Old Signboard Beef Noodle King of Chong Qing South. Taipei 老牌牛肉大王

There are many "must try" things to do in Taipei. One is to taste their beef noodles as the Taiwanese love their beef. Another is to eat at back lane food stalls. So, we really enjoyed ourselves at 老牌牛肉大王 or "Old Signboard Beef Noodle King" - a famous back lane beef noodle stall in Taipei.



The friendly owner of 丞祖 pepper cake stall at Chong Qing South Road pointed us here. Otherwise, we would have walked past this back lane a hundred times without knowing what awesomeness we missed. From my experience eating during the daytime, Taipei side or back lanes are clean and safe.





Walk fifty paces into the side lane off Chong Qing South Road and you will see this busy beef noodle stall. The bright red signboard boldly declared in Chinese "Old Signboard Beef Noodle King".



The tables were full this morning. Young, old, three generation families, locals, out of town folks and even foreigners, like us lah!

Actually, we had pretty good back lane eateries in Old Singapore too. I used to work in a back lane glass window pane workshop as child labour, and spent a good portion of my S$2 daily wage at a back lane Hainanese beef noodle stall. I can't remember where in downtown Singapore that was, but it was in the 1970s.


  
Cheerful Head Chef 李清展 was busy dishing out bowl after bowl of hearty beefy goodness, non stop, the whole time we were there 😮

The boss King Mr. 謝錦發 (not in picture) has been running his stall for nearly 30 years. He started as a noodle maker and supplied his noodles to hawkers. He began to sell his beef noodles in his spare time. Soon, his beef noodles became so popular, he started making and selling his own beef noodles full time.



Besides beef noodles, No Signboard Beef Noodle King also serves braised beef parts such as "must try" tendons and tripe. (They also have braised tofu 花干 and pork head parts like ears and snout.)



Oh.... The King's beef noodles come in a fiery looking broth with thick fat noodles topped with huge chunks of reddish brown colour beef. Woah! I like beef noodles that look like this.



The King's beefy broth is Sichuan style, taught to Mr 謝錦發 by his master decades ago. Its body is light but the savoury spicy flavour is quite robust. There's a bit of red greasy slick on top but I was able to drink it.



The King's freshly made noodles are heavy, fat and round. They are tender and softly chewy, bouncy firm. Quite enjoyable if you like noodles with a lot to chew on. The fat noodles picked up the savoury spicy broth well and I can also taste the subtle sweetness of wheat.



Oh my, the beef. Big chunks of beefy sweetness, releasing its juicy goodness like water gushing out of a wet sponge, bathing our tongue with flavours with every bite. The King's braised beef are all made with locally raised 黃牛 "yellow cow". Local "yellow cow" are the freshest. (Most other stalls serve frozen Australian beef.)



Must remember to order the braised side dishes, especially the soft chewy tendons and spongy tripe. Meat, tripe and tendon, the trinity of Chinese beef noodles.



Help yourself to the house made preserved vegetables for added crunch and tangy sweet saltiness.



4-Stars (out of 5). Memorable delicious back lane beef noodle experience to take home from Taipei.

Note to self: Next time, must try the "dry" version with braised minced beef.



Restaurant name: No Signboard Beef Noodle King 老牌牛肉大王
Address: No. 7, Lane 46, Section 1, Chongqing South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
GPS: 25°02'40.1"N 121°30'45.6"E | 25.044463, 121.512670
Tel: +886 2 2381 5604
Hours: 9:30am to 8:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 22 Oct 2017



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