[Taipei] Despite having a rather ‘short’ history of slightly more than 10 years, Niu Dian Beef Noodles 牛店精燉牛肉麵 (some spell as “Niou Dien” or “Niu Tien Beef Noodles”) 牛店 has won quite a number of accolades, including the Michelin Bib Gourmand.
This is when many of the well-known Taiwanese Beef Noodles shop in Taipei come with long histories of say more than 40 – 50 years.
It is not difficult to find a long queue outside the shop during peak periods, also because it is a short walk away from the well-visited Xi Men Ding and Red House.
Niu Dian Beef Noodles serves up the regular Beef Noodles starting with NT$200 (SGD9.25) for a small bowl and NT$250 for a large (SGD11.60) serving.
However, take note that there is no English menu provided. For your reference, they serve up noodles with beef tendon (牛筋), tripe (牛肚) and beef slices (牛肉); or the regularly ordered half tendon and beef (半筋半肉).
One of the most popular bowl is its Man Han Beef Noodles 滿漢牛肉麵 (NT$280, SGD12.90) which includes the three different cuts of beef shin, tendon and tripe all together.
The winning element has to be its stock, a consommé like broth cooked from beef bones, mirepoix and herbs.
While the soup is clear and clean-tasting, I was surprised to find it both flavourful and with depth. The appeal is in its subtle flavours, and I found myself taking spoonful after spoonful, letting that warm feeling trickle down the belly.
It was unlike any other beef noodles soup I had in Taiwan.
The noodles are like thin udon, with a chewy bite – would prefer a more QQ bite though. This complements well with the quality beef from Australia and New Zealand superbly tender without any strong aftertaste.
If you are up to it, get the Red Braised Beef Noodles otherwise known as ”Hong Shao”.
Unlike other eateries which serve it as a whole bowl of noodle soup, this is separated into three components with three steps of enjoying.
Firstly, you drink the beef stock on its own; after which you add two to three tablespoons of the braised sauce into the soup which adds spiciness and flavours; the last step is to mix the noodles, preserved vegetables and braised sauce together in an empty bowl like tossed noodles.
A lot on how ‘delicious’ this combination would depend on how much braised soup you add to the soup. I figure that two tablespoons would be more than enough, adding that kick without interfering too much from the mellow taste of the golden soup.
While price is slightly on the higher side than the average shop, I think Niu Dian delivers on quality.
Niu Dian Beef Noodles 牛店
No. 91, Kunming Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
108台北市萬華區昆明街91號
Tel: +886 2 2389 5577
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5pm – 8pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Google Maps – Niou Dien Beef Noodles
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