A one-person Thai noodle dish with a broth that tastes like the familiar and comforting Taiwanese sour and spicy soup

Text and photos byHappy Cloud

For a solo dinner adventure, the food court on B2 of Taipei Hankyu Department Store is a place I often visit in my daily life. Besides some well-known Japanese brands, there are occasionally fresh and tasty new shops setting up here. In the afternoon, after finishing an event at the city hall, I was wandering around the area when I discovered Very Thai Noodles (大心新泰式面食). To be honest, I didn’t really feel like going in at first, but later while browsing at Eslite, I saw my friend’s Facebook post about Thai rice noodle soup... and other dishes, which made me want to eat them but I couldn’t—just kept swallowing my saliva. Then I thought, since I just saw “Thai noodles,” I should give it a try, hahaha... Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than early. There was no line at all!!!! After ordering inside the shop, I looked up as I raised my head toward the door.

Ah~ people... why are there suddenly so many!? I’m really lucky, huh!? The options on the menu weren’t many—the main dishes included: sour and spicy seafood and meat noodles, sour and spicy seafood noodles, sour and spicy tomato pork noodles, curry chicken leg noodles, satay beef rice noodles, and clear-braised beef rice noodles, along with some side dishes. Meal combinations could also be ordered as sets with drinks and sides. Today, I wasn’t very hungry, just craving something; so I picked a bowl of noodles. With the help of the staff’s recommendation, I went with a sour and spicy broth and chose “seafood.”

Before it arrived, the rich smell of the curry chicken leg from the next table made me regret my choice a bit—but that didn’t seem Thai, more like Vietnamese food?! Hahaha... Anyway, as long as it tastes good, that’s what matters. Before long, my noodles arrived. Hahaha, what seafood was there? Two shrimp and some kind of “squid-ish” thing, plus some deep-fried enoki mushrooms; the broth had the familiar and comforting taste of Taiwanese sour and spicy soup, hahaha... This is a Thai-style noodle dish with a strong Taiwanese flavor, oh my!! I later found out this is another new brand from “Wang Steaks” (瓦城)—now I get it, no wonder the place is so lively, hahaha... I can’t really say whether these noodles are delicious or not. They’re just not what I expected in terms of “Thai” flavor, but if you’re a fan of Wang Steaks, you might like these too.

A bowl costs 220 NT, and there’s an additional 10% service charge. Some of my Facebook friends think it’s expensive, others think it’s cheap, hahaha... I think it’s a little on the pricier side, but compared to Japanese ramen, maybe not too bad? If you make a special request to the staff, they’ll give you a paper apron to prevent soup splashes on your clothes. There were a few interesting seasonings on the table—familiar chili water and lemongrass leaves, and unexpectedly, the “spicy onion” was really tasty and matched well with the dish~

Today I got lucky because it was the opening event—ordering any meal comes with a free black sesame ice cream. But I’d just had matcha ice cream with hojicha from TSUJIRI earlier in the afternoon—today I really ate too much ice cream. When I got the “Very Thai” sour and spicy seafood noodles, they immediately gave me a “black sesame ice cream” voucher, redeemable only on-site with purchase, so I had no choice but to brave through and eat two-thirds of it. Haha, the ice cream was fragrant and refreshing, not greasy at all, but I couldn’t find any connection to Thailand in it, Up~ I think if I come across it again without a line, I might try the curry chicken leg, but if it means facing the crowd I saw outside today, then no thanks, catch you later~ A solo dinner, with the occasional try of something new, is pretty fun too!! (P.S. Photos in this post were taken with an iPhone 5)

【Very Thai Noodles (大心新泰式面食)】
Official website:http://verythainoodles.com/
Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/verythainoodles
Address: No. 8, Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City (Hankyu B2)
Phone: 02-2729-6806
Business hours: Sun–Thu 11:00–21:30 / Fri–Sat 11:00–22:00

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