堂慶(character I can't read - funny script on the card) 手麵食
台北市大安區信義路3段103號1樓
1st floor #103 Xinyi Road Section 3, Taipei
(02)2704-9087
(02)2703-5974
It's near Da'an Park, on the north side of Xinyi, very close to the Xinyi-Jianguo bus stop if you are coming from the east.
If you try any one not-expensive, low-key restaurant in Taipei, try this one. Well, this one and "Taste Good" restaurant (好 口甲 - can't type it in Taiwanese) in Nanjichang Night Market, and the Sichuanese restaurant of awesome in Dingxi that I can't say enough good things about.
Anyway. The Noodle House is spectacular, yet simple. The interior is decorated in a half-industrial, half Old China style that works really well - unfinished brick walls are painted a dark factory gray, and accented with Chinese-style carved wood. There is carved wood in lots of prominent places including at the counter and on the windows and door, and the tables are the old style square wooden ones with stools.
The Small Eats (小吃) in front of the counter are just as fresh and delicious as they look - we had mi fen (jelly-like squares made from rice flour in a chili oil sauce), cold chicken with ground Chinese chives, garlic and chili, something with tree ear mushrooms and a chewy squishy thing that was either tofu or fish-paste based, and cold cucumbers. All of it was just astoundingly good. The cold chicken is a house specialty and I highly, highly recommend it.
We also had regular green veggies (Chinese celery or 空青菜) that were fresh and good and split a bowl of regular dry noodles, also fantastic. We each got a bowl of dry wontons draped in a hua-jiao laden chili sauce that was spicy and mouth-numbing at the same time.
And it was all soooooooo good. For cheap! Everything was extremely well-made, fresh and nicely presented.
I highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone.
