初嚐大麵羮 / First Taste of Da-Mian-Geng

之前聽住在台中的朋友閒聊時提過，台中有所謂的三寶，是出了台中以後，就很少見的三樣飲食，分別是東泉辣椒醬、大麵羮和麻薏，雖然當初我聽過就忘了，然而當我身在台中，看到有店家賣大麵羮時，當初的印象，就浮現在我的腦海中，居然是大麵羮耶！要不要嚐嚐看，在一番天人交戰之後，選擇入座嚐嚐。

店家其實就是一家普通的街邊店，店內客人還算多，看看牆上，還有不少名人留影的照片，我唯一認得的名人，只有藝人董至成，再看看牆上的菜單，燒酒臭臭鍋及豬肝麵是比較少見的小吃，不過，這次來就是試大麵羮，對了，店家用的是錯字的「焿」，而不是正確的「羹」字，真是一種以假亂真的概念，等了一小段時間之後，期待的大麵羮總算上桌了。

說實話，和我想像中不太一樣，形體粗大而色澤黄色的麵條，還是第一次見到，嚐了一下，麵條非常的軟爛，一入嘴後，不需要怎麼嚼，就自行分解，麵裡有加入油蔥、蝦米、菜脯和韭菜等配料，味道還真是蠻特別的，可惜的是，不太合我的口味，之後，我應該不會再想試吃大麵羮了吧，不過，至少解鎖了一個人生成就。

至於，東泉辣椒醬是幾乎每家在中部的小吃店或餐廳都有提供的調味醬，店家就隨意擺放在桌上，方便顧客依照口味，自行添加，自從，我回想起，辣椒醬是台中三寶之一後，每當我用餐時，都會盡量加些辣椒醬進入我的餐點，讓自己吃得像在地人一樣，對於東泉辣椒醬的味道，我覺得還不錯，甜而不辣，是我喜歡的味道，加入餐點中，多多少少有提味的效果。

When chatting with a friend from Taichung, they mentioned something called the “Taichung Three Treasures” — foods you rarely see outside the city. These are Dongquan chili sauce, da-mian-geng (a type of thick noodle soup), and ma-yi (a barley-based drink). At the time, I didn’t think much of it and quickly forgot. But now that I’m in Taichung and spotted a shop selling da-mian-geng, the memory popped back into my head. I thought, “Wow, it’s da-mian-geng! Should I give it a try?” After a little back-and-forth in my mind, I decided to sit down and give it a go.

The shop was just a simple street-side place, but it had quite a few customers. On the walls, there were photos of various celebrities who had visited. The only one I recognized was the entertainer Dong Zhicheng. Glancing at the menu, I noticed some unique options like shaojiu chou-chou guo (a hot pot with rice wine and stinky tofu) and pork liver noodles. But I was here for the da-mian-geng. By the way, the shop used the character “焿” instead of the correct “羹” — a kind of playful twist. After a short wait, my highly anticipated bowl of da-mian-geng finally arrived.

To be honest, it wasn’t what I expected. The noodles were thick and yellow, something I’d never seen before. Taking a bite, I found the noodles incredibly soft — they pretty much dissolved in my mouth without much chewing. The dish was flavored with fried shallots, dried shrimp, pickled radish, and chives. It had a very distinct taste, but unfortunately, it wasn’t really my thing. I don’t think I’ll try da-mian-geng again in the future, but hey, at least I can check it off my bucket list.

As for Dongquan chili sauce, nearly every eatery in central Taiwan seems to have it on the table for customers to use as they like. Once I remembered it’s one of the “Taichung Three Treasures”, I started adding it to my meals whenever I could, trying to eat like a local. I found its flavor quite nice — sweet rather than spicy, which I really enjoyed. Adding it to my dishes gave them a bit of an extra kick, and I appreciated the subtle boost in flavor.

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