Restaurants of the week

Ah Hsin Noodles(阿鑫麵線)

8, Lane 39, Shita Rd.,(北市師大路39巷8號), tel:(02)2363-3695. Open:3pm-10pm; Average meal:NT$50; No English menu; no credit cards.

Rediscovering fundamentals is what some of the best cooking is about, and for Chen Shao-hsin (陳紹鑫), who has traveled around Taiwan tasting hundreds of versions of a single Taiwanese noodle dish, he has settled on a recipe and has no intention of changing it.

Mian hsian (麵線), a thread-thin noodle made from wheat floor, is served in a wide variety of dishes, one of the most popular being with pig's intestines. It is a dish available in thousands of roadside stalls, and is generally remarkable for its strong flavor, usually the product of large quantities of MSG.

Ah Hsin, who has manufactured electrical toys and raised dogs commercially has become a fixture of the Shita night market over the last 11 years. Located outside a Japanese knick-knack store owned by his mother, Ah Chung's polished stainless steel stand looks more hygienic than the usual street-side stall. He is dressed in a dapper chef's jacket and cap, which looks attractively incongruous.

Only one dish is served at Ah Hsin's -- you can choose between a large bowl or a small bowl of mian hsian, with or without chili. The chili, which is homemade, has a fresh sharpness that is very appealing. Another personal addition is the use of deep fried onion chips, which add another level of flavor.

"The stock is made simply by boiling big pork bones," Ah Hsin says with pride. "We don't add any MSG." His secret is simple: the use of fresh ingredients and avoidance of all artificial coloring and flavoring. "At many places, the soup is an attractive red color, but that's just artificial coloring," he said. Indeed, the soup is a lighter color than one usually finds, but there is a freshness to it that is often lacking at other stalls.

"I make five cauldrons of the noodles every day. When it's sold out I close up," Chen said. The steady stream of customers coming by his stall, many of them regulars who enjoy a bowl of his thin noodles with intestines two or three times a week, attests to the popularity of his simple formula.

Cheng Yuan Tzu Tang Gui Duck(正元祖當歸鴨)

42 Ta-an Rd., Sec. 1 (北市大安路一段42號), tel:(02)2772-9992. Open:Noon to 11pm; Average meal:NT$100; no English menu; no credit cards.

Tang gui (當歸) is a common Chinese herbal medicine used in a wide range of medicinal or tonic foods. It is the dried root of the Chinese angelica plant, and its pleasant taste and vast array of beneficial properties have made it as common in kitchens as in pharmacies. At Cheng Yuan Tzu, the root is combined with 12 other herbs to create the tang gui soup (當歸湯) that made the shop famous.

When Cheng Yuan Tzu first opened, it specialized in tang gui dishes -- soup with mian hsian noodles and meat. "We also used to serve mutton and pig's foot with tang gui," said Tsai Ching-rong (蔡青蓉), the shop's proprietor. "But our tang gui duck was so popular we simply dropped the other dishes. In our heyday we used to sell over 100 ducks a day."

One bite into the tender duck flesh in the simple house specialty, tang gui duck, is enough of an explanation. "This is because of the way we prepare the meat," Tsai said. "First we cook it in the tang gui soup until it is 90 percent cooked. After that we chop it up and then let it simmer until cooked through. This way we ensure the meat is tender."