Crispy as if full of life—hidden gem eel pasta loaded with toppings, sweet and tangy to the tongue!

Text & Photos byOrange Dog Loves Sweets

Eel pasta and beef soup are two Tainan street foods that always leave me torn between love and hesitation. Their incredible flavors are unforgettable after just one bite, yet their prices make you hesitate to spend. And these two dishes are everywhere in Tainan, almost as common as convenience stores—you’ll find them around every corner.

But there are probably only a handful of shops that die-hard fans would wholeheartedly recommend. Recently, while looking for eel pasta spots, I discovered this place, [Chi’er Eel Pasta], which netizens keep recommending. But because it’s located in Yongkang District, it felt a bit far from central Tainan. I was really too lazy to go. But that day, I happened to have made plans with my food-savvy junior, so we followed the navigation all the way to Yongkang to find this delicious spot.

...The address says Yongkang District, but I completely forgot that Chung Hwa East Road in Tainan City is a boundary—one side is East District, the other is Yongkang. Turns out it's actually quite close to central Tainan. Only after arriving did I realize... it’s right next to the Ambassador Cinema where I used to work XDDDD. I must’ve passed it hundreds of times—I could’ve been eating here all along, but I kept avoiding it because I thought it was too far.


Its horizontal sign says “Pork Rice” and “Fish Maw Soup”—probably from the previous tenant. I guess they just didn’t bother taking it down. The business hours are different from Chi’er’s!


But actually, it does pretty good business—people started coming in for takeout not long after it opened. Chi’er has slightly different hours, opening from 3 PM for afternoon tea until 9 PM for dinner, just six hours a day. There are quite a few seats inside, but for some reason, nobody seems to want to sit down.


It’s just the boss and the boss’s wife running the place—one handles cooking, the other packing and checkout. They’re pretty busy XD. I watched the boss frying the pasta and ingredients non-stop, not a second to spare. The price list inside is also worth a look—the menu is pretty basic.

Normally, whenever I walk into an eel pasta shop, I only look for two things: [Dry-Fried Eel Pasta and Sesame Oil Kidney]. It has nothing to do with how knowledgeable I am—it’s just that those are the only two I love. The price isn’t especially cheap, but not outrageously expensive either. It feels like “Eel Pasta for 80 NT” has become the standard price. Too bad I don’t like the sweet-and-sour thickened sauce, and I feel the dry-fried version has more flavor!


[Dry-Fried Eel Pasta / 120 NT / Spicy Option] Now, about the price of dry-fried—it somehow also feels like 150 NT is the going rate. But honestly, aside from Zhiming on Dongmen Road, whose portion is generous at 150 NT, many places give you very little.


So far, I’ve only found A-Jiang’s 100 NT and Chi’er’s 120 NT to be relatively more affordable. But Chi’er gives you a seriously big portion. The eel slices are a bit smaller, but you get a lot of them. Why do I like dry-fried? Because the flavors are more intense—the layers of wine, onion, vinegar, and spice are more distinct.

Since A-Jiang is still my favorite, I can’t help but compare. Chi’er’s sweet-and-sour flavor is more pronounced, which is, of course, more authentic to Tainan taste. A-Jiang’s stir-frying has a stronger wok hei, with smoky char and spicy highlights that are more exciting. I think Chi’er’s is still good, though a bit weaker—but better than most others I’ve had (better than Chengbian, Zhiming, Ah Hui, Jinfu, etc.).


The noodles are a bit oily, not as Q (chewy) as A-Jiang’s, but the generous portion is a plus. As for the crispness of the eel, Chi’er gets it just right—not like last time when A-Jiang messed up when it got busy.


Each slice has that life-like crispness as you chew, and the portion is just as generous. If I had to say, A-Jiang and Chi’er are neck and neck in my book!! But overall, Chi’er scores a bit higher, making me want to recommend it to more people.

[Sesame Oil Stir-Fried Kidney / 150 NT] This dish is pretty much available at any eel pasta shop. I’ve got to be honest—no one does it better than Chi’er. Just look at how much kidney they give you, and how many slices are practically spilling out of the plate XD.


The thickness of the slices is probably the most generous I’ve seen. The ginger is fragrant too. The kidney is blanched first before being stir-fried in high heat with sesame oil and ginger—locking in its tenderness. When you bite into it, the softness melts in your mouth with the rich aroma of infused sesame oil.


Eat it together with the ginger slices, and I’m ready to commission a “Kidney Champion” trophy to give the boss on the spot. All the other places I used to think were good pale in comparison once this plate arrives!

The eel pasta journey is far from over, but I wonder if I’ll ever find anything that surpasses A-Jiang and Chi’er. It’s only after leaving Tainan that I fell madly in love with Tainan street food again. This feeling is pretty well described in a recent Japanese drama...

In “Amachan,” the fisherman Kanie Keizo travels far and wide to prove that his hometown, Kitasanriku, is the most beautiful place. But it’s only after leaving home that he realizes no matter where he goes, Tainan street food just doesn’t taste right without that certain something—whether it’s a missing seasoning or the taste of home, I can’t quite put my finger on it.

So every time I think of beef soup, eel pasta, and pork rice, I’m ready to hop on a trip back to Tainan!

[Chi’er Eel Pasta – Dry-Fried Eel]

Phone:06-3126229
Business Hours:03:00 PM～09:00 PM
Reminder:Closed on Sundays, near Ambassador Cinema
=====================================
Orange Dog Loves Sweets Blog　Orange Dog Loves Sweets FB Fan Page