沙茶麵是福建閩南地區的一種特色美食，當地人會將沙茶醬熬成湯頭，再加入油麵以及青菜、鮮蝦、魚丸、豬肝等配料而成，這種美食的起源據說是東南亞華僑將東南亞調味醬，改良後帶回廈門，沙茶麵的味道既獨特又豐富，湯頭的香氣濃郁，麵條有嚼勁，配料美味，令人一口接一口，停不下來。
在廈門必吃小吃中，如海蠣煎、肉粽、沙茶麵中，唯一在台灣很難找到的是沙茶麵，台灣可能有店家有賣，但是並沒有很出名，至少我從小到大，沒有聽說沙茶麵，直到我去廈門前，在網路上翻找廈門美食時，才發現沙茶麵這樣特色美食，而在廈門的街頭巷尾，人們可以輕易地找到販賣沙茶面的攤位或店面，當我在中山街上，到處都可以看到沙茶面的招牌，例如藍氏鐘樓肉粽是一家在閩南地區傳承了百年的店家，現在除了賣肉粽之外，也賣海蠣煎、沙茶麵、小籠包等。
晚上回到中山路上，在沿路隨便找一家看起來乾淨的小吃店，點了一碗沙茶麵，沙茶麵的面底是六元，根據加甚麼配料，價錢會往上加，這是在地人的吃法，想吃得簡單，就面底加個大腸及蝦仁，想吃得豪華，面底也可以加上一隻肥美龍蝦，當然價錢就不會太便宜，這家的湯頭很濃郁，肉塊蠻紮實的，很有嚼勁，魚丸有內餡，咬下會噴汁，價錢也蠻合理的，總算解了我沙茶麵的饞。
其實，我知道，月華沙茶麵店是一家，在我住的中山路附近評價不錯的名店，價目表上的沙茶麵有多種配料選擇，想吃甚麼料的麵可以自由挑選，也有賣肉粽，只要是用餐時間，店門前等待入座的隊伍常常會排的很長，多年前我吃過，印象不錯，現在已經不想再排隊了，就像我提過的，我不是美食家，也不是非要吃排隊名店，沙茶麵是種很重口味的小吃，大部份店家的差別都在湯頭和配料，而小店有小店的巧，老店有老店的美，青菜蘿蔔各有所好。
Satay noodles are a specialty dish from the Minnan region of Fujian, China. Locals make a soup base from satay sauce and add oil noodles, vegetables, fresh shrimp, fish balls, pork liver, and other ingredients. The origin of this dish is said to be from Chinese overseas in Southeast Asia who improved the Southeast Asian seasoning sauce and brought it back to Xiamen. The taste of satay noodles is both unique and rich. The aroma of the soup is strong, the noodles are chewy, and the ingredients are delicious, making people can’t stop eating.
Among the must-eat snacks in Xiamen, such as oyster pancake, rice dumplings, and satay noodles, the only one that is hard to find in Taiwan is satay noodles. There may be stores in Taiwan that sell it, but it is not very famous. At least I have never heard of satay noodles from childhood to adulthood, until I went to Xiamen, I found this special food when I was looking for Xiamen food on the Internet. In the streets and alleys of Xiamen, people can easily find stalls or shops selling satay noodles. When I was on Zhongshan Street, I could see the sign of satay noodles everywhere. For example, Lan’s Zhonglou Rice Dumplings is a hundred-year-old shop in the Minnan region. Now in addition to selling rice dumplings, it also sells oyster pancake, satay noodles, and soup dumplings.
In the evening, I returned to Zhongshan Road and randomly found a clean snack shop along the road and ordered a bowl of satay noodles. The base of the satay noodles is $6 RMD. According to what ingredients are added, the price will increase. This is the way locals eat. If you want to eat simply, just add intestines and shrimp to the base. If you want to eat luxuriously, you can also add a fat lobster to the base. Of course, the price will not be too cheap. The soup of this shop is very rich, the meat pieces are quite solid, very chewy, the fish balls have stuffing, and they will squirt when bitten, and the price is quite reasonable, finally solving my craving for satay noodles.
In fact, I know that Yuehua Satay Noodle Shop is a well-reviewed famous shop near Zhongshan Road where I live. The satay noodles on the price list have a variety of ingredients to choose from. You can freely choose what kind of noodles you want to eat. They also sell rice dumplings. As long as it is mealtime, the queue waiting for seats in front of the store is often very long. I ate it many years ago and the impression was good. Now I don’t want to queue anymore. Just like I mentioned, I am not a foodie, nor do I have to eat queued famous shops. Satay noodles are a very heavy-tasting snack. The difference between most shops lies in the soup and ingredients. Small shops have their own skills, old shops have their own beauty, and vegetables and radishes each have their own good.
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