Enjoy 12 varieties of specialty soups available here—try the refreshing, slightly sweet signature burdock vegetable soup!

I’ve never been too picky about food, and how healthy it is has never been a huge priority for me—what matters most is that it tastes good. BUT if it can be both delicious and healthy without costing a fortune, why not? Right? Right? Right? And this place called “Shuang Yue,” not far from Shandao Temple MRT Station, is quite famous—it’s long been on my must-visit list, especially for its chicken soup and fried rice, which have received rave reviews from many friends.

Actually, I’d walked past this place many times before this visit. During meal hours, it’s almost always packed, so I usually just passed by. This time, I specifically chose to come after 7 PM to avoid the dinner crowd—but even then, it was still full, despite the light drizzle.

The dining space here is much cleaner and brighter than your average eatery. The wooden seats may not be fancy, but they’re quite comfortable to sit on.

The place was filled with takeout customers too, and some even came in wearing raincoats just to place their orders...

The walls are covered with posters of the shop’s specialties and most popular dishes—just follow the crowd and order those if it’s your first time.

There’s a more detailed menu on the table where you can order individual dishes or choose set meals. For the set meals, you mainly pick one of four health-focused soups, then choose one from three sides: fried rice, dry noodles, or rice vermicelli.

BUT, I didn’t manage to get the fried rice on either of my two visits—apparently, it’s more likely to be available if you come before 12:30 PM.

In addition to the main and side dishes on the menu, the shop also offers some snacks that can be ordered as sides, with prices similar to typical noodle or rice dish accompaniments.

The fried fish cake had a nice chewy texture, the bean curd sheets were soft and tender, but the best was definitely the tofu skin—juicy and tender.

The dried tofu, kelp, and rice blood cake were all quite fresh. The braising wasn’t super heavy, but you could really taste the flavors of the ingredients themselves—after all, this place focuses on health.

If you feel like the flavor is lacking, there are also soy sauce, chili sauce, and spicy sauce on the table for you to season as you like.

The pork rice might look a bit oily at first glance, but it’s surprisingly not greasy at all in the mouth—even friends who are wary of fatty meats can probably enjoy a few bites. The sauce is also fresher and less oily than it looks.

The oysters were huge and super juicy, both visually and in taste—they were spot-on. A light garlic-flavored sauce drizzled over them added even more flavor. What’s even more impressive is that these oysters weren’t overly thickened with starch—their natural freshness really shines through.

The dry oysters can also be paired with dry noodles for a lighter yet satisfying meal.

The noodles used here are oil noodles, but they don’t have the usual “alkaline taste” that oil noodles sometimes carry. They have a slight bite to them and a pretty solid texture.

The rice vermicelli is seasoned with scallion oil—it’s fragrant and tasty when stirred up, but perhaps for health reasons, there wasn’t a lot of oil poured on, making it a bit hard to mix evenly. Maybe it’s better to stir it while it’s hot.

However, the texture of the noodles is quite good—not mushy at all—and they’re fairly smooth and slippery when slurped.

The milkfish is braised until golden and translucent—just looking at it makes your mouth water. The fish is tender and sweet, the sauce is fragrant but not salty, with a slightly sweet aftertaste—absolutely delicious. If you prefer something lighter, you can also go for the milkfish soup.

Sesame Oil Chicken Soup (NT$130)

To be honest, the bowl isn’t super big, but it’s practically overflowing with ingredients—and it’s only a little over NT$100, so just looking at it feels like a great deal.

This sesame oil chicken soup is exactly the kind I love—the kind that’s refreshing. The sesame oil is fragrant but not overly boozy, allowing the natural richness of the chicken broth to really shine through toward the end. You can even detect a hint of the fresh sweetness from the vegetables. It’s smooth, easy to drink, and absolutely delicious.

Shuang Yue Polygonum Multiflorum Chicken (NT$180)

At first, I was worried that the pile of Chinese herbs would make the dish taste too medicinal, but when I tried it, it turned out to be quite mild. The best part is that unlike typical tonic soups, it doesn’t leave you feeling parched—there’s just the faint slightly bitter-sweet aftertaste from the polygonum multiflorum, along with more of the sweetness from the goji berries and chicken.

The burdock vegetable soup highly recommended by many friends (NT$80)

They say it’s the flagship dish of the shop and the best-selling soup of them all. With such a generous portion, it’s only NT$80—what a steal!

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of burdock—I’ve mostly had it deep-fried as a drinking snack. Mostly, burdock tends to have an overly strong and direct flavor when used in soups. But this soup, perhaps because it’s cooked with a lot of vegetables, has a particularly refreshing taste. The unique scent of the burdock actually becomes the perfect supporting note, along with a hint of the sweet aftertaste from the Chinese herbs. It’s ridiculously delicious—I highly recommend it!

Clam Braised Chicken (NT$130)

It was the same as before, with the broth barely visible under all the solids.

If I had to say which bowl was truly impressive, it was this one—the clam flavor burst onto the palate with a hint of ginger, immediately thrilling my taste buds. I couldn’t help but take three big gulps before stopping. Then, the subtle sweetness of chicken broth and a touch of vegetable freshness wafted up—absolutely delicious in every way, outrageously good, honestly.

Overall, these four bowls of chicken soup in different flavors were all incredibly flavorful, yet none of them suffered from that overly salty taste people often complain about. Plus, with individual portions, you don’t have to fight over who gets to eat, and the prices are very reasonable—which explains why the business is doing so well.

Now, let’s talk about the chicken pieces in the soup. Each bowl contained two or three large chunks. The meat was tender and soft with just a bit of chew and even some juiciness. The chicken skin was rich, sweet, and savory without being greasy—I absolutely loved it.

For those who prefer stronger flavors, the chili-soy sauce on the table was also spot-on.

As for drinks, there were only two options: lemon with grass jelly and winter melon with grass jelly. Both were light and refreshing, not overly sweet. The lemon grass jelly had a tangier V that paired especially well with the meal, but if I were having it purely as a drink, I’d still prefer the slightly sweeter winter melon version.

What left the deepest impression on me at this shop—and what I most recommend—are the soups in different flavors. I ended up taking all four varieties home. I cooked two packets I hadn’t tried at the shop: the Nine-Tail Grass and Four-Substance Chicken Soups. My family all praised how good they were, and even my strict mom told me to bring some more next time. After all, making tonic soups at home can be quite a hassle sometimes. These soup packets just need to be heated in hot water, and you can casually toss in some vegetables—they’re delicious either way. Whether you add chicken or not isn’t even that important, haha.

In terms of portion size, I’d say the soup at home is roughly 1.5 to 2 times more than what you get at the shop. Simply put, one packet is enough to make a serving for two people no problem.

Shuangyue Food Store
Address: No. 6-2, Qingdao East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-33938953
Business Hours: 11:00–14:30; 16:30–20:00 (Closed on Sundays)

If “eating” is just about filling your stomach, then “food” would be far too boring.~~