A Japanese-style beef noodle shop in Taipei ! Their signature numbing-spicy broth has a sweet aftertaste and the beef ramen is delicious

Text & photos byXiaohu’s Dream Food Blog

A while ago, a friend kept telling me about this super tasty spicy beef noodle place with great side dishes. But, I’m not really into spicy food—even though I love beef noodles. So I never got around to trying it, until I finally had a chance to go right before my trip to Japan last week.

After getting off at Nanjing Sanmin Station and following the address, I found out it was right next to one of my favorite spots—Hu Tianlan's Top 29 Gourmet Spots: Songshan Airport Station Delicacies — Da Lao Er Food Shop.I only realized later while writing this that it’s actually a chain, with branches not just in Taipei but also in Keelung and Tainan.

The interior decoration isn’t like your typical beef noodle shop; it’s more like a Japanese canteen, and the overall vibe is much more comfortable than your average noodle joint.

This corner has a bit of that Japanese ramen shop feel. When I arrived at 11:30, there weren’t many people, but by 12:00, customers started coming in, and by 12:30 it was about 80–90% full—mostly office workers from the area.

There’s free tea you can help yourself to, and the fridge has the usual drinks like cola, but of course I went for COCO =).

Side dishes are 30 NT per plate, 50 NT for two, which is about the same as other noodle shops. Since they weren’t expensive, my friend just grabbed five plates...

The dried tofu slices were cut very thin, with tiny pores, and the flavor was pretty good. Though a bit too thin, so the texture suffered slightly—but overall, still tasty, especially the taste.

At first, when I saw the pickled mustard greens, I thought: “Other beef noodle shops give this out for free and you can eat as much as you want, but here you have to pay for it!” But after one bite, I shut up—these mustard greens were crisp, sweet with a hint of sourness and spice, and left a sweet aftertaste in the mouth. Super delicious.

My friend said he loves the pig’s head meat from here because of the added smoky aroma. And sure enough, it was really tasty, the texture wasn’t too hard or tough on the mouth—definitely recommend this side dish.

Flower-dried tofu is almost a must-order for me whenever I eat beef. My friend knew I liked it and ordered another bowl. Honestly, I was already full from just the sides and I hadn’t even touched my three little bowls of noodles… Luckily, another friend showed up and helped finish them. Overall, I couldn’t really tell what was so special about the flower-dried tofu, except that the spicy broth was really delicious—and the tofu absorbed the broth well, which was nice.

Besides the signature spicy beef noodles, you can also choose vermicelli, and I was actually more interested in the spicy braised beef bone soup noodles. Unfortunately, the friend who ordered didn’t get it, so I’ll have to come back and try it myself next time.

The signature spicy beef ramen is 160 NT. It looked generously topped, and wasn’t quite what I imagined spicy noodles would be—the chopped scallions were finely sliced and there were quite a lot. The overall look was a bit unique—not quite Chinese, not quite Taiwanese XD.

The broth had an initial hit of mild spiciness and a stronger numbing sensation, but what I loved most was the sweet aftertaste. Even though it wasn’t the spicy broth I had imagined, I actually really liked it—and I drank about two-thirds of it in the end.

The noodles had a soft yet slightly chewy texture—it was the fine type I like. The mouthfeel was a bit like oil noodles, without being salty or overly mushy, and the texture was pretty good.

The beef was thinly sliced; the meat was quite tender, not overly fatty but smooth, with a decent level of sweetness. There were about 5 or 6 slices, served at around 80% doneness—you can leave them in the hot broth longer if you prefer them more cooked. The duck blood and tofu were also really tasty, especially the tofu, which absorbed the broth and gave off a slight “three-mom spicy pot” vibe—just not as stinky XD

Overall, under my friend’s high praise, I’d say this bowl of noodles ended up being tastier than I expected. If you’re someone who wants to try spicy broth but can’t handle too much heat, you’ll probably love this. If you want it spicier, there’s chili oil on the table you can add—the beef tallow has both spice and a great aroma, totally on point.

Also, the Sichuan-flavored pickled tofu with noodles (69 NT) is a favorite of my friend—he says he misses it if he doesn’t come once a week XD. Visually, it looks a bit like zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), but it smells slightly tangy, and comes with a half-boiled egg that’s pretty tasty.

After mixing it all together and taking a quick bite, aside from enjoying the noodle texture, the savory meat flavor paired with a slight tanginess from the pickled tofu was seriously delicious. After eating, there’s a pleasant lingering mix of initial spice and sweet aftertaste, really recommendable. If I had to nitpick, the portion is a bit small—big eaters might finish it in two or three bites and still feel hungry.

I also tried the Mapo Tofu Noodles my friend ordered. It looked no different from regular Mapo Tofu, and the level of numbing and spice was similar to what you’d find in a typical Chinese restaurant. The main difference is that it’s not as strong, so most people should be able to handle it. It’s also less oily, and again has that nice sweet-after-spicy flavor, served with scallions, bean sprouts, and noodles—it’s quite good. But it also suffers from a slightly small portion size.

After eating my fill and walking out the door, I just noticed they also have spicy dumplings—will have to try those next time.

Sheng Mian
Address: No. 3, Lane 3, Alley 66, Section 5, Nanjing East Road, Taipei City
Phone: (02)2747 9199
Business hours: 11:30–14:30, 17:30–21:00 (Closed on Sundays)

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