January 24–30, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 13
NOW OPEN AT HELLO PANDA FESTIVAL
theworldsfare.nyc
@theworldsfare
Four Four South Village Brings
Old-School Taiwanese Flavor to Flushing
Years ago, the stretch of Prince Street in
downtown Flushing two blocks south of
Northern Boulevard was home to a pretty good
Taiwanese beef noodle spot called Happy Beef
Noodle House. And then for a decade more,
the block — which has housed everything
from a Cantonese restaurant to the storied
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao — was bereft of the
comfort food many consider to be the national
dish of Taiwan.
Tai bei nou rou mian, a bowl brimming with
noodles and beef stew often scented with star
anise, was said to have been invented in the
juan cun, or Chinese military dependent villages
of Taiwan. Four Four South Village Taipei
Beef Noodles, which opened in October, takes
its name from just such a settlement.
One of the first things I noticed about Four
Four South Village, apart from the retro decor
featuring vintage Weixing radios and a
soundtrack of chestnuts like Teresa Teng’s
“Wo Yi Jian Ni Jiu Xiao” was how springy the
noodles were. They maintained a nice slightly
al dente texture throughout an entire slurping
session.
Take your seat at Four Four South and the
server will bring over a cup of tea, a dry erase
marker, and a menu with check boxes. A roster
of 10 varieties of beef noodles soup — including
basic braised beef noodles soup ($11.95)
and spicy beef noodles soup ($12.95) — headlines
the menu.
On both of my visits I checked box 113:
braised beef, tendon, and tripe, a trifecta known
as hong shao niu san bao mian in Chinese. Almost
every other beef noodle parlor I’ve visited
uses shin meat, but Four Four South opts for “rib
finger meat” or the meat between the ribs. The rib
meat, wobbly bits of tendon, and slightly funky
tripe proved fortifying along with the broth. The
latter, while quite beefy, was also distinct from
other beef noodle restaurants in that there was no
aroma of five spice whatsoever.
At first I thought it was a mistake, but owner
operator Johnny Lin — yes, that’s right, Four
Four South is a chain — says his beef noodle
soup made from a stock of beef, chicken,
and veggies that cooks for eight hours is an
old-fashioned recipe.
“A lot of people tell me this is the real flavor,”
Lin said adding that he once encountered a
Taiwanese patron in his seventies weeping into
his noodles.
The story goes that when his staff asked the
man if he was okay he responded by saying he
was overcome by emotion since he hadn’t tasted
old-fashioned beef noodle soup for 50 years.
I didn’t see any such display of emotion on
Digging into beef noodle soup done the old-fashioned way.
my visits to Four Four South, but I did witness
plenty of patrons—old and young—enjoying
those springy noodles in the hearty soup,
whose flavor is rounded out by fermented
bean, chili, and a touch of pickled greens. Four
Four South goes through 5,000 pounds of noodles
a month made. They’re made especially for
the restaurant at a factory in New Jersey. Lin
says it took the operator three tries to achieve
the desired texture.
Many Taiwanese are big fans of chou dou
fu — or stinky tofu — but not Lin, who is
glad that the Four Four South opted to feature
braised tofu ($6.95) cooked in soy sauce.
It’s a nice accompaniment to a bowl of old
school beef noodle soup.
By the way, if you are not in the mood for
beef noodle soup, the restaurant offers another
great way to combat the wintry chill
that has New York City in its grips: sesame
oil chicken soup with vermicelli ($12.95).
Cooked with ginger, goji berries, and rice
wine it is revered as a post-partum meal.
Good medicine indeed.
Address: 38-06 Prince Street,
Flushing, NY 11354
Phone: 718-886-5001
Web: http://www.44southvillage.com
BY JOE DISTEFANO
As the Culinary King of Queens, I’m so
very fortunate to live in the most diverse
and delicious destination in all of New York
City. Really I’m not royalty though, I’m
an ambassador, and a hungry one at that.
Today, a trip to Taiwan via downtown
Flushing to savor old school Taiwanese beef
noodle soup at Four Four South Village.
Chicken and sesame oil soup with ginger and
goji berries is good medicine.
/www.BrooklynPaper.com
/www.44southvillage.com
/www.BrooklynPaper.com
/www.44southvillage.com