阿宗面线 A Chung Mian Xian @ Taipei

阿宗面线 (A Chung mian xian) is such a famous name in Taiwan such that most tourists will try to drop by for a bowl of their famous thick broth noodles. I like that fact that the innards served in their noodles are cooked just nice - chewy and without any 'odour' found in innards. Each mouthful of the tasty noodle is filled with ingredients. The noodle is cooked just right, and not too soggy, while the thick broth is flavourful and not overly rich.

The servings come in two sizes - NT60 and NT45. The two sizes are just nice to fit the appetite of a guy and girl respectively. We tried the outlet at 西門町 but I understand they have many other outlets, including another stall at the touristy Shilin night market (士林夜市).

At A Chung Mian Xian, there are no tables. Everyone has to hold their own bowl of noodles and slurp up the meal using spoons. This adds to the unique experience of a street side food journey. Other than tourists, there are Taiwanese who drop by for a quick lunch. For those who are dropping by Taipei, do try the A Chung Mian Xian (阿宗面线)!

Bugis Taiwan Food Street / Fair

There is a Taiwan Food Street / Fair @ Bugis Junction this week, lasting from 21 July to 27 July. I was walking past Bugis Junction this evening when I noticed the huge crowd, and of course the distinctive smelly tofu 'fragrance' in the air.

So I decided to pop by for a quick look. The smelly tofu is located outside of the air-con area, right opposite the Bugis Junction MacDonald. Make sense, no one would step into the air-con street from now on. The queue for the tofu is long. I don't understand the attraction of it, but well, some people also don't understand my durian cravings. The tofu sells for $2.50 per pack.

The place is full of food stalls, some with very long queues. There is this stall selling 'mala tofu' that attracted a long queue. Due to time constraint I didn't queue up for it. There is also a smoked duck crepe which looks a lot like Peking duck to me. Yummy right? 1 Box at $6 for the duck is not that cheap but it's ok lah.

There is a also a long queue for the Taiwan big fried chicken chop! They are selling a much bigger piece than what we usually get at the foodcourt, or the small 'Taiwan stall' that we commonly see in shopping centres.

I only have enough time to get two items and so I got the Yam Abacus (Suan Pan Zi?) and a fried durian roll. The Yam Abacus is good, and only cost $3.50 per pack. The fried durian is normal, and with a price tag of $2 per roll, I rather walk over to the Bugis village and get a real durian, possibly at $5 per durian with plenty of durian flesh inside.

For those who just want to shop, there are also stalls selling Taiwan deco stuff, like these flour figurines, and even a stall selling orchid flowers (errr... orchids not from Taiwan right?)! Flour figurines of Mickey Mouse or Lao Fu Zi seem strange somehow. I think I'll go visit the place again on Thursday for more food, hee.