Lao Shih Kuan Noodles

Review

Lao Shih Kuan Noodles is in the military village area at No. 81-12 Zhennan Street, Qingshui District, a local favourite that Qingshui residents often recommend, and it is a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand. Michelin says it has been running for over sixty years and that the owner inherited his father's craft, and a 2025 Supertaste TV segment also mentions a sixty-year-old flavour, but another Supertaste article says just over thirty years, so sources differ.

The noodles are rolled by hand on site every day, and several articles describe them as very chewy, with irregular edges that grab the sauce. Michelin mentions tossing them in house sesame paste and minced pork and suggests adding a soft-boiled egg so the yolk coats the noodles; Travel Yam describes shallot sauce plus sesame paste, while Supertaste describes garlic paste, lard and fried shallots for a strong aroma, so descriptions of the sauce vary slightly. A small bowl is about NT$50. The hot and sour tofu, about NT$35, is silken tofu in a tangy, spicy sauce topped with peanuts and only mildly hot; the long wontons are another signature named by Michelin.

Praise centres on the chewiness and fragrance of the hand-rolled noodles, with one writer saying the bowl is gone before you know it, and the hot and sour tofu is considered a must-order side. Criticism is mainly about time cost: there is always a long queue at mealtimes, people line up even in the rain, and it only opens until just after noon.

It fills up soon after opening at 8 am, closes at 13:30, is closed on Mondays and takes cash only. Because the hand-made noodles are limited, Michelin suggests calling ahead. Portions are generous, so order a small bowl if you are not very hungry. Qingshui is some distance from central Taichung, so plan it as a brunch on a coastal-route trip.

It suits anyone willing to get up early and make the trip to Qingshui for a bowl of hand-rolled noodles. Order a small bowl with a soft-boiled egg and a hot and sour tofu, and add the long wontons if you still have room to try all three signatures.