Hsiao Family Beef Offal Soup

Review

Hsiao Family Beef Offal Soup is at No. 1, Lane 26, Xindong Street in Songshan District, a well-known old shop in the Minsheng Community that a blogger describes as a queue-worthy spot running for about 30 years. The owners buy ingredients fresh every morning and cook them the same day, closing once everything is sold, so latecomers sometimes leave empty-handed. The shop is small with only a few tables, and at mealtimes people waiting for seats or takeaway gather out front; it is a familiar lunch and dinner stop for nearby office workers and residents.

The signature beef offal soup is simmered with more than ten Chinese herbs into a clear broth with a gentle herbal aroma, generously loaded with offal, for NT$100 a bowl, and you can get one free refill of soup. Beyond the soup, stir-fried beef, fried beef noodles, fried rice vermicelli and intestine vermicelli are also popular; diners especially recommend the fried beef noodles, which some like even more than the soup, while others choose the vermicelli version for a lighter bite.

Fans praise the clean, sweet broth with no gaminess, well-cleaned offal, plenty of beef and the soup refill, all adding up to good value, and the busy staff are friendly. Critics find the bowl on the small side, so adding fried noodles makes the bill less of a bargain, and some feel thirsty after the soup; at peak times you wait outside, and the space is cramped.

Online map listings show hours as Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–19:30, closed Mondays, with occasional irregular closures, and media suggest checking the shop's social media page before you go. Dine-in guests take a ticket and wait outside to be called, while takeaway guests pay inside first and then wait outside. Parking in the nearby lanes is scarce, so take a bus to the Minsheng Community or walk ten-odd minutes from Nanjing Sanmin MRT station.

It suits anyone who likes clear-braised beef offal or wants a warming bowl of soup, and it makes an easy meal on a Minsheng Community stroll. On a first visit, order the offal soup with a plate of fried beef noodles, just right for two to share; light eaters can stick with the soup, make use of the free refill and try to avoid the noon rush.