is right on 永康街, with its street-ful of restaurants. The wife "enjoys" the nourishing (but bland) food prepared by the care center according to traditional Chinese medicine and modern nutritional principles. Meanwhile I can get takeout from the many fine choices in the area when I visit after work. Right next door to the care center is the famous purveyor of beef-soup noodles, the perfect excuse for me to hit it early and often.
The shop itself was crowded with local diners and tourists toting guidebooks. Thankfully I was getting takeout but the turnover is fast so there's not too much waiting if I were looking for a table. It's all about the beef noodle soup but there are many possible combinations: big or small bowl; thin or thick noodles; meat, tendon, or half-and-half; spicy soy soup or clear beef broth. Not to mention the myriad of side dishes available. Also well known are the steamed 粉蒸排骨 short-ribs or tripe. An order would be perfect to share for a taste between two people or for one hungry person, in addition to the noodles.
Both the clear and soya soups are flavorful without being overly salty, with high-quality beef shank and tendon chunks. Wife found the spicy soup a bit too hot in her delicate state, but I thought it offered a perfect amount of heat to accompany the flavorful soup. Real Szechuan aficionados might even find it a bit tame.
It was good and convenient enough for me to visit multiple times over the course of a couple of weeks. When dad came to visit the baby I took him there, too, and he enjoyed the simple soup&noodles much more than the big banquets or fancy Japanese food.
Of course there are many other well-known beef-soup noodle places in Taipei and I haven't come close to trying them all yet. But it's always nice to have a dependable stand-by and this will do. After a spicy bowl of noodles, having Ice Monster down the block to relieve the heat is a nice bonus, too.
永康牛肉麵
台北市大安區金山南路二段31巷17號
02-2351-1051