A few years back I had a brother staying in Japan. Occasionally for him times were tough and although I’m not sure exactly how tough they got, he always made it through surviving on $1 McDonalds hamburgers.

I’m not sure if it was chicken or beef burger (for $1 I presume it was chicken or beef in name only), but he always heralded them as the saviour of the poor traveller on a budget.

Here in Taiwan I’ve searched for a similar offering. Convenient and cheap and should things ever get rough, a saviour of my own.

I have had a look at the McDonalds menu here but apart from the sundaes costing less then $1 (sundae not cone) nothing really caught my eye. A meatball 6inch sub at Subway came in at $80 TWD (about $2.75) but I was still a far cry from beating that $1 mark.

Street vendor food came close but at best was a snack, I needed something that would pass as a temporary meal… and finally I’ve found it.

I have no idea what it’s called and it I only know of one place that sells it (infact it’s all they sell) but I believe it not only equals Japans $1 burger, it totally makes it look like dead rat between bread.

(this is the bit where I wave my arms around dramatically)… Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you uh.. soup noodle stuff in a red cup!

Like I said I don’t really know what it’s called but for $20 TWD (70c AUD) you get a cup of hot noodles with various veggies (mushrooms and some greens), along with spring onion and chilli garnish AND some pieces of meat.

I don’t know what kind of meat it is or how the lady manages to always get 3 or so pieces in the cup considering she ladles it from a big pot but it’s awesome. It’s a bit chewy so I think it’s pork.

Taste wise it’s a cut above your standard ‘onion soup’ affair with a nice mildly spicy taste and hey for 70c if things ever got rough I could easily live off these things.

I have heard rumours about $5 TWD dumplings but I’ve yet to see them materialise. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are a strictly street vendor offering. Still it’s not like even four of them is going to come close to the meal these noodles provide.

I want to marry the woman who runs the place… or works there or… well whatever. Take that Japan!