Lou's Traditional Taste (Nantun)

Review

Lou's Traditional Taste is a no-frills eatery on Xiangshang Road Section 3 in Nantun, near the Taichung Flower Market and not far from Wenxin Forest Park, known for dishes cooked with sesame oil. It has been a Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2021 and is still listed in 2026. Look for the Bib Gourmand mascot at the door and a car repair shop across the street.

Michelin inspectors note that the signature sesame oil free-range chicken leg soup has been the star since 2016, simmered for a whole day with chicken bones and good sesame oil for a mellow wine aroma; those who avoid alcohol can ask for it without wine, and adding handmade noodles is recommended. A 2026 blogger described the broth as gentle, fragrant without bitterness and moderate in rice wine, with four large pieces of tender chicken leg and springy skin. Michelin also highlights egg noodles tossed in an old-style shrimp sauce made from Keelung dried shrimp slow-cooked in scallion oil for ten hours, and well-judged sesame oil pork kidney. The braised pork rice is mostly fat, lifted with spicy dried radish, and the pork bone soup with pork shoulder has plenty of meat and a hint of ginger.

Praise centres on the soups: the chicken soup is smooth, the pork shoulder soup clean and sweet, and free sparkling water helps cut the richness. The same blogger, however, found the dry sesame oil noodles grew saltier with each bite and did not finish them; the four-herb soup with intestine is cleanly prepared and balanced but falls short of specialist shops, and some feel the soups are not cheap.

The blogger recorded NT$160 for the chicken leg soup, NT$40 for the dry sesame oil noodles, NT$35 for a small braised pork rice, NT$50 for the four-herb soup and NT$75 for the pork shoulder soup, noting slight price rises; check the board on site. It is cash only and air-conditioned. Sources differ on hours: Michelin lists 11:00 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 21:00 daily, while the blogger lists 11:00 to 21:00, so confirm before going.

It suits anyone craving a warming tonic in cold weather or who loves sesame oil. First-timers should order the chicken leg soup, asking for no wine if preferred, with a small braised pork rice or the shrimp sauce noodles; those who like stronger flavours can add the sesame oil noodles.