The refreshing Kinmen Qingya Lamb Hot Pot—The lamb is piled up almost like a small mountain

Text and photos byOrange Dog Loves Candy

As autumn and winter approach, I visited Kinmen twice this summer. The blazing sun made me drink cold water almost non-stop all day. But on my most recent trip, I happened to encounter a frontal system, and I was staying near the Guiningtou Beishan Seawall. The strong wind carried a slight chill, and the cold weather made me crave some warming, nourishing food. While Kinmen is famously known for its beef hot pot and beef bone hot pot, a local actually recommended we head to Xiabao in Jinning Township. I remember staying nearby on my last trip too—there’s a [Qingya Lamb Hot Pot] that’s very popular among locals. Naturally, with such a recommendation, we hurried right over.

The exterior of [Qingya Lamb Hot Pot] isn’t very eye-catching—it looks a bit like a temporary tin shack. But because we arrived early and it was still light out, Qingya had just started business, so there wasn’t a single car at the entrance. For a moment, I thought I might have come to the wrong place, as there was no crowd as I’d expected. There weren’t many people, but that’s also because we were the first customers. Their off-days are a bit unusual—they’re closed during July and August (summer) and also during Chinese New Year. Once inside, the space is quite spacious—or perhaps I should say simple and unadorned. There’s not much decoration; it’s just a place to eat. Fortunately, since there weren’t many reservation holders on weekdays, we were quickly seated inside, where the air conditioning was on. The owners are an elderly couple surnamed Weng. The Weng surname is common in this village, and they’ve apparently been in business for 15 years. It’s no exaggeration—the place was packed within half an hour of us sitting down.

Almost every table was drinking Kaoliang liquor. The Kinmen locals at the next table, knowing we were tourists from Taiwan, even insisted on giving us half a bottle of Kaoliang as a gift. Most Kinmen folks seem incredibly warm and eager to share the best of their hometown—whether it’s the good liquor or the warmth of their hospitality. Though having to down several rounds of Kaoliang is a bit tough for someone like me who doesn’t drink much.

The menu here naturally centers around the lamb hot pot, with options for a large pot (NT$900), medium pot (NT$700), and small pot (NT$500). For our group of eight, if we were in Taiwan, we would’ve gone straight for the large pot. But Qingya’s lamb hot pot has such generous portions and great value.

In fact, because the neighboring private room hadn’t arrived yet, the restaurant had already started boiling the lamb hot pot. The portion size was surprising. There were also some stir-fried dishes, though the pricier one was the Sesame Oil Double Kidneys. Most other dishes are generally priced between NT$200 and NT$250.

[Signature Lamb Hot Pot / Medium Pot / NT$700]
The amount of lamb in the hot pot is piled up so high it almost overflows the pot—like a small mountain. You can tell they put in a huge amount. Apparently, the lamb is home-raised, even fed on Kinmen Kaoliang lees. They use male sheep and are very generous with the portions.

At first, I thought the piled-up lamb might be sitting on a bed of cabbage, but there are actually plenty of pieces even in the soup. The skin-on lamb includes some rib meat with bones and some meat chunks with skin and tendons. The common factor? They’re all big chunks.

The lamb chunks are pre-braised before being added to the pot, and the light brown broth initially gave me the impression of a medicinal herbal soup.

But in reality, the taste isn’t as heavy with medicinal herbs as I expected. The broth is light and refreshing. In addition to the lamb, there’s also quite a bit of cabbage and frozen tofu. If you just order the lamb hot pot, the basic contents of the pot are pretty much like this.

But the lamb is really more substantial compared to your average lamb hot pot. The meat is firm and springy. Aside from the light flavor of the broth—which is actually quite tasty—the gaminess of the lamb is well-controlled, almost unnoticeable, making it easier to eat.

And no matter where you go, it seems like the universal dipping sauce for lamb is soybean paste. But adding some Kinmen chili sauce makes it even better.

Later, we also ordered some additional hot pot ingredients. I won’t list the prices and items one by one since you can refer to the menu above. After these ingredients were added and the broth started boiling, I noticed that as the flavors of the various ingredients melded into the soup,

the taste of the broth became richer. But compared to Taiwanese lamb hot pots, it’s still on the lighter side.

But their clams are quite large, and the portion of cabbage is also a big basket. Both of these added to the broth are great. For our group of eight, the medium pot plus some extra toppings were more than enough. We even took leftovers to go—enough to cook some noodles later.

[Sesame Oil Double Kidneys / NT$450]
If I remember correctly, this is the dish name and price. The presentation is quite colorful. The kidney slices are stir-fried perfectly, cooked just right, and coated in sesame oil aroma, soft, tender, and smooth.

There are both chicken and black-and-white double kidneys. It’s not common to see double kidneys that even include black-bone chicken. The ingredients are really generous, making it a dish well worth ordering. It’s a bit pricier, but it’s delicious.

[Kinmen Scallion Oil Noodle Thread]
I’m not sure how many servings we ordered, so I don’t know the price. But the portion was more than enough for eight people. Actually, throughout my days in Kinmen, I felt like I was eating noodle thread all day XD—especially oyster noodle thread, which I practically ate for all three meals XD. But Qingya’s dry-style noodle thread is really enjoyable. The noodles are slightly thinner but not mushy or sticky. There’s a rich aroma of scallion oil wrapped into the threads, and plenty of baby bok choy was added too—I loved it, though I didn’t take a good photo T_T

[Stir-Fried Hollow Heart Vegetable / NT$100]
It’s stir-fried with goji berries and garlic, but it’s a very homestyle flavor and reasonably priced.

This was a completely unplanned stop—we only decided to head to Qingya that evening after a friend mentioned it. While writing this food review, I checked online and found that there are barely any reviews—just a handful. But honestly, who would’ve thought Kinmen has such good lamb hot pot? After all, this place isn’t on the typical tourist route. For me, while it wasn’t mind-blowingly amazing, this popular lamb hot pot really delivers in terms of generous portions and quality lamb. No wonder when night falls, the locals keep coming in table after table, raising toasts and filling the air with lively chatter. If you’re traveling to Kinmen and you have a decent-sized group (I’d say at least four to five people), it’s definitely worth considering a meal here.

◎ Shop Info: [Qingya Lamb Hot Pot, Xiabao Village, Pan Shan, North Huan Dao Road │ Jinning Township]
◎ Address: No. 81-1, Xiabao, Pan Shan Village, Jinning Township, Kinmen County
◎ Phone: 082-373-126 (It’s recommended to make a reservation in advance)
◎ Business Hours: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM + 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM
◎ Consumption Reminder: Open year-round (except July & August in summer and the Chinese New Year holiday period)

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