Naiochia Noodles
Maoshu Noodles Store
Address：
No.114, Chang'an St., Changhua City (see map
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Phone：04-7268376
Time：09 : 30 ~ 23 : 30
Introduction
Maoshu Noodles was founded during the Japanese Occupation period by Chang Chen, grandfather of the current owner, and Mu-rong Chen, his uncle, at the bamboo market. As at the time, there were a good number of other competing noodle shops present, these two original owners devoted themselves to developing new broth in order to set their shop apart from the rest. Gradually, business began to prosper. Because (1) both of these founders were born in the year of the mouse, (2) Mu-rong Chen is a kind person whose physique is small and delicate, everyone refers to him as “Niaochia (“貓鼠仔” pronounced in Taiwanese, meaning “Ratty”),”and (3) in Taiwanese “老鼠(rats)” and “貓鼠(cats and rats)” share the same pronunciation (“niaochia”), it was eventually decided that the shop would be called Niaochia Noodles, which also means “cats and rats noodles.”
Specialty dish: Niaochia Sanbao noodles
We went to their shop to have a taste of their Naiochia noodles ourselves. The Niaochia noodles is a bowl of noodles in soup; the noodles were chewy and the soup savory. Niaochia Noodles is now a well-known shop, and its noodles is listed as one of the top three gourmets of Changhua, along with red beef noodles and Tainan Danzai noodles as the top three noodles of Taiwan.
Niaochia Sanbao noodles and pig’s feet are the specialties here. Niaochia Sanbao noodles refers to their Niaochia noodles coupled with their renowned triple side seasonings: shrimp balls, chicken rolls, and meat balls. Pig’s feet are also broiled fragrantly, the skin being chewy and the meat soft.
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| Specialty of the shop: pig’s feet | Menu |
Interview
1.How long have you been in business? Which generation are you?
This shop has been in business for over 90 years, since its opening around the early 1920s.
2.How much are you able to sell a day?
When business is good, near 40 kilograms of Niaochia noodles.
3.What are your specialties?
Niaochia Sanbao noodles and pig’s feet.
4.When do you need to begin the preparations for each day, and how much time do you spend?
We begin preparations at 8 in the morning, and this takes about 1 hour.
5.What is your management philosophy?
We wish to serve the people.
6.Were there any experiences since your opening that you found particularly difficult or unforgettable?
Business has been fairly smooth peaceful since this shop was first opened.
7.Do you have a few words to share with us?
Hope you all will aim to be even better.
8.Do you find anything that is in need of improvement around Xiaoxi?
The parking problem needs to be dealt with, and I hope that more parking spaces will be available.
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| Photo of first interview and food tryout with owner’s wife | Photo of the owner couple during second interview |
Reflections
The owner of Niaochia Noodles was kind, polite, and had a sweet smile. He even treated us all to Niaochia noodles when we finished our interview, and his generosity and amiability are undoubted some of the reasons why he is able to keep his customers coming back for more. We were also lucky to be able to interview the owner and his wife handling ingredients. The owner, who knew that we were students from Chung Shan Elementary School, told us that he was also once a student there. He kindly offered to take a picture with us. We recommend that anyone with time should drop by and give it a try.
