Ingredients delivered fresh daily, all-you-can-eat meat and veggies！High-value shabu-shabu & sukiyaki

Text and photos byMite

Since I (Mite) easily get full or hungry from sweet food, I haven’t been to many sukiyaki restaurants. Among them, momo left the most memorable impression.
This time, I visited [Honban Yasai Nōen] near Taipei Metro Zhongshan Station. The special feature of same-day, locally sourced ingredients delivery was impressively fresh.
Both the popular sukiyaki broth and the freshness of vegetables and meat were top-notch.
If you want an all-you-can-eat experience while saving money and staying healthy, Honban Yasai Nōen won’t disappoint.

It’s not so easy to try the sukiyaki and shabu-shabu at Honban Yasai Nōen—currently, there are only two branches in Taiwan: one in Nanjing, Taipei, and another in Zhongli, Zhongshan.
Fortunately, Taipei Metro Zhongshan Station isn’t too far away, and transportation is convenient. Whether you take public transport or drive, there’s parking nearby.
Honban is tucked away on the second floor of an apartment building. Once you go in, walk to the end to find the purple-walled staircase, or you can also use the elevator nearby.

▲ Honban Yasai Nōen waiting area (exterior)

▲ The exterior waiting area features detailed introductions about Honban’s background and a notice board of today’s locally sourced ingredients

▲ Honban Yasai Nōen waiting area (interior)

Honban is doing pretty well business-wise, and phone reservation slots often fill up quickly.
If you plan to wait on-site, it’s best to arrive early. Don’t come too close to closing time, or you might feel rushed since the dining time is 90 minutes.

▲ The restaurant corridor has slightly dim lighting, with wooden partitions separating dining areas, adding a touch of Japanese mystery.

▲ A corner of the Honban Yasai Nōen dining space

Actually, if you can’t get a reservation by phone, don’t worry too much—the inside of the restaurant is quite spacious, so you’ll likely get a table soon.
The dining area may be a bit dimly lit as well, but it creates a nice atmosphere for eating. It’s just a bit tricky for taking photos XD (Mite’s photography skills are a bit lacking Orz)

▲ Honban Yasai Nōen offers two types of seating arrangements

▲ Restroom

The lighting is even dimmer here, but the environment is clean and hygienic.

▲ Each table has a hidden tissue box in the right corner, which is convenient and doesn’t take up table space.　　　　　　　　　　▲ Shared utensils on the table

▲ Honban Yasai Nōen menu

(Choose one) Broth: Kanto-style sukiyaki, Hokkaido kelp hot pot, spicy Japanese miso hot pot, tomato & onion soup
(Unlimited) Meat: Premium U.S. beef short ribs, carefully selected wagyu, Taiwan S.P.F. healthy pork
(Unlimited) Side dishes: High-quality Taiwanese rice (additional staples like glass noodles and ribbon ramen available from the food cart)
(Unlimited/from cart) Assorted vegetables: cabbage, napa cabbage, king oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, corn, burdock, meatballs, etc. (Choose one) Dessert after the meal:
(Switchable & refillable) Drinks:
(Add-on) Alcoholic beverages:

▲ Plain boiled water / Sukiyaki sauce
After selecting your preferred hot pot broth, the server will bring two bottles of black and white seasoning bottles. The white one contains plain drinking water, while the black one is the original concentrated broth.

▲ Basic plate, meat box, and sukiyaki dipping sauce ingredients (chili, scallions, shichimi spice, egg)
Once you’ve chosen your broth, all sorts of things suddenly appear on the table—
Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite dish. There aren’t many ingredients in the basic plate, but more will be available via the server’s cart later on for you to order from.
The meat box arrived first with just one box, then another box of premium American beef short ribs was added.
Whether it’s the fresh vegetable selection, meats, or sukiyaki dipping sauces, everything is unlimited. Don’t be silly and eat meat without sauce—just ask the staff if you need more, LOL.

▲ Fresh CAS eggs from Sanxia, New Taipei City
?? So lucky to get today’s farm-fresh CAS eggs delivered straight from the source!!!!
The cracked-open egg looks like a little baby, with tender, bouncy skin. Just add some chili and scallions, and it makes a fantastic sukiyaki dipping sauce.

The drinks are super-sized and super satisfying!!!
But picking a drink you end up not daring to drink is a bit awkward, Orz.
No matter which drink you choose, you can switch it when refilling—no need to stress about which one to pick. Just go with whatever you feel like drinking first.
I originally thought I should have some sugar-free healthy tea after eating so much meat, but turns out I’m too chicken to drink it, so I had to ask the server to swap it for a cola instead.
Cold drinks don’t come with ice cubes by default. Ice lovers, remember you can ask the server for extra ice :)

▲ Fresh vegetable farm cart (vegetable section)

There are many types of vegetables, including the healthy, low-calorie, and digestion-friendly weight-loss buddy “burdock.” I ordered several rounds of just that alone.

▲ Fresh vegetable farm cart (hot pot ingredient section)

I’m not a big fan of meatball-type hot pot ingredients, so from this cart I only picked tofu skin, grilled gluten, enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and bean sprouts.
But apart from fish tofu and the soft tofu that came with the initial serving, none of the other tofu options were available. I want my tofu!!!

▲ First round cart plate

▲ Second round cart plate

▲ Third round cart plate

▲ Complimentary plate

I usually don’t eat meatballs when having hot pot, so I wasn’t interested in this plate, but the white sliced item tasted like a mix between yam and rice cake.
It was really unique and I wanted to know what it was, but didn’t, and now I regret it—like that time I didn’t ask for a girl’s number and regretted it afterward, Orz.

▲ Grilled gluten set (moderate spiciness, pork slices, rice cakes, enoki mushrooms, dried tofu)