南館懷念排骨麵

The signature is that piece of rib: seasoned, dredged and fried, then returned to the pot and stewed until the meat falls from the bone, tendon and all, and settled into a bright clear broth with white radish and coriander floating on top. The noodles are thin alkaline noodles that hold their bite through a long soak. For something heavier, order the rib and wonton noodles — a few thin-skinned wontons go into the same bowl, and the fat they give off thickens the broth another notch. If ribs aren't your thing, the scallion-oil noodles, sesame-sauce noodles, and plain yangchun noodles all run forty-odd dollars for a small bowl, and a bowl of wonton soup rounds them out nicely. One Google reviewer wrote, "The rib dishes are a must — dry noodles with rib soup, or rib noodles with wonton soup, both recommended," which is exactly these two ways of ordering.

The shop sits beside Nanguan Market on Jiucheng South Road in Yilan City, its wooden sign carved with the name. The yellow menu board out front lists small and large prices for every noodle dish, plainly. Open from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon, closing once it sells out; market shoppers and locals stopping by before work take turns filling the few tables inside. On the wall are a side-dish section and a handwritten note — fried tofu added to your noodles is ten dollars apiece and comes without sauce — ask the owner if you want it. Closed Tuesdays.