A Taste of Soup Noodle in Luzhou

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Passing the Torch

The Passing down of Soup Noodle to Four Generations
Over eighty years passed since Wu-chu Chou sold noodles outside the gate of Yonglian Temple. Soup Noodle has been passed down to four generations, flourished all over Taiwan, and become a well-known cuisine in Taiwan. In Taiwan, it is a matter of course for a son to take over the business of his father. What are the attracting stories about passing down the torch? Let us tell you.

The Inheritance of Asan Soup Noodle heritage —The Discovery of Self Value in Exploration
Mr. Chung-hsin Chen set up a noodle stall in the embankment of Chouhou Village. Though he grew up in the stall, Mr. Chen had little interest in the noodle business. He had other dream and selected to work in an office for regular hours. However, under heavy stress and tedious work, he could not find his value. He returned to the old shop and looked at it from a new perspective.
After taking over the business from his father over ten years ago, Mr. Chen started to run the business with great efforts. He always believed that "One needs to set a goal and endeavor to achieve it. Though he may not get 100 scores, he is getting closer to the goal. If your goal is higher than those of others, you will be nearer to the 100 scores." Thus, over the past ten years, he did his best in terms of taste, environment, hygiene, and decoration to make customers feel at home. Now, Asan Soup Noodle is famous in Luzhou with customers coming every day in an endless stream. We are curious to know if Mr. Chen will hand over his shop to his son. Mr. Chen said with a smile, "Even myself had hesitated whether I should continue the traditional course, so it is difficult to require the next generation to inherit it. But if one day, my son, like me, has a new view about the business, maybe he will come back and continue the business with his own methods. Maybe it will be different then. And I will help him and watch his success happily."

The Inheritance of Damiaokou Soup Noodle —Cherish, Gratitude, and Devotion
Mr. Chou, the owner of Damiaokou Soup Noodle Shop, learned cooking techniques from Mr. Wan-pao Yang. Mr. Chou is the fourth generation. He told us the history in details. During the period of Japanese occupation, Mr. Wan-pao Yang followed Mr. Wu-chu Chou to sell noodles outside the gate of Yonglian Temple.
The business then was not good. After the retrocession of Taiwan, Mr. Yang started his own noodle business and changed the recipe of soup.Gradually, his reputation increased, so did his noodle business. Mr. Yang accepted two disciples—Acheng and Atzu. Acheng was the uncle of Mr. Chou. Before getting married, Mr. Chou worked in an office with low salaries. Due to his economic pressure after marriage and his mother's suggestion, he became an apprentice to his uncle, Mr. Chun-cheng Li. Mr. Chou said with a smile that he was very grateful for all the support from his uncle and aunt and would keep their kindness in his heart forever.
Now, Mr. Chou hoped that he could pass down the kindness and take care of the offspring in his family. He wanted to teach his two nephews all the recipe and methods he knew. The two nephews were the fifth generation. They learned with Mr. Chou for some time already. They followed Mr. Chou every day. They started preparation at five o'clock every morning. Customers came at seven. Only when all the preparations were done before the coming of customers could they serve bowls of sweet-smelling noodles.
It was difficult to learn cooking noodles at the beginning due to long work duration, high temperature near stove, and nervousness of unfamiliar skills. Mr. Chou required his nephews to followed traditional methods step by step in order to offer every regular or new customer a bowl of the most authentic taste. At the beginning, they did not understand why their uncle was so insistent. Slowly they learned that only through the perseverance to good tradition could they obtain the acknowledge of customers who would come again and again. While seeing customers enjoy the noodles, the idea of continuing the business came into being in their minds.

The Inheritance of the Taste of Soup
Each shop has its own method of cooking soup, but fresh pork bone and pork without MSG is abided by every shop. 50 years ago, though he handed over his shop to his two disciples, Acheng and Atzu, Mr. Wan-pao Yang still asked them to bring him a bowl of noodle to taste at 10 o'clock every morning in person in order to check if they keep the taste of the soup.
We could see from Mr. Yang's action that soup was the soul of Soup Noodle. Also we could see their respect and perseverance to traditional cooking methods.
The Inheritance of the Milk of Human Kindness
We found that there was no menu in Damiaokou shop. We only saw Mrs. Chou greeted customers busily. We were curious why Mr. Chou did so? Mr. Chou said with a smile, "If there is a menu, it will become a screen between customers and us and reduce the milk of human kindness. Ordering is process in which we can greet with them and where the milk of human kindness generates. Besides, some old men could not see the menu, so it is difficult for them to order with it." Mr. Chou said that it was his uncle's idea. He would teach his two nephews the idea so as to inherit the milk of human kindness.