兩喜號 (Two Fortune Numbers... wtf kind of name is this?)

On a semi random trip to 萬華 (Wan Hua), I stopped by the famous night market there, and... didn't find anything I wanted to eat. Wow that seems weird for any place I visit. I mean, usually there's at least something I find interesting, but whatever... maybe I went too early this time. It was still bright outside ha. Anyway, feeling rather dejected, I began trudging back to the bus stop, but on the way, I happened to stumble across a restaurant that was more or less packed with people. There was a line wrapping out the door into the sidewalk, and I have this stupid rule that I 'have to explore every place that has a mass of Asians, since they know what's up.' So I did, and it just so happens that I came across a restaurant that has 80 years of history... I think, if I remember correctly. It's called 兩喜號, or if translated directly, the number of two fortunes? Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too... but what do I care if something sounds stupid if it tastes stupid good lol. The storefront isn't too spectacular, sound familiar? It's just another shop stuck into a small nook on the side of the sidewalk, and the only reason anyone would go in is because they know of its history or they see a crapload of people. Inside, it has dual floors, where you order on the first and your food gets sent up an elevator to you. You then have to wait for your order number and go pick it up from the chute (logistically, I guess this means people steal food all the time?). I actually thought this was a pretty nifty idea... increased seating, but not at the cost of efficiency. At other places it's nuts how slow your food comes just because of a set of stairs. Back to the food..., the order consisted of their famed '魷魚羹' or squid soup, a small rice with meat chunks (think soy sauce based marinara haha), and an order of greens because I am not very smart and checked the box below what I meant to. Fail. Back to the food... how was it?


Uh, the pork sauce rice was okay. I mean, they all pretty much tasting the same after a while... like gym socks soaked in soy sauce and cooked with minced pork (I mean that in a good way btw). The squid soup was good, but not my cup of tea. My mom liked it a lot if that means anything. I mean, I can understand the reason why it's famous, it was nice and thick, the squid was adequately chewy, and the cilantro/sauce made it really pleasant smelling, but I feel like the flavor was more of sauce than of the fish broth base. That and I ate a hot bowl of soup when it was blistering outside, maybe if I had this in Winter I'd have loved it. Sorry I forgot all the prices... this was probably more than 6 weeks ago, but I can tell you that our bill didn't top 100 NT ($3) between 2 people. Yes, it was adequately filling. That said, I'd probably tell people to go here just to try it, the dish is rather uncommon (maybe not in Taiwan), and if you're going to try it, you might as well do it at a place the locals love.