Hsinchu also has access to fresh beef hot pot – daily direct delivery from Tainan!

Text & photos bySir San Gao

A Tainan fresh beef specialty store recently opened on Jingguo Road, claiming to deliver freshly butchered beef daily from Shanhua. As someone who always visits one or two beef soup shops whenever I’m in Tainan, I first stopped by for a late-night hot pot session, and then visited again on a weekend afternoon for beef soup. Both times, however, the place was pretty quiet with few customers.

I’m not sure if it’s because it’s not mealtime that there were so few customers. After all, it’s rare to find a beef soup shop in Hsinchu, and both visits left me with the impression that it’s a decent place. I hope it can survive so that if I suddenly get a craving, I can come back again.

On my first visit, I ordered the two-person beef hot pot set (NT$580), which included the broth base, premium beef, and a choice between stir-fried beef with scallions or beef with Chinese broccoli—I opted for the former. The stir-fried pickled cabbage wasn’t available, so I got stir-fried beef offal instead (NT$160). Given the costs, the overall pricing is on the higher side. The broth base and the veggies were almost identical to what I’ve had in Tainan. The only downside was the quality of the premium beef—it was just passable.

However, the flavor of the condiments—the fermented broad bean paste, soy sauce, as well as the essential ginger shreds and scallions—was authentically Tainan-style.

The self-serve braised pork rice (referred to as meat sauce rice in Tainan, regardless of fat content) was available for unlimited consumption during the meal. It tasted good and didn’t have an overly greasy aftertaste. Perhaps because there were fewer customers, it had been simmered long enough? The meat sauce definitely had an authentic Tainan flavor—by which I mean the “aroma,” not the level of sweetness.

The stir-fried dishes were decent too. The scallion-braised beef cooked with a mix of green and white onions and onions isn’t uncommon in Tainan. The beef offal in the stir-fried offal dish had a very strong liver flavor, which I couldn’t help but compare to the fried offal at Zhike the Almighty in Zhubei during my second visit—same situation.

My second visit actually left a better impression than the first, especially since the service was really good. This time, I ordered the premium beef soup (NT$170), the clear-braised beef brisket soup (NT$130), and garlic sprout stir-fried bone marrow (NT$180), and went through two bowls of meat sauce rice in a row. The flavors remained consistent.

The flavor of the beef soup broth was just… overly familiar, like a (vegetable and fruit) beef bone broth series? It was tasty, but not particularly unique. The beef was cooked to about 70% doneness when served, and its texture was better than on my first visit.

The beef brisket soup, on the other hand, is what I’d consider ordering again if I come back. Its broth profile leans more toward the beef offal soup style, with the tendon-rich brisket tenderized to softness while retaining a slight bounce. Though the overall flavor is light, it’s still rich enough.

The garlic sprout stir-fried bone marrow had a simple saltiness, with the bone marrow maintaining a tender texture—it was better than the stir-fried dishes from my first visit. Although the price is inevitably higher for a beef specialty store in Hsinchu, I think this place is worth a return visit, especially when I want to relive the taste of Tainan-style beef soup or meat sauce rice up close.

Niuzhiwu Tainan Fresh Beef Specialty Store
Address: No. 395, Section 2, Jingguo Road, North District, Hsinchu City
Business hours: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM (Closed Mondays)

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