Articles, Yongle, A Village, Round Ring: A Big Comparison of Tainan’s Popular Beef Soups

Text and photos byOld K

It’s been almost three years since my last visit to Tainan—time really flies so fast, doesn’t it? This time, because my old dog K passed away from a serious illness, I suddenly had a lot more free time on my hands. So I decided to head back to my hometown, Tainan, to wander around and unwind. During those three days in Tainan, I really ate to my heart’s content XD Although I didn’t manage to hit the goal of 30 restaurants, I still ate at 27, which is 90%—not bad, right? XD For the first article, let’s start with Tainan’s most famous beef soup!

Tainan’s beef soup is pretty well-known all over Taiwan. The Liuqian Beef Soup I had three years ago is still something Old K remembers fondly. So this time, I planned to try more and do a comparison. Since I only had three days here, and there are so many other delicious things to eat, I only managed to have four. But each one was really good, so let’s take a look!

The first one I went to was A Village Second Generation Beef Soup, located on Bao’an Road. Actually, I originally wanted to try A Ming Pig Heart nearby, but there was quite a line there, so I came to A Village Second Generation Beef Soup instead. I had wanted to try A Ming Pig Heart the last time I was in Tainan too, but there were always a lot of people. This time, it was still pretty crowded. Their service is super thoughtful. Because there were very few tourists when I visited Tainan this time, A Ming Pig Heart was the only place I saw with a line—so if you want to try it, you probably won’t get in without waiting XD

This was on the first night. I had already eaten a bunch of delicious food earlier, so I just ordered a bowl of beef soup.

Beef Soup (NT$100)

The broth isn’t super rich, but it’s smooth, sweet, and the beef flavor is quite pronounced. Out of these four, it’s a bit more oily, which makes it quite suitable for drinking on colder days. It’s a tasty bowl of beef soup.

The color of the beef isn’t very pink—I originally thought it wouldn’t be very tender—but it was actually quite soft and tender. And it’s already sweet and savory on its own, so eating it plain is great.

Every place in Tainan has this kind of dipping sauce—a sweet sauce paste with oil, served with shredded ginger. If you prefer a stronger flavor, you can also add some fermented broad bean paste. Old K thinks dipping a little and adding some shredded ginger makes it even more flavorful.

The next morning at six, I headed to Guohua Street to try Yongle Beef Soup. Guohua Street is sort of a food street, with a lot of famous snacks located along it. That morning, there weren’t any tourists—just local uncles and aunties coming to eat beef soup.

Yongle Beef Soup had the least variety out of the four. Just like before, I only ordered a bowl of beef soup.

In Tainan, beef soup is always made by placing raw beef in the bowl first, then pouring hot broth directly on top—this way the beef won’t get overcooked.

Beef Soup (NT$100)

Out of the four, Yongle Beef Soup had the least greasy broth, and the beef flavor wasn’t as strong either. Old K thought it was quite suitable for people who aren’t too fond of the taste of beef—it’s a very refreshing beef soup. I think it would be fine even in the summer.

You can tell the color of the beef is quite pink. It’s tender but still has some chew to it, and they gave a bit more beef than at A Village Second Generation Beef Soup.

On the second day at noon, I headed to Anping, so I went to try the famous Wenzhang Beef Soup there.

Wenzhang Beef Soup had the most variety of the four this time, and ordering a soup also comes with a free bowl of plain rice or minced pork rice—that’s such a good deal. The other places all charge extra for that. When I sat down and was about to order, the owner told me they were out of beef, which startled me a bit. But luckily, they said more would be delivered in about ten minutes. Isn’t that the freshest beef possible? I got pretty lucky. I ordered a bowl of beef soup. I originally wanted to try the minced beef rice I hadn’t had before, but it was sold out, so I went with the minced pork rice instead.

Minced Pork Rice (NT$15 à la carte, included with soup)

Southern-style minced pork rice is what we in Taipei call lu rou fan (braised pork rice). Just look at the fat in it—you can tell it tastes good. The minced pork is fatty but not greasy, lean but not dry, with a savory saltiness that’s not too sweet. The rice is cooked nicely too—it’s a pretty tasty bowl of minced pork rice.

After a few bites, I saw the fresh warm beef being delivered!

Beef Soup (NT$100)

After waiting a bit, the beef soup finally arrived. It was a bigger portion than the previous two places I tried. The richness level of Wenzhang Beef Soup is just right between A Village Second Generation and Yongle Beef Soup. It’s the most flavorful and has a strong beef taste—it really suits Old K’s palate.

And look at this beef—not only is it thick-cut, but the slices are huge too. Maybe because the beef was just delivered, it’s not only tender but also has some bounce. Eating it plain is already sweet, juicy, and delicious. You can dip it in their special soy sauce with chili, which makes the beef even sweeter!

On the third day, I went before six in the morning to try Round Ring Beef Soup. I ended up choosing this one because I was going to eat the nearby Baocheng Lamb Soup afterward XD It was really cold that morning, so I went straight in for some soup.

The price of beef soup seems to be standardized—every place charges NT$100.

Beef Soup (NT$100)

Round Ring Beef Soup is probably the oiliest broth out of the four. That morning was especially cold, so it felt really comforting to drink. You can tell they added quite a lot of shredded ginger, so the ginger flavor is a bit stronger. Old K’s not a big fan of ginger-heavy broths.

The beef is also thickly sliced, with a good texture. Among these four places, it’s relatively the most chewy. The portion is only slightly smaller than that at Wen Zhang Beef Soup.

K’s little reminder: Eating four beef soups in three days was seriously awesome XD All four were pretty good, but I still have to give them scores. In terms of taste, Wen Zhang Beef Soup gets 8.7, Ah Cun Second Generation Beef Soup 8.4, Kang Le Beef Soup 8.1, and Yuan Huan Beef Soup 8. As for value for money, Wen Zhang Beef Soup is an absolute winner because you also get free minced pork rice to eat XD

The other three aren’t too far apart. In terms of greasiness, it goes: Yuan Huan Beef Soup > Ah Cun Second Generation Beef Soup > Wen Zhang Beef Soup > Kang Le Beef Soup. But this really depends on personal preference—some people like their soup oilier, others prefer it lighter. It might also vary by season; you might like it richer in winter and lighter in summer. This is quite subjective. Among them, Kang Le Beef Soup has the mildest beef flavor, making it a great choice for first-timers trying beef soup. Also, many shops in Tainan are closed on Mondays, so it’s not recommended to go there for food on Mondays.

Ah Cun Second Generation Beef Soup
Address: No. 41, Bao’an Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Phone: 06-229-3908
Business Hours: 4:00–sold out, 18:00–sold out (Closed every Monday)

Yong Le Beef Soup
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/YongLeNiuRouTang
Address: No. 175, Section 3, Guo Hua Street, West Central District, Tainan City
Phone: 06-211-2464
Business Hours: 3:00–11:00 (until sold out, Closed every Tuesday)

Wen Zhang Beef Soup
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/winchangbeef
Address: No. 590, An Ping Road, An Ping District, Tainan City
Phone: 06-228-4626
Business Hours: 4:30–14:00, 16:00–2:00 (Closed from 14:00 on Mondays until 17:00 on Tuesdays)

Yuan Huan Beef Soup
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E5%9C%93%E7%92%B0%E6%9C%AC%E7%94%A2%E7%89%9B%E8%82%89%E6%B9%AF/195025170518573
Address: No. 153, Section 2, Fu Qian Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Phone: 0910-743-200
Business Hours: 4:00–13:30 (Closed on Tuesdays)

Old K
Keep going, Old K !
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