Huang Family Horseshoe-Crab-Shell Oyster Noodles

Review

Huang Family Horseshoe-Crab-Shell Oyster Noodles hides in Lane 154 off Minsheng Road beside Yuanlin Market. The only sign is a small board on a utility pole, and a lit red lantern means it is open. The dish has been made in Yuanlin for about eighty years: horseshoe crabs on the west coast shed their shells, and someone noticed long ago that a shell fits the curve of a wok, so it was used in place of a spatula. Five or six shops in Yuanlin once cooked this way; now only this one remains, run by the second generation who took over from their parents. Supertaste and Smile Taiwan both call it living-fossil fried noodles.

Each plate is cooked to order: oil noodles are stir-fried quickly with a house sauce, bean sprouts, scallion, garlic chives and fresh oysters, covered with the shell to steam briefly, then tossed in a figure-eight motion until the sauce is absorbed. Reports say the heated shell is slightly flexible, so it does not cut the noodles and spreads heat evenly. Oyster noodles cost NT$50 small, NT$60 medium and NT$70 large, with noodles that are soft yet springy and carry wok aroma. Roast pork is NT$30 for a small plate: fresh pork in a thin batter, deep-fried and topped with thick soy sauce and ginger shreds, crisp outside and tender inside. Handmade pork ball soup, a recipe of about sixty years, and pork ball and radish soup cost NT$20 each, so a full set comes to around NT$100.

Most bloggers praise the generous prices, the noodle texture and the well-balanced roast pork, and enjoy watching the owner toss noodles with the shell. There are other views: Smile Taiwan feels the shell adds mainly nostalgic value and the flavor itself is plain; some dislike the chives and scallion in the noodles; and the house chili sauce is very hot, so a little is enough. The menu has only four items, and there is no oyster soup, so do not ask for it.

Seating is just two tables by the lane; when full, the owner opens the small living room of the family's ancestral home, where a horseshoe crab specimen and family photos hang on the wall. Most people take away. It is about a two-minute walk to Yuanlin Market and six minutes to Yuanlin Station, and parking nearby is hard, so walk in. Sources disagree on hours and closing days: some say closed Sundays and Mondays, others say closed only Sundays and open until 7 pm, so confirm before going.

It suits anyone wanting a glimpse of a rare old craft and a filling meal for pocket change. Order a set: oyster noodles with a plate of roast pork and pork ball soup, and go straight for a large bowl if you are hungry; if you are wary of heat, try a dab of chili sauce first.