Exquisite craftsmanship woven over time: Xinda Noodle Making Stall

Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Xinda Noodle Making Stall

#Fuxing Market

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Text/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan

Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun

Photography/ HUNG Tzu-Hsuan

The Basis of a Dough

How do you make a dough that takes in the spirit of life?

“The most important part of making noodles is mixing flour. Because the basis of a dough determines its quality. Only if the proportions and time are just right will the subsequent milling process by the machine be easier and smoother. “

The infinite kinds of relationships between flour and water.

“The proportion of flour and water is also very important. There are many types of flour. You have to experiment with the new type of flour. The amount of water you need depends on which type of flour you use; it is all different.”

The conversation between the noodle making master and the raw materials makes the combination of noodle and water more than mere measurement. The skills of the craftsman have been refined by time, and gradually weaving into familiarity and understanding.

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The Sweet Taiwan Yellow Wheat

“The characteristic of the wheat is that some are white, some are chewy, and some are fragrant. You have to know them well.” The owner analyzed: “White wheat is just white; red wheat has a longer shelf life, but it is plain and tasteless; rye is nutritious, and buckwheat is easier to grow.”

“I prefer yellow wheat, so I mostly use it. Even though its shelf life is relatively short, it is sweet and fragrant. It has a kind of milky taste. It smells really good.”

“Canada produces white wheat, the United States produces red wheat, Australia produces yellow wheat... These are the main countries for flour trade. Wasn't there a forest fire in Australia in the past two years? Many wheat fields were burned down, so the price of flour has been rising. And now we can’t import wheat because of the Covid-19.”

The soaring prices of imported flour and the unstable international source have made the owner start to think about alternatives to raw materials he uses.

“I currently use Taiwanese yellow wheat. There is a story behind this: I used to work in the flour industry when I was young.”

“Wheat was an important crop in the past. Every train station in the second-tier cities used to have a granary behind for storing wheat. Tiger flour, Great Wall flour, Mingzhong flour...all from Keelung to Pingtung. It’s all different now, the time has changed. “

Times change, familiar scenes no longer exist, but the love of the past continues to thrive.

"I want this Mingzhong flour to live well," he says.

Exquisite customized noodles with small amount

“These are unsalted noodles. Many of my customers are getting older and can't eat too much salt now, and thus I started to make unsalted noodles.” The shelf life of unsalted noodles is relatively short, and occasionally there will be individual customers who are unfamiliar with raw noodles. The owner will suggest that they buy just the right amount, because the freshly made noodles are the best.

“I mainly take customized orders. I only sell it here when I make an extra amount of noodles.”

“Some people buy noodles from me just for tryouts, some are passers-by, and some of their orders are cancelled by big factories. Big factories could be quite arrogant sometimes. So, the customers will reach me.”

The owner said that he received an order for shumai skin a few days ago. That customer found him based on other people’s recommendation. “Very few people in Hualien can make shumai skin. Hong Kong-style shumai depends on the color of the skin to distinguish the taste, but we don’t like to dye the dough. You might contaminate other dough by dyeing. It takes a lot of effort and time to clean the equipment, not many people like to spend time on it.”

“In addition, there aren’t many orders of shumai skin. Many factories are used to making large quantities, they don’t know how to make a small amount. It’s all about how to adjust the proportions. That’s the main problem.”

“When there is a new customer, it usually requires two to three tryouts, so we can slowly adjust the thickness and color. It must be done by the third or fourth sample.”

With the owner’s proficiency in the nature of the dough and the patience to communicate with the customers, people gradually know that there is a noodle-making stall in Fuxing Market, which is not large in scale, but the owner is knowledgeable and nice.

“The reputation spreads itself and our customers will recommend us to others.”

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The noodle making master who grew up in the flour

“I am not joking. I grew up in the flour.”

“My family used to live in Kaohsiung. There are about ten people in our house, including my brothers, sisters, parents and our employees. My eldest brother, my second brother, and I are still running the noodle-making business. We also accept apprentices and they have opened their own shops. There are four of them now, from the south of Taichung to Pingtung, Kaohsiung, most of them are in Tainan. Some of them don’t make raw noodles; instead, they run the famous noodle shops in Kaohsiung. Their skills are learnt from our family.”

The owner moved to Hualien from Kaohsiung because his wife is from Hualien. “My wife is not used to the air and water quality in Kaohsiung. That’s why we moved back to Hualien.”

“We started from scratch after moving back. But we don’t ask to earn a lot of money. We just want to live a stable and safe life. “