Locals recommend this old-school Banqiao shop: Refreshing soup with traditional-style danzai noodles

Text & photos byXiaohu’s Dream Food Blog

I often half-jokingly say I’m a “fake Banqiao local,” mainly because when I’m not out and about in Banqiao, I usually survive on snacks from nearby my home. So, to truly experience Banqiao street food, I rely on recommendations from locals (or netizens). For instance, this spot — considered an old shop in Banqiao — “Ruyi Danzai Noodles,” was recommended to me by a fellow Banqiao resident, Brother Zhang.

Actually, Brother Zhang had told me about this place for a while, but because of some issue with the Puxian... something or other, I never got around to checking it out, and so I never made the trip.

Until one day, I suddenly spotted a YOUBIKE station at the intersection of Shuangshi Road and Wanban Intersection (not far from my building), and the idea of hopping on a bike to hunt for food just came to me.

It took me just ten minutes on the YOUBIKE to easily find this danzai noodle shop on Zhongshan Road. Though the front stall wasn’t the classic bamboo-style one, and the owner wasn’t sitting there cooking the noodles, the setup still had a bit of that classic vibe.

The interior decor wasn’t anything special — pretty standard for a local eatery — but overall it was quite clean with no weird smells, the air conditioning was strong enough, and the service was decent, at least the ladies working there all greeted customers with smiles.

The main dish is danzai noodles, but they also offer dry spaghetti, rice noodles, and you can choose either. I went with the “dry version” as suggested, and while I did miss the soup version, I was still quite satisfied.

Whether it’s a rice or noodle joint, side dishes like sliced meats are super important — sometimes I’d even say they matter more than the main dish. I took a closer look at the small dishes here, and wow, they actually had quite a variety, including some Taiwan-style Japanese dishes like sashimi, prawns, asparagus salad, and even grilled eel... At that point, I regretted not bringing a friend along — I really wanted to order more dishes to show you all.

This bowl of danzai noodles might not look amazing in color or presentation, but the portion is actually bigger than usual (note: I ordered the small size), and you can choose whether to add meatballs and marinated eggs (it’s nice they don’t force you to).

As for the broth, the flavor was lighter than I expected — calling it a danzai noodle broth is a bit of a stretch. The shrimp flavor wasn’t strong, and instead the fried shallot taste was more prominent. The overall taste wasn’t heavy, which you could interpret as refreshing, but personally, it didn’t taste like the danzai noodle broths I’ve had before, though it was still enjoyable.

Earlier I mentioned I’m not a fan of soup noodles, but if I have to eat them, I usually go for the wheat vermicelli. This shop’s version lacked the salty kick from my childhood memories — I can’t say if that’s good or bad, but I quite liked the texture of the noodles: soft yet firm, not mushy, and the flavor improved after soaking up the broth.

The meatballs and marinated eggs were just okay, nothing special, but the yolk soaked in the broth was actually pretty tasty.

One of my favorite side dishes here is “pig’s large intestine tip.” The intestines were super clean, with a good amount of fat and a satisfying chew, though I felt the sweetness could’ve been stronger. BUT the red spicy sauce had a pleasantly tangy flavor (kind of like a five-flavor sauce) — I absolutely loved it. Because I liked the sauce so much, I mistakenly thought the dry noodles would come with it too, so I also ordered a bowl of dry rice noodles...

But when it arrived, it was drizzled with a soy-based sauce mixed with meat paste. It still tasted pretty good, but I was a little disappointed (sniff).

The rice noodles had a nice texture, but for some reason, that sauce just wouldn’t mix in no matter how hard I tried — I stirred so much my arm got sore (lol).

Finally, out of curiosity, I ordered some grilled eel, which they cooked to order by wrapping it in foil and popping it in a small oven.

To be honest, the taste was just okay — kind of like the level you’d get if you bought frozen eel from the supermarket and heated it yourself. Well, maybe a bit better — at least it wasn’t too mushy — and then they sprinkled some white sesame on top. The total bill for this meal was NT$220. Some might say it’s expensive, but I thought it was reasonable, especially since the pig’s intestine and eel aren’t cheap. If you take out the danzai noodles and dry rice noodles at NT$35 each (total NT$70), the intestine and eel combo for NT$150 isn’t really that pricey, right?

Ruyi Danzai Noodles
Address: No. 287, Section 2, Zhongshan Road, Banqiao District, New Taipei City
Phone: 02-8952-9698
Business Hours: 11:00–14:00, 17:00–02:30 (Closed on Sundays)

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