Since 1970, the famous Tiger Brand Cheng Tung 虎牌正通 has been serving Taiwan with delicious rice noodles, and you can snag a freshly cooked free bowl (or five) at their Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Factory in Yilan.
There’s never been a more perfect excuse to make a pitstop than the Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Cultural Center. Not only can visitors get a walk through of life in Taiwan in the ‘70s with an interactive museum, but there’s also a viewing area to see the rice noodles being manufactured in the actual Tiger Brand Cheng Tung factory!
Definitely worth the trip if you’re a noodle fan…or just want a bite to eat.
History of Tiger Brand Cheng Tung Rice Noodles
Although the ‘Tiger Brand Cheng Tung Rice Noodles’ brand was established in 1970, the concept had formed years earlier. Founded by Mr. Ming-tong Lin, a young salesman in Taiwan, the company originally held its own by selling soy sauce in bulk. This later branched into rice noodles, and Puli rice noodles in particular.
According to the company website, Tiger Brand were even the first to sell rice noodles in supermarket chains in Taiwan! A company of many firsts, Tiger Brand Cheng Tung can also lay claim to being the first company to:
- Develop instant noodles with seasoning sachets
- Export rice noodles to the United States, as far back as the 1970s too!
What to do at the Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Factory
The Tiger Brand Cheng Tung Rice Noodle Factory has been providing visitors with unrivalled deliciousness, save perhaps for the nearby Kili Bay Pearl Milk Tea Cultural Center, and historical experiences since opening in 2014.
Featuring a museum showcasing life in 1970s Taiwan, with a restaurant serving up steaming and endless bowls of noodles and several different DIY experiences, as well as a noodle factory viewing area, there is a lot of things to do in Yilan’s number one noodle factory.
1. Visit the Old-timey Taiwan Museum
The majority of the visit is dedicated to the museum. It’s called “那個年代” (In our time) in reference to the founder growing up and developing noodles during that time period.
As such, the interior of the exhibition is made to look like a mini city in Taiwan from that period, complete with a post office, cinema exterior, military command post, barber’s shop, and Tiger Brand Cheng Tung Rice Noodle Factory, among a few others.
The exhibition is also home Ah ma’s Rice Noodle Stall, from which visitors can have unlimited bowls of freshly made Tiger Brand Cheng Tung rice noodles topped with Tiger Brand’s signature scallion squid sauce. There’s other goodies on offer too, like the ‘Lion’s Head’ (pork meatballs in soup) we got. I definitely recommend it.
There’s also the Zhengtong General Store, where you can redeem your $100 ticket voucher for noodle packets, brown sugar, condiments, and more.
2. Do a DIY Noodle Activity
Within the ‘In our time’ exhibition hall, there are a few DIY activities to choose from. The ‘Electric Pot Fried Rice Noodle Experience’ and the ‘Painted Rice Bowl Noodle Activity’ are both free experiences that are carried out within the vicinity of the Zhengtong General Store.
For both experiences, visitors can use their vouchers to redeem the supplies, which is basically just noodles. In the case of the ‘paint’, visitors get marker pens to draw their own designs on the bowls. I presume that the ‘electric pot’ is another form of cooking the noodles.
The other DIY experience at Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Factory is notoriously better. For an extra $200 per person, visitors can *actually* make rice noodles. Sessions are held twice a day, at 10am and 3pm.
3. Watch the Noodles Get Made
The last part of the Tiger Brand Rice Noodle factory tour is the good stuff – watching the Taiwan tourism factory at work. From vacuum kneading to the pressing and drying, visitors can watch the noodles on their journey from dough to packet.
Please note that there are no showings of the factory process at lunchtime (12pm to 2pm) or on weekends, because that’s when workers just simply aren’t there.
How to get to the Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Cultural Center
From my experience, the best, and only, ways to get to the Tiger Brand Rice Noodle Factory are by scooter or car. Sure, you could call a cab too, but it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere so would not recommend.
- Address: No. 5, Xingsan Road, Yilan County 268宜蘭縣五結鄉利興三路5號
- Admission fee: $200 (includes $100 voucher for food inside)
- Open hours: 9am to 5.30pm (last tickets sold at 4.30pm)
- Website: Tiger Brand
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