🌟 There are handsome guys here~ Please queue to order before registering for a waiting seat.
🌟 Reservations are available on weekdays; if you need to queue, it's advised to come when you have plenty of time.
"Niu An Ramen" is located on Section 3, Wenxin Road, Xitun District, specializing in beef bone white soup ramen, curry rice, and fried chicken, all of which are popular choices. They also have limited-time flavors. The beef bone white soup broth is rich and sweet, with a refreshing taste. We went there just as they opened and waited for 1 hour.
The interior of Niu An is simply decorated, spacious, and clean, with an open kitchen where you can see the staff preparing the dishes. I secretly discovered that all the staff are handsome! There are about 14 seats at the counter, and the air conditioning is very cool. They offer iced water, and there are hooks to hang bags and clothes.
Niu An Ramen is near Wenshin Cherry Blossom MRT Station in Xitun, about a minute’s walk from the station. Parking nearby is really difficult; we parked quite far and walked over.
You can choose the firmness of the noodles, the saltiness, and whether you want it spicy. If you feel hungry after finishing the ramen, the restaurant offers free white rice as an addition, which is great!
Let’s eat
Signature Beef Bone White Soup Ramen 💰280
The ramen comes with four slices of beef, a soft-boiled egg, and is paired with lemon and pepper. The flavor of the beef bone white soup has a rich beef aroma without being overly salty or greasy; it’s a refreshing yet rich ramen. The noodle firmness is normal and familiar, while the beef slices have a flavor reminiscent of grilled meat, soft and thick. What I found particularly special is that the soft-boiled egg is marinated with alcohol, giving it a strong aroma of wine! 🤣🤣
Tomato Curry Beef Bone Ramen 💰290
I took a light sip of the broth with tomato, and surprisingly, it was quite refreshing.
Many people recommended the fried chicken; I’ll try it next time if I have the chance.
Thoughts: The aroma of the beef ramen is strong, and the soft-boiled egg is marinated with alcohol, so it’s still possible to drive afterwards 😂 Highly recommend it. However, the seating for ramen is limited, and there is always a queue. I also discovered that they have other themed stores, which I think is pretty cool, and I’ll try to visit and taste them again.
If you prioritize dishes: Highly recommend the beef ramen for its richness.
If you prioritize the environment: There are only 14 seats, very limited; the air conditioning is great, and there are handsome guys 😏
If you prioritize parking: Not easy to find parking.
If you prioritize restrooms: There is one shared restroom.
If you prioritize queuing: You must queue; we waited for 1 hour right after they opened.
If you prioritize service: It’s not bad; the staff is very enthusiastic in introducing the menu.
If you prioritize value for money: 🌟🌟🌟
(Just discussing food and prices)
Thank you, Fooday 🥳, for inspiring me to try more different cuisines 🍽.
🚩 Location 🧭
Located near the intersection of Beiping Road Section 3 and Chongde Road Section 2 in the Beitun District of Taichung City, a hotspot filled with various dining options.
🪑 About the overall atmosphere 🎡
The store has air conditioning and features a minimalist Japanese decor, with many posters written in Japanese adorning the walls. There aren’t many seats, accommodating about a dozen people. Although it seems to primarily focus on ramen, I ordered:
💰 About the pricing 💰
Business set meal - Teriyaki chicken set meal $98
🍴 About the dishes ☕
There are three side dishes: dried small fish with tofu, baby corn, and crispy cabbage, along with a fixed portion of minced meat. While the tofu isn't the smooth type I prefer, it pairs nicely with the small fish for flavor. I’m not a fan of the baby corn, so I passed on that; the flavors were quite similar. The crispy cabbage was incredibly delicious—it feels rare these days to find something this good in a bento! The minced meat was also tasty, though a bit salty; drizzling it over the small amount of rice made it very flavorful. I thought the chicken was cooked so well that I was almost convinced I was eating beef—it was very delicious, though the rice portion was a bit small.
🤨 Conclusion ♥
Not ordering ramen at a place that specializes in it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, but the impression of how delicious this bento was makes me feel like I definitely have to try the ramen next time.
🍜 A ramen shop that has won the Tokyo Annual Ramen Award for three consecutive years in the TRY Chicken White Soup category!
The specialty broth of Inyamuro's chicken white soup is simmered for 8 hours over low heat, primarily using chicken wings. The broth is filled with the fresh fragrance of chicken bones and the natural sweetness of the meat. Its milky white color gives it a smooth and gentle texture, and the rich broth feels deep, leaving a slight sticky collagen sensation on the lips.
Paired with Asakusa Kaika's specially made medium-thick spiral noodles, which have a good chewiness, this ramen offers a texture that Taiwanese people will love! The noodles are on the thicker side by Japanese standards, absorbing the rich chicken white soup, creating a more balanced taste.
This time, I tried the "Special Chicken White Soup Salt Ramen" with two large, crunchy shrimp dumplings added. The meat is not the typical chashu, but rather has a texture somewhat similar to turkey meat, chunky yet with a bit of shredded chicken feel. It's super tender and has absorbed the essence of the chicken broth, making it very delicious.
Each bowl comes with a slice of lemon, which can be added halfway through the meal to transform it into a refreshing lemon-scented ramen, ensuring that even the last bite is not overwhelming.
This time we came to Zhongli to have the highly recommended clear ramen. We arrived at the restaurant around 18:30, and there were about 8 customers ahead of us. We waited around 15-20 minutes before it was our turn! It didn’t take too long to wait.
Upon entering the restaurant, you need to place your order and pay before being seated. There are about 10 seats inside. The dishes are prepared fresh, and we waited about 5-10 minutes! Today, we ordered the clear salt ramen. The first sip of the broth was amazing; it had a very refreshing chicken soup flavor, and I immediately had a few more sips 🤣.
The noodles are not mushy; they have a nice bite to them. The regular portion comes with half a soft-boiled egg and two slices of chashu. I feel like the portion of the soft-boiled egg is a bit small (I secretly hope for a whole one 🙌🏻). Additionally, there’s a portion of yuzu salt, which can be added halfway through to create a new flavor of ramen 🍜. The broth remains refreshing, but with the added fragrance of yuzu, it’s very special!
The fried chicken is an add-on to the set meal. It comes with 3 pieces, and each piece is quite large! The hot, crispy fried chicken makes you feel like 3 pieces are just not enough! The meat is also very tender and juicy, so I recommend everyone try to add an order of fried chicken 🍗.
The service from the staff is very attentive. Even though you can tell they are a bit tired, they don’t show any impatience, and their work ethic is commendable. 👍🏻
"This week at the company! There are bean sprouts everywhere! Super scary 😱 I don't even know how I've survived until now... I need to quickly replenish my calories to make up for what I've lost." by Younger Brother
<About the meal 🥣>
The noodles at this shop are also quite hard, similar to the last shop, Changsheng Yanren, but this place allows you to customize the hardness of the noodles. The sous-vide chicken is quite standard, without any special features. The chicken broth is not bad (for my taste buds); it’s not too salty, has a mild flavor, and combines nicely with the onions provided, giving it a slightly sweet taste.
<About the staff 👨🍳>
As for the staff, they really can’t understand you when they're busy, and their rules are a bit excessive. If you're planning to eat with friends, you need to arrive together to be seated! The owner’s shop is very small, so they can’t wait for just one person.
<About the dining environment 🐾>
The dining area is very small, and the seating is quite cramped. Although there is air conditioning, it’s a bit lacking, and you might sweat a little while eating.
Arriving at 🔸Ramen Taki🔸 located near the Hsinchu Chenghuang Temple, I happened to pass by and noticed the unique decor outside, so I stopped by to have a meal.
✅ Basic Soy Sauce Ramen 🍜
✅ Basic Tonkotsu Ramen 🍜
Both dishes are really as basic as their names suggest. It's hard to pinpoint what makes this place special, but it's not bad either. The flavors are quite average, but compared to other ramen that easily costs $200-300, there is slightly better value here.
As for the environment, when I entered the store, there were many tables, and the staff were so busy they couldn't keep up with the cleanup, giving a bit of a chaotic feel. The air conditioning was very weak, and I ended up sweating quite a bit.
The most disappointing aspect was the attitude of the staff. I didn't expect top-notch service, but they spoke so softly that it was hard to hear, and they seemed very reluctant to take our orders. At one point, we had ordered a piece of fried chicken (the staff must have recalled it because we initially ordered several fried items that sold out before we switched to the fried chicken). By the time we were nearly done with our ramen, I asked the staff, and they responded very slowly and quietly that it wasn't ready yet and asked if we wanted to wait or get a refund 😑. We immediately opted for the refund and left. 👍
I found it to be tastier than I imagined. The tonkotsu broth is a mix between Taiwanese and Japanese styles, although I chose the normal broth, and it wasn't bad. The hell tonkotsu ramen had a spicier kick, making it more layered in flavor. Personally, I prefer the hell tonkotsu ramen.
I added a bowl of noodles, and there was more than I expected when it arrived, served in a small bowl. It was a bit more than what you'd typically get at ramen shops, but thankfully I was still able to finish it 🤣.
They offer free minced garlic, spicy sauce, and plain water. The spoon for the minced garlic is very small, making it a bit difficult to scoop... The spicy sauce itself is quite salty, so you need to be cautious when adding it, as I didn't find it to be very spicy.
If you dine in, you can add 30 NT for unlimited desserts, which include: tofu pudding, grass jelly, red beans, and mung beans. On the day I visited, the red beans were all gone, and they had run out of syrup too, but surprisingly they later brought out a full bucket of red beans and syrup. The restaurant isn't afraid of you eating; it's great.
The tofu pudding is very smooth, not like the pudding-style tofu pudding, and it tastes really good.
Just a tip about the syrup at the dessert station: the clear yellow liquid is the syrup, while the other one with tofu pudding and other murky substances is "spoon washing water," so don’t mix them up 😆.
Overall, I think the dining experience was great, and the staff were very friendly. I would return. However, while the broth for the ramen was quite tasty, it didn't reach the level of Japanese ramen shops.
Actually, at first, I had no idea there was a ramen shop here at Zhongxiao Xinsheng. It was only after my friend and I wandered around nearby several times and found nothing delicious that I quietly discovered this shop.
Looking at the time, oh, it’s only 16:30! It’s not even peak dinner time yet, and there were free seats inside the shop, so we could take our seats without waiting. The feeling of not having to queue was great.
Later, I noticed more and more people arriving. By the time we finished eating and were about to leave, there was already a line forming for seating. I suddenly felt that having a ramen shop open during off-peak afternoon hours is truly kind-hearted. ❤️
Later, I found out online that this ramen shop specializes in late-night hours and is open until 2 AM. So, for night owls who get hungry in the middle of the night, Ramen Shop Qianyun is definitely a great place to go for a warm bowl of ramen.
The interior of the shop is bright and comfortable, and the decor is very new and minimalist. The white lanterns hanging from the ceiling give the whole space a pure Japanese style. The seating arrangement is spacious, making dining comfortable without any cramped feeling.
🍜 Chicken White Soup Signature All Toppings 4/5
I ordered the signature ramen with all the toppings, which includes 2 slices of pork chashu, 3 slices of chicken chashu, 3 chicken meatballs, 1 soft-boiled egg, and a slice of seaweed.
The advantage of ordering the all-toppings option is that you can have a few bites of everything, and the portion size isn’t too much. Although the price is relatively on the higher side, I highly recommend it if you want to try it out!
The pork chashu was very tender, with an overall color leaning towards a slightly rare red, somewhat resembling the texture and color of sous-vide, but it didn’t have any strange taste at all; it was very delicious.
As for the chicken, it was very tender chicken breast slices, which I personally really liked. The chicken breast soaked in the chicken white soup further enhanced the rich broth flavor.
I didn’t quite understand the chicken meatballs; maybe it's because I prefer to eat meat in its original form. The chicken meatballs felt more like the kind of balls you would find in hot pot dishes.
The broth of the ramen is the essence of the dish, and friends who love chicken white soup will definitely fall in love with their soup base. It’s very rich and full of deep chicken flavor. Although it leans towards the salty side, I couldn’t help but drink several spoonfuls until it was nearly empty!
They added a bit too much chopped raw onion, so towards the end, if you bite into some onion, it might be a little pungent and spicy, so just be cautious.
I really liked the noodles; the somewhat firm texture is definitely a must-try!
Overall, not having to queue during off-peak hours gives this ramen shop a lot of points, and with operating hours extending from noon until midnight, you basically don’t have to worry about waiting in line forever. The overall texture and flavor of the ramen were above standard, and I would definitely be willing to visit again next time.
This is a tonkotsu ramen shop that opens at 6:30 AM. The menu is not limited to ramen; they also offer set meals and curry. Since I like curry, I ordered the tonkotsu curry. Rice was free for a large serving, so I ordered it large. However, it turned out to be not as large as I expected, and the curry was more tonkotsu than I anticipated. It didn't suit my taste since I’m not a fan of tonkotsu ramen.
📍Ximen Station, Taipei
Located on Kunyang Street, about a 6-minute walk from the MRT station, the overall decor at the entrance is very Japanese, making it particularly eye-catching among the surrounding shops. I had previously eaten at the JiJiKun branch in Neihu and remember that after hiking up Jinmian Mountain, I headed straight there, arriving 40 minutes before opening time. Even then, I couldn't be in the first batch to enter, so I had to wait for about an hour. At that time, I thought the food was quite good, but considering the long wait, it slightly decreased my desire to return. Luckily, the new branch in Ximen doesn’t require a queue for lunch on weekdays!
Dishes 🥘