From family businesses to chain stores
However, with changing social structures in Taiwan, the number of people eating out has increased, and this has led businessmen to change their way of operating. They want to banish the stereotyped image which family-run beef noodle houses have acquired as dark, dirty places, and copy the bright and hygienic style of the fast food chains with their standardized products and decor; and they have even taken beef noodle soup into international grade hotels. Of the chain restaurants, San Shang Chiao Fu has 101 branches and the greatest market share, while among the hotels the Taipei Lai Lai Sheraton is the most talked about.
To ensure consistent quality, all San Shang Chiao Fu's products are prepared at their central kitchens in the Tayuan industrial zone in Taoyuan County, and distributed to the various branches. All the branches have to do is to mix them in the prescribed proportions.
Tai Chin-ting says he hopes the flavor of the beef noodle soup they serve can appeal to young and old alike, though some may find it rather sweet as the ingredients include sugar cane and crystal sugar in addition to chicken bones and beef bones.
Another fast-food company which is pursuing the beef noodle market vigorously is the Chiang Family chain. In cooperation with the Yungho soya bean milk company they have established Taiwan's first 24-hour beef noodle soup outlets, and are doing quite a brisk trade.
At the Lai Lai Sheraton the beef noodle soup is not served in the hotel's Sichuan restaurant, but in the cafe. Chang Wen-ching, executive sous-chef in the hotel's food and beverage division, points out that in most foreign-invested hotels in Taiwan, the cafe menu includes some oriental dishes to cater to the diverse range of guests who eat there. Beef noodle soup was singled out for its broad appeal.
Beef noodle soup in international hotels
Hu Tien-lan exclaims with admiration: "The Lai Lai Sheraton has made beef noodle soup into a gourmet dish!" The hotel's beef noodle soup, carried to the table on a tray complete with white porcelain crockery and accompanied by finely chopped pickled cabbage and red chillies on specially-made small dishes, the whole placed on a very Chinese pink tablecloth, is a feast for the eyes as well as for the palate. When you take up your chopsticks and spoon to taste the soup, you can savor the complex mix of seasonings carefully devised by the chef. The beef is a mixture of rib and tendon from local cattle; the meat melts on the tongue and the tendon is soft and not greasy. It has the texture of marbled beef but does not have a fatty flavor. Hu Tien-lan says, "It looks like Sichuan style, but it tastes like Cantonese style."
How is such a bowl of noodles cooked? Chang Wen-ching says with a smile that the beef is first quickly sauteed with soya sauce, rice wine, crystal sugar and spring onion, and once the meat has shrunk a little, water and a sachet of seasoning are added and it is simmered to let the meat absorb the flavor of the liquid. The stock is made with beef bones, beef cartilage, sirloin and imported rump of beef. The cartilage adds body to the soup while the rump meat makes it sweeter. Spring onion, celery, coriander, soya sauce and other ingredients are also added. Taking some inspiration from the fashion for cooking foods with medicinal herbs, the hotel's chefs have now also added a few such herbs to modify the flavor.
But in the eyes of people who lived through the 1950s in Taiwan, all these changes are something of a decline. For while there's no denying that the modern eateries are more hygienic, they are just places to fill one's belly, for one will find no flavor of nostalgia there. Thus it is not surprising if some sigh, "Taiwan's beef noodle soup is not what it used to be!"
[Picture Caption]
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Forty years ago beef noodle soup made its first appearance in Taiwan on street stalls, but now it can also be found in international-class hotels. (photo by Vincent Chang)
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Most people today eat beef noodle soup simply to fill their bellies, not to revive old memories.
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In response to changing consumption habits in big cities, beef noodle shops are gradually evolving from traditional family-run eateries to fast-food chains catering to diners out. (photo by Vincent Chang)
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First savor the soup, next munch the meat, and only then nibble the noodles. This is the best way to enjoy beef noodle soup. (photo by Vincent Chang)
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For lack of successors to take over the business, many old noodle houses have been forced to sell out. Though the name is the same, the shop may have changed owners many times.
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Large fast-food chains have mechanized the production of their beef noodle soup. Whichever branch patrons eat at, the flavor is always the same.
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Beef noodle soup can be eaten as a formal meal or a takeaway snack. This is a major reason for its popularity in Taiwan.
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In good beef noodle soup the soup covers the noodles, the noodles are not sticky, and the beef is arranged at the center of the bowl with the cabbage or chopped spring onion around the edge. Only then is it really appetizing.