Hsinchu Rice Noodles

Hsinchu sits where the northeast monsoon funnels between the hills and the sea, and the wind that makes the city unpleasant in winter is the reason its rice noodles are famous. The strands are steamed, then hung outdoors on frames to dry in that wind, which firms them without cooking them further and gives a noodle that holds its texture. The everyday way to eat them is chaomifen, stir-fried with shredded pork, dried shrimp, shiitake and a little cabbage, served in a modest heap with a bowl of gongwan soup alongside, pork balls with a springy bounce that comes from beating the meat rather than mincing it. The pairing is fixed and ordering one without the other is unusual.

What you actually see

• Chaomifen - the stir-fried rice noodles with pork, dried shrimp and shiitake.
• Gongwan soup - clear broth with springy pork balls, ordered alongside.
• The drying frames - racks of noodles hung outdoors in winter in the Nanshi district.
• The city god temple stalls - the ring of long-running food counters around the temple.

When to go

Any time of year for eating. The drying racks only appear in the windy months from roughly October to March, and only on dry days, so seeing them is partly luck. The stalls around the city god temple run from late morning into the night. Hsinchu is about thirty minutes from Taipei by fast train, which makes it a straightforward detour.

Honest expectations

The noodles are plain by design, and people expecting a strongly flavoured dish are usually underwhelmed; the point is texture. Portions are small and cheap, which means ordering three or four things to make a meal. Hsinchu itself is an industrial city with little to look at, and the winter wind is genuinely unpleasant to walk in.

Nearby

The city glass museum and Beipu's Hakka lanes are both a short trip away.