Vegetarian alert！All-you-can-eat herbal vegetable hot pot in Kaohsiung with 3 refreshing broths

Text and photos byKaohsiung Food Map
(Photography by A-Xiong / Text by Sabrina, copyright reserved by Kaohsiung Food Map)

Meizai says:
All-you-can-eat free-range mountain chicken from Ludao, plus tons of Taiwanese native wild greens you’ve never even heard of before urbanites get to try them all here in Kaohsiung—no need to go all the way to Taitung anymore！

A new concept in healthy eating: Organic foraged greens delivered straight from Taitung’s Indigenous Botanical Garden will open both your appetite and your eyes.

Free-range mountain chicken from Ludao + Centella rice noodles + Pheasant state banquet ice dessert—all these rare delights await you here.

Do you enjoy eating vegetables? Is your knowledge of vegetables still limited to common types like cabbage, water spinach, sweet potato leaves, and cauliflower? The Boiling Pot from Taitung’s Indigenous Garden completely shatters your perception of greens—dozens of organic, native edible herbs are lined up at the buffet bar, dazzling and overwhelming. In this grand garden of forageable plants, you’ll feel like Granny Liu from Dream of the Red Chamber, finding everything fresh and extraordinary. Taitung’s Indigenous Botanical Garden cultivates various native edible herbs and wild greens using pollution-free, organic farming methods. These herbs are transformed into delicacies in the hot pot, paired with light and refreshing meat or vegetarian medicinal broths, turning you into a modern-day Shennong on a healthy, guilt-free journey of authentic flavors.

Located on the 13th floor of Grand Peace Department Store in Dadaocheng, the Boiling Pot at Indigenous Garden offers an all-you-can-eat dining format. Currently, there are three broth options: chicken bone meat broth, fruit and vegetable vegetarian broth, or fleeceflower root broth. No matter which broth you choose, they are all refreshing, sweet, and not greasy. The boiling process helps retain the original flavors of the ingredients. Before adding anything to the pot, you can sip some broth to warm your stomach and savor its pure taste.

Start with some cooked dishes from the ready-to-eat section to whet your appetite—the battle chicken is a must-try. Taitung’s free-range mountain chicken from Ludao is famous far and wide. Cooked in a saltwater chicken style, the battle chicken has tender, bouncy meat that’s easy to chew. With minimal seasoning, what you taste is the chicken’s natural sweetness. It’s one of the most popular dishes at Indigenous Garden.

Coming to Indigenous Garden, you’ll realize just how astonishingly diverse native edible greens can be.

If you don’t know where to start or suffer from choice paralysis, it’s recommended to take only small portions of three types of greens at a time, adding them to the pot one by one, so you can fully appreciate the unique flavor of each herb. After trying a round, you’ll know which greens you prefer.

Each type of organic herb comes with clear labeling of ingredients and calorie content. Just reading these labels feels like taking a class in edible botany—educational, fun, refreshing, and engaging.

In addition to rare organic herbs, Indigenous Garden also offers some common vegetables, roots, tubers, melons, and mushrooms as safe choices. You won’t have to worry about going hungry even if you’re not feeling adventurous.

Fresh herbs and greens don’t need to be boiled for long before they’re ready to eat. This helps preserve their nutritional value and allows you to better appreciate the texture of each herb.

During the blanching process, the greens lose their oxalic acid and any grassy smell. Dip them in the store’s exclusive herbal dipping sauce, and they become wonderfully crisp and tender. If you’re concerned about consuming too much oxalic acid, it’s recommended not to drink the broth after blanching.

After sampling the wide variety of organic herbs, it’s time to try some meat. The meats here don’t have fancy names—they’re simply pork and beef—but the advantage is that they’re freshly sliced to order and available in unlimited quantities.

The meat slices only need to be blanched for 15 seconds before they’re ready to eat. Once you try them, you’ll realize that these meats with unimpressive names are actually anything but ordinary. Whether beef or pork, the meat is incredibly tender, juicy, and well-marbled, making for a very satisfying bite.

Indigenous Garden offers more than ten types of sauces and condiments, including several exclusive herbal sauces such as red thistle onion sauce, goji berry sauce, Chinese toon sauce, Thai lemongrass sauce, and white crane ganoderma chili sauce... among others. Each has a distinct flavor and pairs well even with common satay sauce. A recommended mix by the shop is one spoon each of red thistle onion sauce, goji berry sauce, and Chinese toon sauce, with a bit of shredded ginger or mashed radish—it’s the perfect dipping blend. For meat or hot pot ingredients, you can add satay sauce or adjust freely to your taste.

After enjoying the array of organic herbs and meats, consider adding some rice or noodle dishes to fill you up. Lei Gong Gen rice noodles and ?? vegetable noodles are exclusive creations you won’t find elsewhere—definitely worth a try.

Lei Gong Gen rice noodles have a bouncy texture when blanched. Toss them with a bit of white crane ganoderma chili sauce for a delicious dry noodle style.

The steamed mixed grain buns in the bamboo basket also follow a healthy and nourishing theme.

Finally, end your meal on a perfect note with a scoop of Bijiou ice dessert. Made by the Bijiou Ice brand from the BeiNan Meinong Community in Taitung, this ice dessert once appeared as a post-meal sweet at a state banquet, earning its reputation as “state banquet ice.” Made with local agricultural produce, it has a unique, authentic flavor and generous ingredients.

Located on the 13th floor of Grand Peace Department Store, Indigenous Garden boasts a fairly spacious dining area, including private rooms, accommodating around 300 people. The environment is quiet, spacious, clean, and bright. With a relaxing, slow-living atmosphere, you can leisurely pick and savor your way through a hundred herbs, as if wandering through an indigenous botanical garden—embarking on a nature-close, light and healthy culinary journey.

Indigenous Garden Boiling Pot

Address: 13F, No. 218, Heping 1st Rd., Lingya District, Kaohsiung City
Phone: 07-2262289
Hours: 11:00～15:00 / 17:00~20:00
Closed: None
Card payment: Accepted
Seating capacity: Approximately 300 seats (Group dining requires prior reservation)
Average spending:

A 10% service charge will be added to the above amounts
Wi-Fi: Available

Kaohsiung Food Map
Author introduction: Kaohsiung Food Map is shared by Ah Hsiung and Xiao Gao, featuring local southern Taiwanese cuisine and cultural flavors. They also occasionally introduce tourist attractions from various regions, sampling signature dishes and capturing beautiful scenery to share Taiwan’s food and unique human touch with everyone.
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