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| Yongkang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵 | No. 17號, Lane 31, Section 2, Jinshan S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106 🚅 10 minute walk from Dongmen station (Red & Orange Lines) ☏ +886 22 351 1051 ⏰ 11am - 8:30pm |
Missed the obligatory Yong Kang Beef Noodle stop a couple of past visits to Taipei because the queue was just too long and we simply ran out of time 😅
This time, I was determined to taste it before leaving Taipei, rain or shine 💪
So, this morning we got here early despite the rain and were rewarded with no queue 😁
Nevertheless, the restaurant was full and busy inside - it's just that there was no need to wait in the rain outside.
The full menu all in Chinese and no pictures 😬 (There was a multilingual, picture menu of selected dishes on the outside wall but it was raining 💦 )
So, we just ordered our usual which is lots of tendon and some beef plus noodles. Didn't order much as we planned many food stops from dawn till night 🤭
There was a beefy and fermented soy bean aroma when the steamy beef bowls landed on our table.
We also didn't order any side dishes though there were many interesting varieties available.
The big bowl of braised beef tendon noodle soup came with generous amount of tendons for NTD350 (SG$15).
The soul of Taiwan beef noodle is in its soup - this is the signature hongshao 紅燒 or braised version.
The watery, light bodied soup looked like deep rich colour tea. It tastes savoury beefy salty from fermented soy bean and beef. There's a slight spicy heat but little, if any other Chinese spice taste. No, I should say subtle.
Every Taiwan beef noodle place have their own secret recipe for the hongshao soup which usually consists of vegetables, Chinese 5 spice, beef bones, chili oil, soy sauce, rice wine, fermented bean paste (doubanjiang 豆瓣酱), etc. For my tastebuds, at Yong Kang, the fermented bean paste and beefiness stood out.
We enjoyed the soft, smooth, jelly-like tendon which infused some of the savoury flavour from stewing in the fermented soy bean and beef hongshao stock.
I enjoyed the thick, heavy wheat noodles for their tender bite and their savoury beefy flavour from the soup clinging to the strands.
The bowl of beef noodle was choked full of thick meaty chunks.
The beef chunks were lean, tender chewy to the bite. Beefy savoury, ideal for beefy beef eaters 😁 It was neither the soft tender "melt in the mouth" nor "fork tender" type.
White vinegar, chili oil, and pickled vegetable to add flavour to the beef noodle. I like to add a bit of the savoury tangy sweet pickled vegetable for their taste and soft squeaky crunchy bite. Not too much as it will change the taste profile of the soup.
Yong Kang is probably the most famous of Taiwan beef noodle. It reminds me of Singapore's most famous Tian Tian chicken rice.
Singapore has many chicken rice places and Tian Tian represents Singapore chicken rice well. Ask any Singapore local and they will have their own favourites e.g. I have my own best chicken rice list too.
I believe it is the same with Yong Kang, representing Taiwan's many good beef noodles places but ask any Taipei local and they have their own favourite.
Restaurant name: Yongkang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵
Address: No. 17號, Lane 31, Section 2, Jinshan S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Nearest MRT: 10 minute walk from Dongmen station (Red & Orange Lines)
Tel: +886 22 351 1051
Hours: 11am - 8:30pm
Written by Tony Boey on 26 Jun 2025
About Johor Kaki
Uncle Meck, my most trusted local food reviewer loves Yong Kang Beef Noodle, scoring it 9 out of 10 - nearly perfect.
I still prefer the one at raohe and also ... dtf version. 🫣🫣🫣Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI think for this one, the beefiness is a bit covered by the bean paste and if you add the pickled vegetables, it becomes like giam chye tng.