"Niu Taiwanese Beef Noodles is one of those restaurants where 28 out of your 34 minutes there will be spent looking directly into the glossy sheen of a soy-based broth as well as your phone. The box-sized Taiwanese noodle spot in Covent Garden is mainly knee-high counters, even though there are some bigger tables upstairs if you or a colleague fancy a proper sit-down. These noodle soups won’t reset your brain receptors, nor will they disappoint on a wet and windy Thursday night half an hour after sending your final email. The short rib is impeccably cooked, tearing away into pink flecks in a salt broth that benefits from a spoon or two of chilli. The noodles themselves are chewy strands that are welcomely slurped up while the molten brown broth cools a little. There are other things, like smacked cucumber and fried chicken, but neither are particularly memorable. Most people here are in and out within an hour, and you should be too. Food Rundown Beef Short Rib Noodles We’d wager that £15 is about the going rate for a bowl of noodle soup in the West End, and you’re not going to do much better than this short rib. The meat is excellent, falling apart with pleasingly gelatinous fat. The noodles are also well-made and, although the broth is a little one-dimensional, it’s a bowl of noodle soup that hits the spot." - Jake Missing
