A hearty bowl of udon noodles might not seem like the best lunch for a hot summer afternoon, but Shuiguibo is betting that a scoop of sorbet can change that. The menu at the Shipai (石牌) restaurant takes the concept of cold noodles, which is exemplified by the Japanese dish soba, to a new level by serving bowls of udon noodles and seafood with a giant scoop of savory sherbet in one of three different flavors.
I ordered the Thai-style hot-and-sour cold noodles (泰式酸辣冰麵, NT$88), which is the most popular of Shuiguibo's cold noodle flavors. A large scoop of hot-and-sour sorbet sat chillin' on a bed of noodles, sliced cucumbers and carrots, ham, prawns and calamari. My order came with a side of miso soup, which my waiter told me to drizzle on top of the sorbet to hasten it to its brothy demise.
The hot-and-sour sorbet was surprisingly spicy - the sourness of the sorbet was liberally peppered with piquant little bits of red chili. Despite its strong, somewhat overwhelming flavor, the novelty was irresistible and I couldn't help but eat some of the sorbet by itself. This was perhaps just as well, because once I started ladling the miso soup into the bowl and mixing the hot-and-sour sherbet in with the noodles, the dish became just a bowl of, well, cold soup. The noodles were satisfyingly chewy, but the rest of the dish wasn't particularly unique or, for that matter, suited to being served cold. You might have better luck with the Western-style tuna (西式鮪魚冰麵, NT$88) or the Taiwan-style basil (台式九層塔冰麵, NT$88) cold noodles, which comes with a scoop of oolong tea-flavored ice cream.
PHOTO: CATHERINE SHU, TAIPEI TIMES
After finishing my noodles, I headed to Shuiguibo's bustling shaved-ice shop next door and joined the long line. The restaurant's summer dessert special, shuangxian naonai (雙仙鬧奶, NT$50), is a smorgasbord of shaved ice with grass jelly, tofu pudding (豆花), red beans, several different types of multi-colored glutinous rice balls (湯圓) and evaporated milk. The confection explodes in your mouth, literally - the whole thing is topped off with a sprinkling of Pop Rocks candy.
My bowl of shuangxian naonai was delicious, but the generous helping of glutinous rice balls was too much after eating the bowl of udon noodles. More refreshing desserts on Shuiguibo's menu include the mango-topped shaved ice (半舊芒果冰, NT$90) and the lemon jelly ice (檸檬愛玉冰, NT$35).
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