The World Expensive Beef Soup Niu Ba Ba
Beef Noodle Soup is probably the most iconic dish in Taiwanese Cuisine. While it was first created by the Hui people, a Chinese Muslim indigenous grouping during the Tang Dynasty, the red braised beefiness version was created by veterans who fled from mainland China to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War.
In almost places in Taiwan, you lot'll rarely find a bowl priced over 240 New Taiwan dollars ($vii.eighty). Nevertheless, i shop in Taipei has made headlines for charging up to 10,000 New Taiwan dollars ($329) for a bowl of beefiness noodle soup.
After wondering what kind of an idiot would pay so much for a bowl of noodles, I did the nearly logical thing: Travel all the manner to Taipei, pay $329, and try it for myself.
Niu Ba Ba, which translates to Cow Daddy, is located in the Neihu District of Taipei. I stayed at a major hotel that was but a 15 minute car ride to the eating house. After telling our Uber driver what we were almost to practise, he was astonished.
"Wow, 10,000!? I can eat for a whole month with that corporeality of money!" he said, while probably silently judging me.
We had made reservations a day before since they don't accept walk-ins. Upon entering the eating house, nosotros were surprised at how empty it was. There were only four tables and nosotros were literally the only customers.
Soon, a young human being came out and gave the states our seats. He turned out to be the owner's son who's currently the manager at the eatery. Almost five minutes afterward, Chef Wang Cong-yuan, the owner, came out to greet us personally.
Despite my poor Standard mandarin skills, Wang was warm and welcoming. You can hear the passion in his vocalization when he talks near his food. Despite beingness 68, the man doesn't await a day over l and has the energy of a xx-something-yr-old. He was gracious enough to show us his kitchen and storage room earlier we sabbatum down to eat.
Prior to getting into the restaurant business, Wang worked 27 years in construction before launching Niu Ba Ba in 1990. However, success didn't come up immediately. The flavors of his beef noodle soup weren't right and customers didn't similar it. Things got so bad that Wang'southward partner backed out after but 11 days.
Despite these setbacks, Wang was adamant and spent the side by side few years improving his recipe.
"Subsequently iii to five years, I felt it was quite skilful already compared to other noodles soup makers," Wang told NextShark. "Just information technology took me 15 years to gain approving and recognition from others."
And recognition Wang has gained indeed, cartoon customers like Michelin-starred French Chef Jean-Michel Lorain Michel, Martial Arts Legend Jackie Chan, and Academy Award Winning Manager Ang Lee, among many more.
The card has eight beefiness noodle soups available: #1 is the "Beefiness Male parent Beefiness Noodle Soup" being the cheapest at 500 New Taiwan dollars (roughly $xvi) and #8 is the coveted "Presidential Beef Noodle Soup" at 10,000 New Taiwan dollars.
To compare them, we ordered the #i, #6, and #8. We were told that #vi, priced at 1500 New Taiwan dollars ($49) is 1 of the more popular options and would take you lot 80% of the fashion through to the "Presidential Beef Noodle Soup."
We were offset served some appetizers including peanuts, cabbage, and seaweed. All of them tasted very good, peculiarly the peanuts, which was probably the best I've ever had.
"Our peanuts t ake us three days to prep," Wang said. "O ur small side dishes look very simple, simply it's a complicated process for every dish."
When the dishes finally arrived, we tasted #1 get-go. Overall, information technology was a solid bowl of beef noodle soup and I had absolutely no complaints nearly it. I wouldn't say in that location was anything particularly special nearly it. The goop was fragrant and definitely more flavorful than most of the other places where I've had it. The meat was likewise pretty basic and tough like most beef noodle soups I've had.
Soon afterwards, we moved onto #six. First crafted in 1995, this dish was the most expensive beef noodle soup in Taiwan. Over time, the more superior "Presidential Beef Noodle Soup" took its identify. The broth hither was definitely more than bold and flavorful. The quality of the meat was a dark and day divergence compared to #ane — every slice pretty much melted in my mouth. If I were to compare information technology to the other beef noodle soups I've had, I would say this definitely tops the listing of some of the all-time I've ever had.
Notwithstanding, we weren't almost done even so. It was time to motility onto the m finale, the coveted "Presidential Beef Noodle Soup," the most expensive bowl of beef noodle soup in the world.
"The noodle soup y'all got requires three layers of broth — the #1 has merely one layer," he said.
The dish has 3 different broth layers made from 6 dissimilar types of stock. Each layer of soup is made individually and is distilled from beef os, tendons and tenderloin. Afterward that, information technology's seasoned with soy sauce, rock carbohydrate, 5 spice and zero else.
"We continue everything as natural as possible and let the flavors speak for themselves," Wang said.
The presentation itself was pretty basic, apart from the fact that it's served on a $600 partially gold-plated bowl. Wang advised usa to gustatory modality the beginning layer of the soup by taking a spoonful from the top.
"The first layer will gustation completely unlike from when y'all put your spoon all the fashion down and gustatory modality all three layers," he said.
The get-go layer was succulent and tasted similar premium quality beef goop, just not as assuming every bit I expected. Then I dipped my spoon down to the lesser equally Wang advised and tried all three layers. He was right, at that place was definitely a symphony of flavors that is difficult to describe. The bulky season was so rich that you could feel it almost stain every corner of your mouth, withal it was make clean enough that your palate wasn't drowned in it so yous could enjoy each new bite.
I should annotation, notwithstanding, that the flavor of the broth is nothing revolutionary — Wang simply sourced all the all-time quality ingredients for a remarkably simple recipe.
1 of the hallmarks of the dish is that each bowl has four different cuts of meat, imported from Japan, Australia, the U.s.a., and Brazil. All are premium cuts, including Wagyu beef from Australia and Nihon.
Each type of meat is prepared differently to make sure they are cooked to perfection. He cuts each piece against he grain and in specific shapes to ensure the all-time taste. And then he uses a special technique that involves slow-braising each piece for over three days, and then freezing them individually over dark so they can residue in between. The whole process takes about one calendar week.
"I recommend every slice be separated into two bites," Wang brash. " Take a bite, and then another, every piece should exist eaten this way."
In that location can only be one style to describe how the meat tasted: BOMB.COM. Each piece practically melted in my rima oris without any effort. The beefiness was infused with season and spices from Wang's braising technique. As someone who typically leaves the beef uneaten because it's too tough, this was absolutely life changing. In fact, I'll become as far as to say information technology'due south the best I've ever eaten.
The noodles seemed pretty normal to me, definitely better tasting in terms of texture and season. However, I was slightly disappointed when Chef Wang told me they weren't handmade in-house, simply from a vendor they club from. I don't know if that's a large deal, simply I was expecting more than from a $329 bowl of noodles.
Despite what well-nigh people might think, the recipe itself is actually not really a underground. In fact, Wang says pretty much everyone of his staff members knows the process.
"Anyone can practice what we're doing, simply not everyone is willing to really do all the piece of work it takes to brand a basin," he added.
As for the whopping price tag for one bowl, Wang says that the price was actually left blank for over a decade. He wanted to permit the customers decide how much they should pay. As fourth dimension went on, Wang started experimenting with different prices.
"500 New Taiwan dollars ($16.42) was the everyman price I've been offered, the highest has been 30,000 New Taiwan dollars ($985),"Wang said."I once tried charging 100,000 New Taiwan dollars ($iii,284), only no ane bought information technology."
Eventually, Wang sought the communication of a 3-star Michelin chef, politicians, and celebrities who frequented his establishment. Most of them suggested pricing in the range of 10,000 New Taiwan dollars, which became the official cost in 2007.
Wang is not just a Beef Noodle Soup expert, just he's also proven himself to be a smart man of affairs with how he runs his business. Before settling in his electric current location, the original restaurant was at a place that could feed up to 1,000 people a twenty-four hour period. However, he realized that as he had more customers, his labor and supply expenses increased, which thinned his margins.
He came up with an idea: He began raising his prices on his cheaper items until less people showed up. Once he came up with the right price bespeak, he moved into a smaller venue with just 4 tables. This allowed him to serve the highest quality product and cutting down on labor costs while maintaining slap-up margins.
"I want the to have best beef noodles soup eating place in Taiwan," Wang said.
Despite all the success, Wang says he'due south far from wanting to retire. While his son currently runs daily operations, Wang even so gets up early in the forenoon to make the broths to stay active and healthy.
So, is Chef Wang's "Presidential Beef Noodle Soup" worth the cost tag? Honestly, I personally don't think and then. I hate maxim that because Wang was such a good guy and was so generous with his time with us. Don't get me incorrect, this was definitely the BEST beef noodle soup I've ever had. The goop was seriously addictive and I couldn't terminate drinking information technology.
However, I simply can't tummy paying such a loftier amount for a basin of beef noodle soup. Think about it: $329 is fifty-fifty more than a xx-form omakase at Chef Jiro Ono's sushi bar or a total tasting course at any L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon location in the world. If I had to personally price it myself, I would maybe pay $75.
I will definitely be dorsum for the more affordable items, but I'g not sure if I'll exist ordering #8 again someday presently due to the price. Withal, there's absolutely no dubiousness of the amount of endeavour Chef Wang puts into each bowl of his noodles. His passion for his arts and crafts is unparalleled and his motto of quality of quantity is something every chef should strive for.
Location:
Niu Ba Ba Beefiness Noodle Restaurant
No. 149, Department vi, Minquan East Route,
Neihu District, Taipei Metropolis, Taiwan 114
Source: https://nextshark.com/niu-ba-ba-taipei-most-expensive-beef-noodles/
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