Taipei’s Hearty Cold Noodle Shop Serves Seafood Noodles with Up to Thirty Clams!

Text & Photos /KUNI

(Thirty-three clams lined up!)

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Xiaohui Cold Noodles
Address: No. 10, Lane 151, Wulong St., Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: (02)27320577
Hours: 12:00–20:00
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Recently, cyclists’ Facebook feeds have been buzzing with news about Xiaohui Cold Noodles, sparking my curiosity. Especially that seafood noodle bowl said to contain thirty clams—for just NT$60, it felt absolutely amazing.

I arrived in the afternoon to also dodge the unusually stifling midday heat lately. Venturing into the unfamiliar Wulong Street, with Heping High School on the right, I turned left into Lane 151 only to find a low-key little shop that looked like a residential home. An auntie was making cold noodles for customers at the entrance—she must be Boss Lady Xiaohui herself.

(The unassuming, residential-style entrance)

(Auntie Xiaohui)

(Indoor seating)

I ordered what I came for:

Seafood Noodles (NT$60)
Also tried the cold noodles (small portion, NT$30) and beef fried rice (NT$60)

I had to go to the entrance to get the cold noodles, but when I saw the huge plateful, I was stunned: “Auntie, I ordered the small portion...”

“This is the small portion.” I couldn’t believe it—I’d never seen such a big... “small” portion before.

Based on a sesame and garlic sauce foundation, it used cucumber to bring back some freshness. The flavor was simple and homey, and for just thirty dollars, all I could say was: “WOW!”

(The super-sized “small” portion of cold noodles)

When the seafood noodles arrived, their surprisingly massive presence was almost shocking!

It suddenly made me miss the big bowls I used to love overseas. I even got into a funny situation when buying one at an Asian market, which I later wrote about in a piece on Japanese cuisine:http://goo.gl/CGYUDE. Today’s noodle soup might not just be described as “big”—it could even be called magnificent.

Because it was seriously huge!! Really, really huge!! Truly, truly huge!! Because it’s important, I’ll say it three times. (Using that old, reliable cliché)

The first sip of the broth revealed an aroma led by scallion oil, backed by pepper, with so many clams it made you want to cheer. A whole egg was dropped in, plus some pork slices—how could this enormous bowl cost just sixty dollars!?

I remembered a friend writing on Facebook that his bowl had thirty clams. Mine didn’t seem like much at first glance, so I started lining up the shells on the table as I ate. The clams weren’t very big, but each had meat. Even the occasional empty shell meant I could still find the elusive clam meat in the broth. There was no way I could finish all the noodles, but I made sure to fish out every single clam—even the ones hiding in the noodles. After counting, I was shocked to find there were thirty-three of them. So this is how happy breaking a record can make you.

(The generously sized beef fried rice)

(The magnificent seafood noodles for just NT$60)

(Counted them and was shocked—there were thirty-three clams in the bowl!)

(The line of people waiting when I left!)

The beef fried rice, by comparison, was much weaker—it still came in a huge portion, but had a strong smell of rancid oil. After a few bites, I still couldn’t stomach it and had to give up. After paying the bill, I politely thanked the lady owner and walked out, only to find a long queue already forming at the entrance.

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