Stirring the sauce mixed with garlic oil — just the aroma of A’Cheng’s Qiezi Noodles makes your mouth water.

Photos & Text /Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

When I was interviewed by a certain platform a month ago and asked which Taipei MRT line I eat at the most, and which station I’ve written about the most, I thought for a moment. The 【Ban-Nan Line】 probably has the most food spots I’ve tried, but if we’re talking about the station with the most food reviews, I’d guess it’s either the 【Taipei City Hall Station】 or the 【Shuanglian Station】. Breaking it down further, the former has more restaurants, while the latter leans more toward snacks.

Regular readers might remember that over two years ago, I set out to try every snack in Dadaocheng, even in Datong District. Two years have passed, and while I’ve written about nearly a hundred places, I’m still far from covering them all. Mainly because there are just so many delicious and famous snacks in this area. For example, when it comes to “Qiezi Noodles” in Shuanglian, you simply must talk about and try “A’Cheng Qiezi Noodles.” It’s on par with 【Shuanglian Station】’s A’Tian Noodles and 【Zhongshan Station】’s A’Guo Qiezi Noodles (though actually Shuanglian Station) that I’ve shared before.

So why has A’Cheng been left out all this time? It’s not because it doesn’t taste good or that I’m keeping it to myself. It’s mainly because I used to live in Dadaocheng and often ate here. So I always thought, the next time I’m nearby and craving noodles, I’ll write about it. But that dragged on for two years... Basically, A’Cheng Qiezi Noodles isn’t much different from your average snack shop, but the overall dining environment is slightly better than A’Guo’s, at least when it comes to air conditioning XD.

In terms of main dishes, they offer a relatively rich selection compared to other snack shops. Besides the usual noodles and rice, there are also | (text garbled) |. I took a look at one dish and thought it probably wouldn’t be bad.

As someone who goes crazy for braised pork rice, I spotted the signboard advertising their “delicious signature braised pork rice” as soon as I walked in. Once seated and starting to order, I checked off “salted pork rice” right away, without paying any attention to the complaints from the person in the upper right corner (I’m not eating it, you finish it!).

For side dishes, I was just as quick with my pen, ignoring the nonsense coming from the 45-degree angle in the upper right. But I did order her only choice: “Pork Cheek.” Aside from that, braised pork and large intestine tips are two side dishes I never skip at a snack shop. Sometimes these two dishes alone can determine my overall impression of the place — their importance even outweighs that of the main dishes like noodles or rice.

First up, the pork cheek. To be honest, just looking at the slightly dark color of the meat already felt off to me. When I tried it, it was a bit dry, but the tenderness was okay. I don’t know if it was fear or something else, but I only had one piece before putting my chopsticks down.

Braised pork basically comes in two types: one made with pork belly, which looks shinier and more to my taste, and the other almost entirely lean meat. Naturally, my friends who know me would say this lean braised pork isn’t my style — and sure enough, it was a bit dry as I expected. Fortunately, dipping it in soy sauce made it passable. But another reason I love braised pork is the crispy fried exterior, which sadly wasn’t too great at A’Cheng either.

The first two weren’t satisfying, but fortunately, the large intestine tips were really delicious. Though not big in size, they were cut thick enough, giving a nice light chewy bite. The fat inside was rich and melted nicely, and the sweetness was well-balanced. Delicious and chewy — highly recommended.

Actually, I originally wanted to order wonton soup, but the person in the upper right said she wanted rice noodles, so I ordered a bowl of soup noodles. Fortunately, it was really tasty. First, the broth was sweet with a hint of garlic oil that I love. Also, the sweetness of the noodles had fully infused into the soup (my favorite part). Then there was a slight hint of celery that teased the taste buds. The noodles were cooked just right — not too mushy and still with a good bite.

This dry noodle dish looked just like the kind I’ve seen before — lots of sauce mixed with garlic oil. As soon as you stir it, the aroma of garlic oil and sauce wafts up, making your stomach growl.

The first bite brought a slightly spicy and rich sauce that dominated the taste buds. The garlic oil was also quite enticing. But this noodle dish — or perhaps the sauce — has a downside where it gets saltier the more you eat. That said, I actually quite liked the initial flavor of the dry noodle sauce. The noodles were my preferred type of wheat noodles (dry noodles), and they were “cut” just right — soft and smooth without being too mushy.

【A’Cheng Qiezi Noodles】
Address: No. 20, Jinxi Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02 2543 1749
Business Hours: 11:00–21:00

Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog
If “eating” is just about filling your stomach, then “food” would be far too boring~~~