Ultra-luxurious Taoyuan noodle shop: Limited-edition brandy broth beef noodles you can’t get without a reservation

Text & photos byXiaohu’s Dream Food Blog

Beef noodles are undoubtedly the soul and even pride of Taiwanese street food. In the early days, they might have carried the flavors of military dependents’ villages and veterans, but now they’re one of Taiwan’s uniquely iconic dishes. BUT flavor-wise, they’ve mostly hovered around basic styles like clear-braised, Sichuan-style, or red-braised. A few years back, vegetable-and-fruit simmered beef noodles emerged, but this time, the beef noodles I tried actually include an “XO Cognac” broth — and the beef is PRIME grade, no less.

The hand-pulled noodle shop is located behind the Venice Cinema in Zhongli, Taoyuan. On weekends, many locals head to the SOGO across the street for shopping and movies, which has gradually drawn a growing cluster of eateries along this street — both in variety and quantity.

The newly opened shop has strong air conditioning, a clean and tidy dining environment, allowing you to comfortably sit down and enjoy a bowl of great noodles.

The shop’s signature beef noodles feature a broth that the “foodie” owner learned to make by studying in Tainan, a city famed for its beef cuisine, and even traveled as far as Hong Kong to hone his craft. There are also side dishes like chicken cutlets and pork cutlets that pair well with the noodles.

Additionally, there are two types of beef noodles recently catching the attention of Taoyuan foodies — both daily limited editions where reservations are highly recommended. They’re top-tier beef noodles made with PRIME beef and X.O. Cognac, available either dry or in soup. For those who aren’t fans of boozy flavors, there’s also a simply grilled beef short rib noodle option, priced at 260 NT.

The cucumber is crisp and tender with a lovely hint of garlic — very pleasant.

The Cantonese-style pickles are light pickled radish and carrot with plum, with good texture and crunchiness, offering a sweet-sour and refreshing taste.

The Japanese-style onion has a slight Japanese touch with a touch of dried bonito flakes, tasting much fresher than expected.

Before cooking the beef noodles, the owner specifically brought out the PRIME-grade beef for me to photograph. Upon closer inspection, these two plates of beef were rich in marbling and sliced about twice as thick as what you’d typically find in hot pot.

PRIME Grade Cognac X.O. Beef Noodles (430 NT, daily limited — best to reserve in advance). When it was served, I thought it was a dry noodle because there was barely any broth, and the beef was raw. Just as I was puzzled...

the owner then pulled out a dropper, leaving me even more baffled, unsure how to eat it. After asking, I learned the dropper contained the “X.O. Cognac.”

That’s when the server appeared with a large pitcher of beef broth, solving the mystery of how to eat these noodles. The method involves using the broth to blanch and half-cook the thick slices of beef to preserve their tenderness and sweetness. Honestly, watching the beef slowly change color as the broth washes over it was incredibly appetizing — even before eating, just the aroma and visuals had me salivating.

Right, fellow foodies? Just looking at the color of that half-cooked beef tells you it’s high-quality and super delicious.

Indeed, the slightly thicker slices of beef had a firmer chew than I expected, but thanks to the high-quality fat content, they only required a couple of chews before melting in the mouth. The sweetness of the beef mixed with the subtly infused broth exploded in my mouth — the meat’s sweetness and the broth’s aroma were insanely good.

After finishing a slice of tender beef, I took a couple of sips of the broth and found it quite different from regular beef noodle soup. First, it wasn’t greasy; second, the sweetness of the Chinese herbs was more pronounced, especially the fragrant aroma of dried tangerine peel. Then there was the mellow beef bone broth mixed with a faint sweetness of vegetables. I’m not sure if “refreshing” is the right word for beef noodles, but that’s exactly how I felt until the last sip.

Because the owner, catering to modern health trends, skimmed off almost all the oil. But if you still think beef noodles must have chili oil to hit the spot, the homemade chili oil on the table is also fragrant and satisfying.

However, before pouring the chili oil on this PRIME Grade Cognac X.O. Beef Noodles, take a sip of the original broth first, then remember to take out that secret weapon — the dropper — and add a few drops to both the beef and the broth. Let me tell you, once the cognac hits the broth, the flavor seems to come alive like a “zombie” gradually stirring on your tongue, creating subtle but magical changes. The umami of the broth suddenly gains a smooth, sweet, spicy-like alcohol aroma — truly unique. Curious, I added a few more drops, and the wine aroma seemed to sink to the bottom of the bowl, waiting to ferment and ambush your taste buds. My advice: don’t stir the liquor too much in the broth, especially if you’re a regular drinker, as it’ll dilute the fragrance and you won’t feel it as much.

The final noodles are slightly curly and have outstanding broth-absorbing power. Their texture also offers a chewiness distinct from regular wheat noodles — I like it.

PRIME Grade Cognac X.O. Beef Noodles (dry version). It’s said this version was created for customers who want to enjoy the PRIME beef and top-grade cognac but also want something more filling. The dried scallop sauce on the dry noodles is drier and less oily than usual market versions, with a purer, more flavorful aroma — even on its own, it’s a delicious scallop sauce.

Once stirred in, the noodles alone might seem a bit bland, especially if you’ve already tasted the original dried scallop sauce. But the interesting thing is, the more you eat, the more flavorful and smoother it becomes, and it doesn’t leave you feeling overly salty or greasy.

The next highlight is, of course, this grilled beef short rib — the grilled fat looks even more golden and dazzling... the aroma wafts through the air as soon as it’s served.

Placed on the dry noodles, doesn’t it look even more delicious? Maybe it’s because of the grilling, but the sweetness of this richer-fat beef short rib is even more delightful than the previous slice. The texture and taste are somewhere between blanched beef and grilled meat — more oil aroma than the former, but less greasy than the latter. Insanely delicious.

The fun part of these two bowls lies in the difference between dropping the Cognac X.O. into the broth versus onto the beef. When dropped on the beef, the aroma comes through faster and more intensely, but also evaporates more quickly — whether you smell it or taste it. To be honest, I prefer it on the beef rather than in the broth because the aroma is more noticeable and better highlights the flavor layers of the broth and meat.

After finishing those two divine bowls of beef noodles, the owner suddenly brought out an original “Triple Treasure Beef Noodles” for 190 NT. He said it was for comparison — the three treasures being beef chin, beef tendon, and beef tripe.

Curious, I asked if the broth was the same as the previous two bowls. He said it was slightly different, but to me, it tasted pretty similar. If anything, this bowl had a slightly stronger flavor.

However, adding the homemade chili oil did make it tastier — or perhaps more like the classic beef noodle soup we often have. Among the three treasures, the beef shank looked a bit dark — at first I thought it’d be too dry or tough, but luckily it wasn’t. The beef tendon was almost melt-in-your-mouth, though the portion was a bit small and left me wanting more (maybe I’ll order a tendon-only bowl next time). As for the tripe, it was pretty average — nothing particularly good or bad.

The thick-cut pork chop is 110 NT dollars, and it really is quite thick. The batter is slightly on the thick side, making it a bit dry when eating.

However, the quality of the pork is quite good—firm and chewy, with a nice sweetness. It's just that if you have a couple more slices, you'll run into the same issue of it being too dry in texture.

Order a bowl of beef noodles, and the shop will serve you a complimentary drink.

Relying Handmade Noodles
Address: No. 35, Cihui 3rd St., Zhongli District, Taoyuan City
Phone: 03 425 9293
Business Hours: AM: 11:00–14:30, 17:30–21:30 (Closed on Wednesdays, and the last Tuesday and Wednesday of each month)
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