LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Maoshu Noodle Soup 猫鼠面

Maoshu Mian

Maoshu Noodle Soup is featured among the local specialties of Taiwan.

A bowl of Changhua's cat-and-rat noodle soup with meatball and fish ball
Mao shu mian ('cat and rat noodles'), a bowl of noodle soup with meatball and fish ball, a Changhua speciality · 猫鼠面,贡丸与鱼丸汤面,彰化名小吃 Source-recorded photograph date: 2007-04-06.Photo: Jason Wang · Public domain
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Maoshu Noodle Soup (猫鼠面) is a noodle soup associated with Changhua (彰化). The county tourism bureau traces its unusual name to an early proprietor whose quick movements resembled those of a mouse; the wording follows the Taiwanese pronunciation.

Pork and fish in the broth

The documented soup begins with pork chopped into small pieces and fried. These pieces are simmered with seasonings, after which flatfish (扁魚) and fresh clams are added to develop the broth. The name refers to this local noodle business and its founder, rather than to cat or mouse meat.

A Changhua shop tradition

The Changhua county government tourism information network places the shop’s beginnings in the Japanese colonial period and identifies it on Chenleng Road (陳稜路) in Changhua City. Alongside its noodle soup, the same establishment serves tender pork trotters and aromatic braised-pork rice.

Sources & reading

Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-30. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.