Taiwan Day 8 - Last Meal @ Ippudo Taipei

We woke to a rainy morning. As our flights were in the afternoon, Pig Home's staff let us bunk our bags at their office while we grabbed a bite to eat before heading to the airport. Their office isn't really that easy to find. It was within walking distance but imagine dragging heavy bags on the washed out sidewalks.Blearghhh

Yuan Yuan suggested a ramen place that is down the street from their office. She said she was a frequent customer and loved the food there. So following her instructions, we walked over.

Underpass to cross a busy street

It turned out to be Ippudo (一風堂).

It wasn't even noon yet and there was a queue outside the shop. A sign of good things to come?

There is a queue ticketing machine (red machine with numbers seen in photo above) which you need to key in the number of people in your party and then a ticket with a queue number will be generated. Instructions are in Chinese though ಠ_ಠ. They won't seat you until all members of your party has arrived.

When I saw the opening hours, I was surprised that it opened until midnight. That would have made a great place to grab snacks on a chilly winter evening. Regretfully, we didn't find this place earlier during our trip. The guys chose to indulge on snacks from the convenience store instead.

Ippudo creatively used their bowls and spoons as part of the pop art decoration in the shop. Recycling what you have right? There were quite a number of seats in the dining area, partitioned by booths. There were also storage containers that fit in comfortably under the chairs to store bags, clutches, shopping etc. Just remember to collect your belongings when you leave.

Check out the garlic press!

The menu offers generally is divided into 4 types of ramen - Shiomaru Classic (classic white pork broth), Ippudo karaka(spicy meat sauce), Akamaru Modern(spicy miso), and vegetarian. Since it was my first time in this establishment, I went with the Shiomaru Classic. The portion was large enough for 2 girls. I found it to be a tad too salty for my taste. You can add additional toppings to your ramen with a fee e,g, bamboo shoots or another egg. Pretty much operates like many other ramen establishments.

With Ippudo, there is an extra customisation you can make to your meal. You can determine whether you like your ramen to be "regular" or "firmer". I went for the regular.

OMG my heart valves...

One thing we all loved were their pickled cucumber. It had just the right amount of crunchiness with that hint of sourness. We couldn't stop munching on it and was seriously considering a second round of vegetables.


We also went with 2 other recommended side dishes, the pot sticklers and the fusion gua bao style bun (it's fatty pork in a pao like sandwich.) Pot sticklers are filled with juicy pork filling that leaves you wanting for more. I should have ordered 2 plates of pot sticklers and polished them off myself. As for the gua bao bun, I think you could probably getting something similar at a cheaper price at the night markets.