Traditional Yuli Noodles

Review

Traditional Yuli Noodles is on Section 2 of Zhongshan Road in Yuli Township, Hualien, and is one of the most frequently named Yuli noodle shops. A 2020 review on Travel Yam says it has more than sixty years of history, and UpToGo's 2026 Yuli food guide calls it a classic sixty-year-old institution that tourists and locals alike put first. According to Supertaste, Yuli noodles trace back to a Fuzhou cook who set up a stall in Yuli after the war; locals came to call his springy thick noodles Yuli noodles.

Here the noodles are air-dried naturally rather than cooled in water like ordinary oil noodles, which makes them firm and springy, and hand-tossing with oil keeps them smooth and untangled. The dry version is dressed with a house sauce, bean sprouts, scallion, fried shallots and coriander; one blogger compared it to a Taiwanese take on Japanese ramen. In the 2020 review, Yuli noodles cost NT$50 dry or in soup, as did four-herb soup, wonton soup and pork intestine; recent diners still mention about NT$50 for dry noodles, but check prices on site. The four-herb soup is tender and clean-tasting, and some recommend the braised intestine.

Fans praise the chewy noodles, a sauce unlike ordinary soy sauce, low prices and a clean shop, making it a great stop for cyclists or drivers passing through Yuli. Critics say a thirty-minute queue is hard to justify, the side dishes are ordinary and the table chilli is not very hot; some feel driving ninety kilometres from Hualien City for it is overhyped.

Online listings say it opens from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays; the 2020 review said it stayed open until 5 p.m., so sources differ and you should check before you go. Queues are common at mealtimes and may form even off-peak, so avoid noon if you can. It is in central Yuli, with several other Yuli noodle shops nearby for comparison.

Ideal for travellers on the East Rift Valley route who want a local noodle speciality, or cyclists touring the island through Yuli. The classic order is a bowl of dry noodles with a soup; bigger appetites can add four-herb soup or braised intestine. To compare styles, try another Yuli noodle shop nearby.