A-Cheng Hao Rice Noodles

Review

A-Cheng Hao Rice Noodles sits among the food stalls in the courtyard of the Hsinchu City God Temple, at No. 75 Zhongshan Road. A blogger describes it as a shop with more than eighty years behind it, and visitors online say it is run by the third generation of the family. When CommonWealth's Smile Taiwan rounded up the temple's snacks, it listed this stall beside Hai Rui meatballs, Ya Rou Hsu and Liu Jia braised pork rice, and locals often bring out-of-town friends here.

The signature is stir-fried rice noodles. Smile Taiwan notes that the shop uses handmade noodles from the noodle-drying area around Nanshi, stir-fries them and finishes them with its own minced pork gravy. The strands are on the thick side with a little spring, and the savoury juices soak into every one. The menu is short, with fried wheat noodles, meatballs in starch skin, braised pork rice, steamed sweet potato pieces, pork meatball soup and thick pork soup. Yam Travel lists the squid and pork thick soup at NT$45 a bowl, prices in line with the friendly temple-front range.

Fans say the noodles are light rather than oily, the portion is just right, and the meatballs are big and firm, so about NT$100 buys a filling meal; foreign visitors call it a true Taiwanese taste. On the critical side, one blogger found the noodles less chewy than the media suggested, some think the gravy is salty and suggest asking for less, and service gets hurried at busy times.

There is a dine-in area across from the stall, small but kept clean, and sharing tables is common at peak hours. Opening times vary between sources: some list 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with Tuesdays off, others say until 11:00 p.m., so check before you go. Parking near the temple is hard; use a nearby paid car park and walk, or take a bus to the temple.

It suits first-timers at the City God Temple who want Hsinchu rice noodles for around NT$100. Order a plate of fried rice noodles with meatball soup, add the squid thick soup if you are hungry, ask for less gravy if you dislike salt, and then wander on to the temple's other old stalls.