During my two years of high school in Taipei (I finished high school in Vancouver WA), I ate breakfast most school day mornings at a road side noodle stand next to my school. They had two things on the menu, 'dry' noodles (means noodles not in soup) seasoned with fish sauce, and fish balls in broth. The noodles are fresh, cooked just right, with a bit of scallion on top. I usually put in a bit of dark rice vinegar and chili sauce available on the tables. The fish balls are 福州魚丸, the kind that has ground pork stuffed in the middle. These are by far the best fish balls I have ever had. You can get a poached egg in the soup, and of course that is what you want to opt for (this was 20 years ago, well before people started adding soft eggs in / on everything).
I visited the place on this recent trip back to Taipei, the operation is still run by the same nice couple. But instead of just a cart with couple of road side tables, it is now a small shop, with a few tables inside and a few tables on the covered sidewalk. They also have a few helpers now. The noodles and the fish balls were exactly the same as I remembered. I never knew the exact hours of the place, because in the past it was always already bustling by the time I showed up for school at around 7:00 am. And they used to shut it after noodles they made for the day were sold out, usually before lunch time. I think they now stay open for lunch, but for me, it will always be the best breakfast I can ask for.
No comments:
Post a Comment