【My Favorite Tainan Eats】The Best Taiwanese-Style Steak in Taiwan Is in Tainan! (In My Opinion)

Hi everyone!

I’m Hamu, the owner of Hamuya Guesthouse in Tainan!

Lately, I’ve been having way too much fun tweaking the Hamuya website and blog, and somehow it’s put me in this mood where I just want to write something—anything! 😂

So I suddenly thought…
Why not start a “My Favorite Tainan Eats” series?
Yeah, I know. Kind of late to the party. lol

I’ve been settled in Tainan for over 13 years now, so I’d say I’ve gotten to know the good, the bad, and everything in between.

And honestly, I’m not really interested in those trendy, stylishly renovated places that seem to be everywhere in Tainan these days.

So, in this series, I’d like to casually introduce some of my personal favorites in Tainan—based entirely on my own opinions and biases.

How long this series will continue is anyone’s guess. lol

Anyway, for the first one, let’s start with niú pái — Taiwanese-style steak.

Back When I First Came to Taiwan

Back when I had just arrived in Taiwan and was still living in Taipei, I used to think this all the time:

“Man, I really want some steak.”
(I’m a serious meat lover.)

What I had in mind was the kind of steak you’d get at Steak House 88 in Okinawa.
(I had actually spent some time living in Okinawa before coming to Taiwan.)

One day, a friend of mine who was living in Taipei offered to take me out for steak, so we went to a place in the basement of Shilin Night Market.

My expectations were sky-high.
(Again, I’m a serious meat lover.)

At the time, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Taiwanese-style steak.

Then the steak arrived, and I was shocked. 😳

A thick, heavy sauce was poured all over it,
and for some reason… there were noodles on the plate too.

And the texture of the meat felt kind of strange.
(It almost felt like some kind of “manufactured” meat. lol)

That was my very first impression of Taiwanese niú pái — steak. 😮‍💨

And Then, Tainan.

I lived in Taipei for about four months before moving down to Tainan.

But even after the move, one thing hadn’t changed—

I still wanted meat.

Since that first experience, I’d tried niú pái (Taiwanese-style steak) countless times at night markets and other places, but I still couldn’t quite get into it.

(By then, at least I’d gotten used to the noodles, the sauce, and the whole look of the dish.)

Back then, I was starting to think,

“Maybe this is just what steak is like in Taiwan…”

—flashback mode. lol

Then one day, craving meat again, I decided to check out Chikan Steak, a nearby place with a big, eye-catching sign.

So I headed over there on foot, nice and easy…

only to find out it was closed.

But I still wanted meat.

Then I turned my head to the left and, a little farther down, I spotted a sign with the word 「牛排」— steak!

The lettering on the sign was much clearer back then—time has definitely taken its toll. 😅

And that’s when fate stepped in! 😆

Its Name: 小佳人猪牛排館 Xiaojia Ren Pork & Steak House

I made a video about this place before, so let’s take a look.

The place is right here.