Chao Nan Chi Beef Noodles

Review

Chao Nan Chi Beef Noodles is at No. 27 Yugang Road, Nanliao Village, Green Island, in the busy strip beside Nanliao Harbour, a short walk from where the ferries arrive. Supertaste puts it on its list of must-eats on Green Island, and a programme summary bluntly calls it super delicious beef noodles worth a second visit. The owner deliberately chose a reverse name for laughs, making it one of the most talked-about restaurants on the island.

The signature beef noodle soup has a mellow broth and beef strips stewed until tender with a faint milky aroma. Diners mention wide, springy noodles, with vegetables, white radish and carrot in the bowl. The sides carry on the joke, including heartbroken shrimp-girl jelly, heartless fried ribs and mud-style silken tofu, plus refreshing drinks such as winter melon lemon. No full price list is published, and prices vary by item.

Fans praise the tasty broth, springy noodles and the depth added by spicy beef tallow, along with friendly staff, and consider prices reasonable for Green Island. Critics find the broth a little sweet and the sides somewhat pricey, and note that you fetch your own utensils and clear up afterwards, and that the beef portion is modest.

Online listings give hours of roughly 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., slightly longer at weekends; one source says it is closed on Mondays while maps show it open daily, so check before you go. It gets busy after the midday ferries arrive and at dinner. Most visitors get around Green Island by scooter, and parking near the harbour is fairly easy.

It suits visitors to Green Island who want a hot bowl of noodles to refuel, and travellers who enjoy quirky names and photo spots. First-timers should order the signature beef noodles and share a plate of mud-style tofu or heartless fried ribs; on hot days, a winter melon lemon drink cuts the richness nicely.