Eat in the Corner

A bowl shaped by history, divided into red and clear Taiwanese beef noodle soup (niurou mian) carries a specific smell.Star anise, dark soy, and the heavy edge of beef fat. It does not stay inside one shop.It leaks into side streets, mar...

The character that appears first When I enter a small diner in Taiwan, I often notice the same character before anything else. It is written on paper strips on the wall.It sits at the edge of laminated menus.It is taped to the glass in f...

A small question over a late bowl One night in Taipei, I was eating beef noodle soup, niurou mian. A simple question caught in my throat. Taiwan has beef noodle soup.But a sign that says pork noodle soup is almost never seen. Pork is fam...

Thick or Thin, and What the Bowl Becomes Right after I finally manage to order a bowl of red-braised beef noodle soup (hongshao niurou mian), the staff asks without a pause. Which noodles? It is often not written on the menu.A quiet extr...

A Bowl That Moved from Juancun Kitchens into the City Beef noodle soup (niurou mian) is now a common sight in Taiwan, in almost any city.But its starting point was not a restaurant district.It was the postwar military dependents’ village...

Testing a Few Estimation Methods While Walking Walking through Taiwanese cities, the next drink shop appears before I realize it. Each turn brings a new sign.I keep thinking, “Were there this many?” On Fuxing South Road, on Zhongxiao Eas...

A word that returns to the street, and the instincts of trade Walking through a night market, my eyes pause. Amid flashing lights and shouted signs, three familiar characters appear. Du Xiao Yue. The lettering is the same as the one seen...

A Street with Red Lanterns Walking through the center of Tainan, I notice red lanterns hanging along a street lined with old buildings. They do not insist on attention.They stand slightly straighter than the others. White walls. Wooden d...

A Small Bowl Born from Subtraction Danzi noodles known locally as danzai mian, are served in a small bowl. Thin noodles.A modest spoonful of minced pork.A single shrimp. The clear broth is not made from pork bones, but from shrimp heads....

Wind from the City and Flecks of Black Pork meatball soup, known as gongwan tang, appears early in Hsinchu.It sits beside rice noodles on menus near Chenghuang Temple. This pairing is often explained as a set for visitors.But the connect...