品嚐連鎖店牛肉麵 / Tasting Beef Noodles at a Chain Restaurant

三商巧福是一家成立於1983年的連鎖店品牌，是以以牛肉麵為主力的連鎖品牌，我覺得該集團很聰明，因為牛肉麵是一種中高價位的特色小吃，它主要進駐在量販店或百貨公司美食街，也有少數街邊店，為消費者提供中高價位的平民小吃，且常常用打折來促銷餐點，而坊間的獨立牛肉麵店，往往用餐環境不如三商巧福乾淨與舒適，所以，三商巧福的牛肉麵不算有特色，但在牛肉麵市場上也佔有一席之地。

其實，當我想吃牛肉麵時，我不會特地找三商巧福吃，只是剛好手邊有朋友送的牛肉麵優待卷，反正不用也是浪費，就決定到美食街吃看看三商巧福的牛肉麵，選擇美食街是因為找不到街邊店，而剛好美食街有三商巧福，仔細想想，我也很久沒到三商巧福用餐了，上次到三商巧福用餐，好像是好幾年前的事情，但是，連鎖店的好處就是品質較為穩定，除非品牌改版，要不然，應該是數十年如一日。

我點的是原汁牛肉麵，應該是店內長賣款餐點，也是招牌餐點之一，牛肉麵內有幾片青菜，四或五塊還算不小的牛肉塊，麵條是細麵，牛肉不算軟嫩，但好入口，沒甚麼嚼勁，沒有提供配料，如酸菜等，唉！我已經習慣吃牛肉麵時，要加入大把的酸菜提味，當我詢問店家，得知不提供酸菜時，讓我有些失落，店家還有小菜可供選配，但我已經興趣缺缺，吃完後，我的結論就是一碗中規中矩的牛肉麵。

和傳統的牛肉麵攤賣的牛肉麵比起來，連鎖店牛肉麵真的沒特色，可以吃得飽，但是不一定好吃，雖然，牛肉麵攤的用餐環境較雜亂，但是食物真的較美味，有些牛肉麵攤的老闆較大方，讓客人免費加湯及加麵，不怕客人吃，只要客人吃的開心，老闆就高興，不過，通常在夏天我不會想吃麵食，因為就算不趁熱吃，也會吃得滿身大汗，雖然食物美味，但是一身汗真的不舒服，而炎熱的天氣，能在美食街用餐就是舒服。

Mercuries Beef Noodle Restaurant is a chain brand that was founded in 1983, with beef noodles as its main focus. I think the group is pretty smart because beef noodles are a mid-to-high-priced specialty dish. They mainly set up their shops in hypermarkets or food courts in department stores, though there are a few street locations as well. They offer mid-to-high-priced street food but in a cleaner and more comfortable environment. They often use discounts to promote meals too. Independent beef noodle shops, on the other hand, often don't have as clean or comfortable dining environments as Mercuries Beef Noodle Restaurant. So, while their beef noodles aren't particularly special, they still hold a place in the market.

Honestly, when I crave beef noodles, I don’t go out of my way to find Mercuries Beef Noodle Restaurant. But since a friend gave me a discount voucher for their beef noodles, I figured it would be a waste not to use it, so I decided to go to the food court and give it a try. The food court made sense because I couldn’t find a street location nearby, and they happened to have a Mercuries Beef Noodle Restaurant there. Now that I think about it, it’s been years since I last ate there. The last time I dined at Mercuries Beef Noodle Restaurant was probably quite a few years ago. But the good thing about chain restaurants is that their quality tends to be consistent. Unless the brand revamps itself, you can usually expect the same experience over the years.

I ordered the classic beef noodle soup, which I think is one of their best-selling and signature dishes. It came with a few pieces of greens and four or five decent-sized chunks of beef. The noodles were thin, and the beef wasn’t particularly tender, but it was easy to eat—no real chewiness. Unfortunately, they didn’t provide any condiments like pickled mustard greens. Sigh! I’m so used to adding a bunch of pickled greens to enhance the flavor of my beef noodles. When I asked the staff, they told me they didn’t offer any, which was a bit disappointing. They do have some side dishes you can order, but by then, I wasn’t really interested. After finishing, my conclusion was that it’s a pretty standard bowl of beef noodles.

Compared to traditional beef noodle stalls, the chain store version really lacks uniqueness. You can fill up, but it’s not necessarily delicious. Though beef noodle stalls can be a bit chaotic, the food is usually tastier. Some stall owners are more generous, offering free refills of soup and noodles, not afraid of customers eating too much. As long as the customers are happy, the owners are too. That said, I usually avoid noodles in the summer. Even if you don’t eat them while they’re piping hot, you still end up sweating. The food might be delicious, but being drenched in sweat isn’t enjoyable. On a hot day, being able to eat comfortably in a food court is definitely a plus.

For the best experience view this post on Liketu