Taipei Veterans' Village Noodle Shop — Chewy, flavorful dry noodles and richly dark herbal braised dishes!

Text and photos by /San Gao Sir

In recent years, aside from passing through the Xindian Wenshan area when heading to Yilan, I rarely have the chance to come here. My military barracks used to be near the Jingmei Night Market, so that area holds more memories. I’ve actually been planning to stop by Xindian for some food or take a stroll around Bitan the next time I go to Wulai. Wang Defu’s Braised Stalls—what a unique shop name. It turns out to be a homophone for “wonderful,” which is quite creative.

It has the style of a veteran village noodle shop, but the environment is nice. Since it’s called a braised stall, the braised dishes are presumably their specialty. There are ready-to-pick dishes plated nicely, with ingredients braised until flavorful and dark. The subtle taste of Chinese herbs gives it a mild aroma, somewhat reminiscent of what I once called Cantonese-style braising at another place—also dark with herbal fragrance. But Wang Defu’s version seems to have especially more rock sugar.

The fried pork ribs are the same—marinated well in advance, with a thin crispy coating, tender meat fibers that aren’t dry, also on the sweeter side, and with a hint of wine aroma. Not bad either.

For the main dishes, I ordered dry noodles, beef offal noodles, and lu rou fan (braised pork rice). The dry noodles may look ordinary, but they’re the dish I most want to remember from this meal. The sauce has a well-balanced salty-sour taste, the noodles aren’t watered down and retain their texture, and they have a good chewiness. The more I ate, the more appetizing it became. The other two dishes were rather average. All in all, not bad—it’s a great little spot for everyday meals.

Wang Defu’s Braised Stalls Noodle Shop

Address: No. 357, Section 3, Muxin Road, Wenshan District, Taipei City
Business hours: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

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