A noodle that costs over $300.

Why is it so expensive?

You're gonna find out soon, but first Taiwan's cheapest noodle coming in at $100 Let's go check it out We have come to our first and cheapest location of the day right behind me here They're serving a few different types of noodles and a lot of pork organs, which organs?

I don't know They kind of just cut up whatever they want to throw it on a plate and give it to you in a moment I'm gonna go check out the noodles.

But first, let's check out the menu Let me tell you the problem here making a menu like this is tough because it is very permanent But prices fluctuate a lot, especially these days.

Thanks a lot Gerald Ford What you can see here is that a lot of the base prices are around 20 Taiwanese dollars.

In American dollars That is 62 cents.

The prices here are insanely affordable, but I want to see what I get for that amount of money Is it gonna be delicious?

Let's go in and find out Boom, I am in the dragon's den right now.

This is the kitchen There are two people busy at work here and there are just a load of ingredients scattered everywhere.

It looks really good Let me show you some of the noodle options they have here.

Here on this table You can see they have a few different types of noodles including these flat noodles And they have these noodles and they have these noodles and they have these noodles.

These are actually bean sprouts This morning's affordable bowl of yum starts with thick cut rice noodles Blanch it in the noodle net with bean sprouts.

All that gets tossed in a bowl with green onions, crispy fried shallots And a spoonful of Taiwan's famous minced pork.

Finally a generous pour of rich pork bone broth to make this bowl complete Meal one, 62 cents for that.

This is more, we'll talk about that soon Immediately you can kind of see why it would be on the cheap end The only protein is right here in the form of a kind of a Taiwanese pork sauce.

Then we've got bean sprouts They've got a little bit of dried shrimp and these green onions.

The rest is just delicious broth and those flat rice noodles Let's start with the broth It's slightly porky, very oily, and there's a lot of MSG.

That's what it tastes like.

Overall, it's heartwarming.

I do like it I think they've cooled down enough.

I'm gonna take a shot at these fat rice noodles You know, they look like a fun noodle, but it's nothing like a fun noodle They're very fat, bouncy, a bit more elastic too.

I gotta say when you take a bite of that Not a lot of flavor popping off.

I'm gonna look at what else is on the table.

A little bit of pepper This looks pretty good.

Oh my god.

That looks like it might have some flavor.

This is going soup I have no idea.

Time to try it again.

Second bite.

Cheers It's so hot.

I think the best part of the noodles is the texture.

They're so bouncy.

When it comes to the flavor, there's not a lot of it.

I hope I'm doing something wrong, but maybe this is just what people like.

Over here, we have our side dish.

For an additional 95 cents, you can get this plate of assorted random pig organs.

When I asked what he was going to be putting on the plate, he just said basically whatever I want to.

Everyone who gets noodles here also orders this.

A plate full of random and mysterious meat cuts.

A medley of pork organs, including heart, liver, and intestine.

After chopping, they take a dip in a bubbling broth.

Then they're dumped out and doused with a sweet, mysterious brown sauce.

So, come take a look at what we got.

We've got some ginger and thick soy-based sauce on top.

This intestine, that liver, that...

I don't know.

This might just be actual meat.

Let's try that.

Cheers.

Mmm.

Soft, braised for days, tender.

Right here, they've got some liver.

Mmm.

The liver's very good.

A bit soft, not too liver-y.

And then you've got the intestine.

You can literally look into this one, see inside.

Now, I don't see any remnants of an old Taco Bell meal or anything like that.

Oh, wow.

I'm telling you.

Intestine's not the ideal way to start your day.

But here, it's a little bit gamey, mostly gelatinous.

It feels like it's been braised for a long time.

It's pretty good.

So, this is breakfast and our first noodle of the day coming in at a very affordable price.

From here, we're leaving behind the cheapest noodles and heading to the oldest noodle joint in town, a place that's been slanging nudes since the dawn of modern Taiwan.

We have come to our second noodle location, right behind me, Lao Dan.

Right?

Right.

This is one of the oldest noodle locations that you will find in Taipei.

It was opened in 1949, and I know what you're thinking.

That's not that long ago.

My dad was born before that.

Here, they have a food that has roots in China.

Their famous dish is known as Dan Dan noodles.

I know this is a very famous noodle, but it's going to be my first time trying it out.

Let's go inside and take a look.

Alright, folks.

I'm in the kitchen at our second location.

This place is feeling slightly more modern.

Let me tell you, the noodle nets that they have here, they're on a timer.

That means when these noodles are ready and finished, they automatically come up.

It's like an automatic fryer basket, but for noodles.

Today, I'm going to be trying a variety of Dan Dan noodles.

It's called Jot Dan noodles.

Let's get into it.

Dan Dan are made with a wheat noodle, giving it a firm, chewy texture that stands up to its accompanying bold, spicy, and savory sauce.

The final flavor is complex, but the bowl's assembly is simple and straightforward.

Start with a hit of savory soy sauce, then creamy sesame paste, and a sprinkle of green scallions.

A dash of Sichuan pepper adds a tingling buzz.

Then, we're ready for the noodles.

The noodles head directly from the blanching basket to the bowl, before they're topped with a pile of savory minced meat and a bit more scallions.

Our second bowl of noodles for the day, right here.

You can see on top of the dry noodle, they have this soy bean paste.

I'm going to start just by trying out the soy bean taste.

This is what makes it different from the usual Dan Dan.

Let's see how it is.

Cheers.

Mmm, that's very good.

Actually, it's a mixture of soy bean paste, but it's also mixed with minced pork.

So, it's super salty, then you have the pork flavor in there, so it's got some texture to it, too.

Amazing.

This is a dry noodle, so what we want to do is actually kind of wake up the seasonings and spices that are at the bottom of the noodle.

I'm doing my best to really, like, rotate and get this sauce all over everything.

There's just, like, not that much stuff in the bowl, period.

A little bit of minced pork, some of the sauce, a little bit of noodles.

Let's give it a shot.

Cheers.

Wow, that's delicious.

This is, like, the ultimate carb bomb.

There's a bit of minced pork, but come on, what is that, five grams of protein?

This is really all about the noodle, and what's great about the noodle is it has this al dente texture to it.

So, it's not soft like that rice noodle we had earlier, that was a little bit more soft and bouncy.

This has a nice bite to it.

Super delicious.

I can see why people like this.

It's very addicting.

One of the things I read about Dan Dan noodles is they're usually spicy, because they have the Sichuan peppercorn inside.

So, I was hoping for a little bit of that numbing zing that you get from Sichuan peppers, but here, today, I'm not feeling it.

I mean, maybe they saw my complexion in the kitchen, and they thought, this guy can't handle it.

This is a delicious noodle, but it's a noodle that goes way back in history. 1949, basically the year that Taiwan became the Taiwan that we know it as today, the sovereign nation of Taiwan.

From the city's oldest noodles, we're now heading to a mall basement to track down the best noodles in Taipei, a place where the noodles are hand-carved before your very eyes.

Boom!

We've come to our third noodle location right here.

This place is known as Lao Shan Dong.

Not only that, here, additionally, the noodles are made by hands.

Not just one hand, several hands.

You should see how many hands are back there.

And it's in a mall.

What's up with noodle restaurants and malls?

Even in Hong Kong, one of the Michelin-rated noodle restaurants we went to was in a mall as well.

There's something secret about being in a mall.

This place, similar to the last restaurant, has a long history.

It started back in 1949, so it's also the oldest restaurant.

This place is highly regarded for its beef noodle soup, and it has earned a Bib Gourmand recommendation from the Michelin Guide.

Bib Gourmand.

What's that mean?

Sounds French.

So right now, I'm in the kitchen.

This place, it's a well-oiled machine.

They have a big staff, and they move smoothly and efficiently.

Right now, I'm in the noodle making section.

Take a look at these guys.

These are thick-cut noodles cut by hand.

We're gonna see how the process works now.

At Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles, the noodle magic begins with flour, water, and salt kneaded together until the dough is smooth and elastic.

The dough gets its beauty rest, allowing the gluten network that's formed during kneading to relax.

When ready, it's portioned into smaller chunks.

Then it's rolled out into thin sheets using a noodle machine.

So next, this super flat dough is gonna become noodles.

He takes his giant rolling pin, and he rolls up the noodle.

He feeds it through the sheeter.

It poops out even thinner noodles.

From here, he takes out this ultra thin noodle sheet.

He wraps it around the pin, rolling up the entire thing.

Then here, he methodically moves the noodles back and forth, back and forth, creating a stack of noodles that will be easily cut soon.

So he cuts the noodles very thick.

Then he whips the strands out, adds a bit of flour.

From here, he portions the noodles into the appropriate length.

Once he's cut the noodles down to size, he gathers them up together, and he dumps them right here in the bin, and these are now ready to go into some boiling water.

So right now, I'm headed into the kitchen where they're about to make my dish.

It is shredded pork with pickle.

I got to be really careful in here because there are a lot of bubbling cauldrons of hot water and a lot of action.

So right here, these are the beautiful noodles we saw already.

Right now, they're going into the boiling net.

I just love the look of these fat, thick-cut, wide noodles.

Noodles are being drip-dried, then fed into this giant bowl.

Right here, we have the shredded pork and pickle mixture.

She's going to hit it with a little bit of oil, salt, MSG, green onions, and then she's going to dump in this glorious hot pork broth.

And then the owner of this place put some sesame oil on top, and that dish is complete.

We have our third noodle meal of the day in front of me right now.

For $2.78, you can get all of this right here.

This is shredded pork.

I got to say, for the price, a decent amount of meat, but it's really all about these lavish noodles.

Noodles I just saw made in front of my very eyes moments ago.

In a moment, I'm going to be biting into those noodles, but first, pork skin, or whatever this is right here.

I saw them working on this as soon as I came in.

It was coming out of big molds, and it looked like there was some kind of pork ear in here or something.

It turns out it is a pork skin jello.

Pork jello, as I call it, is a savory treat made by simmering pork bones and skin in water, then combining it with Chinese five-spice until you get a rich, flavorful broth.

As it cools, it morphs into a gelatinous texture, creating a porky bite of jello.

Not your typical type of jello.

I like my jello usually mixed with strawberries, bananas, but why not with pork skin?

Let's go for it.

What if I told you that was lovely?

Oh my god, that's really good.

That tastes like a gelatinized, boiled broth.

It tastes like Chinese five-spice.

Mixed into a jello, it's jiggly, and then the skin is gelatinous.

I was not expecting to fall in love with that today, but that's pretty dang good.