Food Picks: Taiwan’s popular spicy noodle chain Xiao Hun Mian to debut at Raffles City on June 3

SINGAPORE – My first time trying Xiao Hun Mian in Taiwan was right after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the waters off Hualien county on April 3, 2024. 

I was with The Straits Times’ Taiwan correspondent Yip Wai Yee at New Taipei’s Banqiao Station, and she recommended having lunch there. 

At the time, still fairly shaken from the tremors we had felt, I barely registered the name of the restaurant. I remember only diving into a bowl of wonderfully thick and chewy noodles paired with a comforting mala beef bone broth. 

Xiao Hun, quite literally, translates to selling one’s soul in Chinese, and can also mean ecstasy or overwhelming joy. 

It sparked joy then, and now, more than a year later, continues to do so – on home soil.

The famed chain – established in 2017 and with 18 stores across Taiwan – will make its Singapore debut at Raffles City on June 3, and I was able to score a first taste of the food prior to the opening. Its other overseas outlet opened in Hong Kong in August 2024. 

The menu here is similar to that in Taiwan – with a choice of clear or spicy mala broth made with beef bone.

In English, the 48-seat outlet’s name is Spicy Noodle – and for good reason. The default noodle option is mildly spicy, so you will have to opt out if you cannot take the heat. 

The tingly spicy level is just right, but it may be adjusted depending on diner feedback.

Prices start at $18.80 for a set, which comes with sliced beef, braised tau pok (called tofu pouch on the menu), noodles, ramen-style egg with a jammy yolk and a sweet and sour dip for the meat. 

The $24.80 sets include beef tendon. Beef shank will be introduced later. 

Add on side dishes of garlic cucumber ($3.80) or spicy braised spongy tofu and layered tau kee (called soy chip on the menu, $4.50). Crispy youtiao ($4.50) is also good for soaking up the broth. 

But really, it is all about the noodles here – something that Xiao Hun Mian’s founders chose to bank on when they realised diners at their former hotpot restaurant were more interested in the noodles than steamboat.

Their growing noodle empire includes a range of Xiao Hun Mian instant noodles, in the style of dao xiao mian (knife-cut noodles), and I hope these will be sold here soon. 

Where: B1-38 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road 
MRT: City Hall 
Open: From June 3, 11am to 10pm daily 
Info: @spicynoodlesingapore on Instagram