A-Qi Third Generation Fuzhou Noodles

Review

A-Qi Third Generation Fuzhou Noodles is inside Taichung's Second Market, down the alley beside Lao Lai Black Tea, its corridor lined with framed media coverage. Several reports say it is now run by the fifth generation, while its age is given variously as nearly 80 years or a century. The noodles and fish balls are handmade daily, and raw noodles, pork sauce and fish balls are sold to cook at home — it is one of the market's best-known noodle stalls.

A bowl of dry noodles costs about NT$50; many articles describe the noodles as springy with no alkaline taste, topped with a mostly lean pork sauce that is fragrant without being oily. The sesame sauce version is moister and richer, and one blogger found it smoother than the dry one. The mixed fish ball soup, about NT$35, holds meat-filled Fuzhou balls, swordfish balls and shrimp balls in a clear, lightly sweet bone broth. The most-mentioned side is the pork cheek, cut thick and tender; the braised duck egg has a rich yolk and firmer bite, and dry wontons are also on offer. Tung Chuan chili sauce and house chili powder sit on every table.

Praise centers on the noodle texture and the fish ball soup, seen as a reliable old market flavor; some bloggers, however, found the meal unmemorable — the crowds stuck with them more — and would try a nearby stall next time. Order several sides plus soup and spending around NT$300 per person is not unusual.

On weekends, dine-in customers queue at the end of the alley, mark a menu while waiting and are then seated by staff; write your table number on the order so it isn't missed at busy times. Takeout needs no queue — order straight at the counter. Seating is split into two areas, with more tables in the corridor. Opening hours are listed as 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m. in some sources and 8:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. in others — sources disagree, so check before going; it closes on Wednesdays. Parking around the market is tough; the Second Market parking garage is the easiest option.

It suits anyone after an old-fashioned market brunch. Get the dry or sesame noodles with the mixed fish ball soup and a plate of pork cheek, and consider takeout when weekends are packed.