Address: Regent Taipei, No.3, Lane 39, Section 2, Chungshan North Road, Taipei 104 Taiwan; +886 2 2523 8000
Best bowl: Beef noodle and tendon soup ($6.50) has chewy noodles, tender Australian beef, gelatinous tendons and flavorful broth with a hint of star anise.
Address: Yong Kang Beef Noodles, No.17, Lane 31, Section 2, Jinshan South Road, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2351 1051
3. Lin Dong Fang
Another heavyweight in the old school beef noodle stakes, this hole-in-the-wall eatery has been pleasing palates for three decades. Its beef broth contains a secret ingredient the shop claims is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Best bowl: Beef noodle and tendon soup ($6). The soup is already delicious but if you like you can add a dollop of the house beef butter to give it a spicy kick. It comes with a free top-up of broth.
Address: Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian, No.274, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2752 2556
4. Pin Chuan Lan
This relatively new eatery in the trendy Da'an District has stylish interior design with pale timber and a wall feature that mimics a row of traditional Chinese medicine drawers. More impressive is its variety of braised and clear stewed beef noodle soups. Pin Chuan Lan also serves a range of Taiwanese classics, such as Chinese pancakes with marinated pork and stuffed green peppers.
Best bowl: Beef noodle soup with U.S. rib-eye steak ($15.50): Feeling hungry? You won't have room for much else after this bowl.
Address: Pin Chuan Lan, 10, Alley 11, Lane 216, Section 4, Zhong Xiao East Road, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2721 7397
5. W Taipei
The W Taipei's beef noodles have celebrity pedigree. Six hundred bowls of this rich soup were served at the wedding of beloved local star couple Chen "Blackie" Chienchou and Christine Fan at the hotel in 2011.It's since become a popular room service dish, as well as a fixture on the menu at the hotel's tenth floor Woo Bar, where Taipei fashionistas gather.
Best bowl: Niou rou mian ($18.50, plus 10% service fee). Loaded with thick tender slices of beef, a trio of baby bok choy and chewy noodles, the broth is rich, red and slightly spicy.
Address: W Taipei, No.10 Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei 110 Taiwan; +886 2 7703 8888
6. Mien Mien Chu Tao Tasty Noodle House
Spicy, clear and tomato broths are offered at this beef noodle specialist with two outlets in the city. Unlike many red braised broths served around town, Mien Mien's Sze-chuan beef bone noodle soup is searingly spicy. The soup lives up to its name with a rich flavor of bone stock, chili burn and the mouth-numbing addition of Sichuan peppercorns.
Best bowl: Sze-chuan beef bone noodle soup with beef and clams ($4.50) is a surf 'n' turf twist on the restaurant's spicy mainstay. For an extra $0.50, you can supersize your bowl.
Address: Mien Mien Chu Tao Tasty Noodle House, 1/F, 1-162 Fuhua Road, Section 1, Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan; +886 2 2834 9739
7. Taiwan Yi Pin Ramen and Sliced Noodle
Set on one of Taipei's most bustling food streets, this no-frills restaurant has a record of strong showings at the Taipei Beef Noodle Festival. Yi Pin has built its reputation on a subtle soy and beef broth, which brings Japanese characteristics together with traditional Chinese sliced noodles. Each order of its thick, chewy noodles is carved off a big block of noodle dough.
Best bowl: Tomato and beef noodle soup ($5) comes with a half slice of stewed tomato and cubed tender brisket in a ramen-style beef broth with some of the chewiest noodles in town.
Address: Taiwan Yi Pin Ramen and Sliced Noodle,10-6 Yongkang St., Da'an District, Taipei, Taiwan; +886 2 2321 1562
8. Silk Palace, New Palace Museum
If you're hungry after admiring thousands of years of Chinese art, the 2012 festival creative category winner is available at this elegant restaurant next to the museum, also located at the Regent Taipei.
Best bowl: The "double flavored beef soup" ($14.50, plus 10% service fee) combines the two most popular beef noodle options -- spicy and clear broths -- in a yin-yang shaped bowl. Decidophobia-friendly.
Address: Silks Palace, No. 221, Section 2, Zhishan Road, Shilin District, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2523 8000