Ke Lai Chi Le

Review

Ke Lai Chi Le is on Xinsheng Road in Taitung City, diagonally across from Tiehua Village, so many people drop by after an evening at the music hub. Supertaste notes that the shop has been running for about thirty years with only a handful of items on the menu, led by vermicelli and a mung bean dessert served hot or cold. That simple lineup has earned it a reputation as one of the most recommended cheap eats in downtown Taitung.

The signature is oyster and intestine vermicelli at NT$50 for a small bowl. The noodles are soft and well seasoned, the broth has just the right thickness, the intestines are fragrantly braised and the oysters fresh. Black vinegar, minced garlic and chilli sit on the table for adjusting to taste. For dessert there is mung bean soup or split mung bean soup, and from June to September a limited brown sugar longan mung bean shaved ice appears, making a neat savoury-then-sweet pairing.

Fans praise the well-seasoned vermicelli, the low prices and the not-too-sweet mung bean soup, and say even a small bowl is filling. Critics wish there were more oysters, and note that at peak times you queue both to order and for a seat; the room is small and cramped, so meals are quick in and out.

Online listings give hours of roughly 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with some variation, and days off are irregular and posted on the shop's social media page, so check before you go. Dinner and weekends are busiest, but tables turn over fast and many people take food away. Parking on Xinsheng Road is difficult, so walking over from Tiehua Village is easiest.

It suits anyone after cheap Taitung street food or a hot bowl before or after visiting Tiehua Village. First-timers should order the oyster and intestine vermicelli, going straight for a large bowl if hungry, and add a mung bean soup or the summer shaved ice; around NT$100 per person is enough for a full meal.