The boss walks around the tables to teach you how to eat—come to this Taipei beef noodle shop and even “taste the moon”!

Text & Photos /Sir San Gao

There are plenty of small roadside beef noodle shops, but I rarely eat at them, and even when I do, I seldom find one that truly impresses me. Eventually, I got too lazy to even keep records. But Liao’s on Zhongyuan Street—again, the real draw is the side dishes. My first visit happened to coincide with an amusing scene: the tiny shop packed with people, all digging in with gusto. I’d definitely come back again.

I got lucky—the customer at the table near the entrance had just finished eating, so I took their spot, ordered, and sat down. The braised items I most wanted to try were those various beef parts: tendons, intestines, tripe, tongue, tail, and the moon. Dining solo as I was, I was still quite greedy—three plates of braised dishes arrived one after another. Suddenly, Old Liao handed me a piece of beef tail bone from the front and told me to hold it and gnaw. As I chewed and sucked, the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, well-seasoned, and a bit on the salty side.

The next plate to arrive was the tail + the moon. The “moon” is the knee meniscus cartilage, and a quick look at the photos will show you just how rich in collagen these are—super chewy and sticky.

The beef tongue looked good, but the braising time that day made it a bit tougher than ideal. Chewing it slowly released decent meaty flavors. If you’re used to thick-cut grilled beef tongue, switching it up with this Taiwanese-style version is fine—but personally, I prefer it softer and more tender.

The pressed tofu and smoked pig skin come with rules here: you’re supposed to add some pickled vegetables and drizzle on chili oil. To be honest, I really liked the flavor—the chili oil had a nice kick, the pickled veggies were sweet, and the texture of the tofu was great... all in all, not bad at all.

Old Liao often patrols the restaurant and occasionally “guides” customers on how to eat. His nagging skills are truly one of a kind. For example, the lady sitting next to me was also dining alone and got corrected (ahem, guided) on how to eat the braised dishes. Then Old Liao suddenly turned, glanced at my table, and said, “You should know, right? Chili oil goes with the scallions.”

Old Liao continued his rounds, making constant reminders: “The garlic cloves are all halved, easy to peel.” “Don’t eat them whole—eat them slowly with the meat.” “That one’s not for the noodles.” I had only ordered beef noodle soup, and even though it was just soup noodles, there was still a piece of braised beef in it (probably their house specialty). Following Old Liao’s advice, I bit into the garlic with the meat—it really did taste great. As for the noodles themselves, they were pretty average, but the broth was good. Coming here to eat braised beef with garlic might actually be the way to go.

The lady next to me couldn’t finish her braised dishes and wanted to take some home. Old Liao chimed in again: “Not much of an appetite, huh? Next time, just order half.” She replied, “You’re going to make it.” He answered, “I’m not going to make it—I’m going to die trying (?) I’ve been doing this for over 40 years!”

I chuckled to myself, and then Old Liao looked at my table again and said, “If you order like this next time, I’ll just make it for you directly—you’ll get more variety for the same price.” So how much did this meal cost? Around 800 NT. If the flavor of the braised beef (the cow parts) could be a bit richer, it’d be even better for me. I didn’t get to try the freshly made beef soup, and I’d like to compare it with the Tainan style—maybe I’ll come back another day when I’m in the mood.

Liao’s Beef Noodles
Address: No. 39, Zhongyuan Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Business Hours: 11:30 AM–2:30 PM, 5:00 PM–9:00 PM

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