Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 – Taipei’s Best Beef Noodles?

One of Taiwan’s most famous dishes, there are many fine beef noodle soup shops in Taiwan and Taipei – but which are the best beef noodles?

Hidden away in a back alley of Zhongzheng District near Taipei Main Station, Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵  is surely a contender. It has been around since the 1950s and for our money and taste, is the best beef noodle soup in Taipei (possibly Taiwan).

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Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

These days, locals and tourists come from miles around to eat at Liu Shandong Beef Noodles and a large queue often forms outside the shop for most of the day.

We recently got chatting to a local school teacher inside the beef noodle restaurant on a recent visit (it is very small inside so you often share tables meaning it is quite social).

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

The teacher told us he goes there every weekday after work and no other Taiwan beef noodles come close – plus they won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award so don’t just take our word for it.

From prices to menu plus how to eat your beef noodles, here is our guide to dining at Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵  in Taipei.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

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How to get to Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

A short walk from Taipei Main Station, the nearest exit to the restaurant is Z6 (via the Taipei Main Station Underground mall) – or it is a 10 minute walk from exit 2 of Beimen MRT on the green Songshan Xindian line.

It is also around around a 15 minute walk from the main Ximending Entertainment District.

Note the restaurant is hidden down an alley located between Huaining Street and Chongqing S Road, in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District.

The Google Maps link to find Liu Shandong Beef Noodles can be found here >

Also check Google Maps or the official Go! Taipei Metro app to see which is the quickest and best route for you.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

Taiwanderers Tip

Grab a Taiwan EasyCard as a convenient way to use buses and public transport in Taipei and across Taiwan. They can be easily topped up at stations and convenience stores.

Read more about how to use a Taiwan EasyCard, including how to top up >


You might also like – 30 cute Taiwan EasyCard designs and where to buy them >


Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 opening hours

Liu Shandong is open Monday to Saturday (closed Sundays) from 8am to 8pm.

If you don’t like queuing, the best time to visit is early morning after the breakfast rush – it is then busy for pretty much the rest of the day although you’ll occasionally find lulls in the queue.


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Zhongshan >

Also check out our guide to the best neighbourhoods in Taipei >

Why visit Liu Shandong Beef Noodle Shop?

There are so many reasons, from the juicy braised beef breast to the extra thick noodles, incredible meaty beef bone broth to the social element of the noodle shop.

It is so small that you often have to share tables with complete strangers. It is easy to get chatting if there is no language barrier.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

We’ve met people from all over the world in Liu Shandong Beef Noodle shop, including locals who want to practice their English.

We’ve tried a lot of beef noodles in Taipei including the famous Fuhong Beef Noodles Restaurant in Ximending (very good) and Yongkang Beef Noodles (overrated), and Liu Shandong is tops for us.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

The beef is soaked for hours and is so juicy, plus these extra thick noodles really make the dish – the bone broth is bountiful and the whole experience is joyous.

The fact they’ve been making noodles from generation to generation for over 70 years is a sign of their success and tasty Taiwanese beef noodles.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

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The experience

Whether you’re enjoying beef noodles for breakfast, lunch or dinner, this is one of Taiwan’s most famous dishes and it can be slurped away any time of day.

Join the queue and look into the small restaurant inside, as diners eagerly eat away or peel garlic cloves to put into their broth.

As you get to the front of the queue, the staff will give you a menu to look at so you can decide what to eat.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup menu
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup menu

There is seating for around 30 people inside and half a dozen tables (many of which are communal).

Once seated, the staff will take your order and service is usually pretty quick. A steaming bowl of beef noodles will be at your table within five minutes – pay for your food as it arrives.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

The bowls are big and it is very filling – unlike some other Taipei restaurants, we noticed they allow couples to share one bowl. We say ‘noticed’ as we always get one each as we are usually hungry after all that queuing.

Obviously the main dish people have here is braised beef noodles but other dishes include pork chop noodle soup and noodles with minced pork.

Please note only cash (TWD) is accepted at Liu Shandong – no credit card or Easycard payment is allowed.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

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Bling your beef noodles

All of the tables have communal condiments to share like pickled veggies, fermented black-beans or raw garlic – peel your cloves, put the garlic skin in the small table-top bin and add it to your beef noodle soup for flavor.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 - Taipei beef noodle soup

Many diners add chilli sauce to their beef noodle stock – we just add a little of everything!

If you need tissues, you’ll find dispensers and toilet rolls stuck around the restaurant in various corners.


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Liu Shandong Beef Noodles menus and prices

We’ve visited around five or six times – it’d be more if it wasn’t for the lengthy queues sometimes!

We last ate here in October 2024 – the Liu Shandong beef noodle prices and full menu was as follows:

  • Beef Noodle Soup – Braised beef or ‘pure stewed beef’. Both are good; the former braised is slightly more tender – NT$220
  • Pork chop noodle soup – NT$180
  • Noodles with minced pork – NT$105
  • Beef noodle soup with no beef – NT$90
  • Pickled mustard and thin pork noodles – pork or beef broth – NT$105

Other smaller sides and dishes are also available.


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Taiwanderers tip – more delicious food nearby

If you are still hungry after the beef noodles (or the queue was too long), another Taipei food heaven is located just down the road.

Go for some pork pepper buns at Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake at their Zhongzheng branch near Ximending – NT$60 a pop and something we constantly dream about when not in Taipei.

They have a crispy outer sesame bun coating filled with the juiciest pork ever & cooked in a charcoal oven.

This branch featured on the Taipei edition of ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ on Netflix – they also have another famous branch at Raohe Night Market – but the queue in Zhongzheng is usually much smaller but the taste is the same (like, delicious)!


You might like – Our Taiwanderers guide to all the Somebody Feed Phil Netflix eating and filming locations >


Address

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles, 劉山東牛肉麵, No. 2, Lane 14, Section 1, Kaifeng Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, 100

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