Miaoli Hakka Flat Rice Noodles

Hakka flat rice noodles are a wide-cut rice noodle common in Hakka villages, made by grinding indica rice into a slurry, steaming it, and cutting it into wide strips. On Yuxing Street in Miaoli City, people are already lining up before five in the morning. One pot of boiling water, one pot of bone broth — the wide flat noodles are briefly swirled in the broth, topped with garlic chives, fried shallots, and braised pork, and a single bowl warms you from your stomach to your fingertips. Hakka flat rice noodles (also called "mianpa ban") are a shared signature dish across the three major Hakka flat noodle centers of Miaoli, Hsinchu, and Meinong in Pingtung, and Miaoli's version is especially known for its soup-based style, kept alive by a century-old shop that never stopped.

"Qiu Family Flat Noodles" on Yuxing Street in Miaoli City was founded by Qiu Changlin, who began selling his own hand-steamed flat rice noodles by shoulder pole around Miaoli Train Station during the Japanese Showa era. The shop has now passed to its third generation, has been in business for over 70 years, and is located at No. 21 Yuxing Street, Miaoli City.

What are Hakka Flat Rice Noodles

Hakka flat rice noodles are made by grinding indica rice (long-grain rice) into a slurry, spreading it in a thin layer on a steamer tray or iron plate, steaming it until set, and then cutting it into strips about 1 to 1.5 cm wide after it cools. Because the shape resembles the face cloths of old, they are called "mianpa ban" in the Hakka language. There are two main preparations: the soup version, with a bone broth base topped with garlic chives, fried shallots, and braised pork; and the stir-fried version, tossed with shredded pork, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and scallions over high heat. Made entirely from rice, the texture is thicker and smoother than Vietnamese rice noodles, with a distinct rice fragrance.

"Qiu Family Flat Noodles" on Yuxing Street in Miaoli City has passed to its fourth generation. The founder was already carrying the noodles by shoulder pole in front of Miaoli Train Station during the Japanese Showa era, and the shop has been known for its pure indica rice handmade noodles ever since. The braised pork, garlic chives, and fried shallot aroma of the soup version is the taste embedded in generations of Miaoli residents' memories. Representative long-established shops can also be found in Gongguan Township's "Fule Noodle Shop" and various places in Tongluo and Toufen, with slight differences in broth and braised pork recipes from kitchen to kitchen. Flat rice noodles are a regular item at Miaoli breakfast and late-night stalls — you can find them from four or five in the morning through midnight.

How to eat it like a local

Local knowledge

Information compiled from the Miaoli County Government Tourism Bureau, township and district farmers' associations, and large-scale public reviews; sponsored listings have been excluded. Photos to be replaced with channel-exclusive footage after Dio's on-site shoot.