Ever since I watched Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, Chef Paik Jong-won has basically had my foodie soul in a chokehold. One day at the office, while I was “slacking off” (I mean, doing very serious research), I discovered that he’d also visited 吳家牛肉麵店 (Wu Jia Beef Noodles) in Beitou during his Taipei food adventures!
A place Chef Paik had visited? This rookie foodie, still new to working life, wasn’t going to miss it. On my day off, I dragged my boyfriend onto the MRT and headed to Beitou (北投站). The shop is about a 5-minute walk from the station, and from a distance we could already spot that huge red sign at the intersection of 中央北路 and 大業路.
Then I checked Google and nearly lost it—more than seven thousand reviews! There seemed to be a line all the time, whether people were eating in or getting takeout. The crowd looked less like a noodle-shop queue and more like everyone was waiting for a limited-edition sneaker drop.
While we waited, the little drama theater in my head started up again: “How long is this going to take? I’m starving. If it’s not as good as everyone says, I might actually cry...” Luckily, there were plenty of seats inside, and people were finishing their noodles like they had trains to catch. After a little over 10 minutes, we finally got a table—cue the confetti!
The Ordering Challenge: Auntie’s Lightning-Round Questions
Besides noodles, they also have dumplings, wontons, and several kinds of soup. The most intense part comes when you order noodles, because the auntie taking orders starts firing questions at you at lightning speed:
“What kind of noodles? Extra-wide, medium-wide, thin noodles, glass noodles, or pumpkin ramen?”
Wait—switching noodle types doesn’t cost extra! For budget-conscious girls like us, who have absolutely zero resistance to anything resembling a “free upgrade,” that is basically a blessing. Naturally, I froze from choice overload. The auntie took one look at my blank face and made the call like a total pro: “No idea? Regular medium-wide, then!”
Okay—trust the professional! After that, we picked some side dishes by the counter, marked everything on the order sheet, paid up front, and went back to our seats to wait for the noodles.
Beef Noodles with Tendon and Meat (Medium-Wide Noodles)
The main event finally arrived! This was the bowl I’d been waiting for: beef noodles with both tendon and meat.
They were seriously generous with both the beef and tendon—so generous that I started wondering whether the owner had somehow packed the essence of an entire cow into my bowl. The medium-wide noodles the auntie chose for me had a great springy bite, and they picked up the aroma of the red-braised broth beautifully.
I took a sip of the soup and—wow. Is this what people mean when they talk about the so-called “Big Three of Beitou beef noodles”? The broth was rich without being aggressively salty, the beef was tender enough that my teeth didn’t have to put up a fight, and the tendon had that soft, slightly gelatinous texture. Big bites of beef, big slurps of noodles—and suddenly all the emotional damage from getting crushed by my boss at work felt healed by one bowl.
Must-Order Assorted Platter: Kelp, Dried Tofu, Braised Egg, and Pig Ear
How can you eat beef noodles without side dishes? We went with the classic four-piece lineup.
The pig ear was crunchy with a light smoky aroma. The kelp and dried tofu looked simple, but they had soaked up plenty of braising flavor, and with the shop’s sauce they became the kind of thing you keep reaching for without noticing. My boyfriend and I were basically fighting over the pig ear between bites. Extremely satisfying.
Watching Chef Paik on Culinary Class Wars sent me down a food rabbit hole that eventually led all the way to one of his Taipei stops: 吳家牛肉麵店 (Wu Jia Beef Noodles) in Beitou. Mission accomplished! Nothing about the visit felt like a disappointment, and I finally understood why this place keeps drawing a line.
Yes, you may have to wait, but that gloriously loaded bowl of beef and tendon absolutely felt worth the sweat I donated to the queue.
Budget-girl takeaway of the day: We may be new to working life and nowhere near able to afford the fancy food you see on Culinary Class Wars, but for a much friendlier price, we can still come to Beitou and eat at a beef noodle shop that Paik Jong-won visited. That is a very simple kind of happiness!
So next time you come to Beitou for a hot-spring day or just a walk around the neighborhood, remember to save some stomach space for Wu Jia Beef Noodles and its big red sign. Just one warning: when the auntie asks what kind of noodles you want, answer quickly—do not stand there buffering like I did!
