Xihu Lamb Hot Pot

Xihu Lamb Hot Pot is a winter tonic dish from Changhua's Xihu Township, made from skin-on lamb slow-braised with angelica root, astragalus, and other Chinese herbs. On a winter night along Xihu's Zhongxi Road, lamb hot pot shops billow white steam and the scent of medicinal herbs drifts through the street. The pot base is a reddish-brown broth; large skin-on lamb pieces roll inside. Pick up a piece and dip it in fermented tofu — the skin is springy, the meat tender, herb fragrance all the way through.

The lamb hot pot industry in Changhua's Xihu Township traces back to street vending in the late Japanese colonial era; after promotional efforts in the 1980s and a televised feature in 1999 that boosted its national profile, the township now has more than 20 lamb hot pot shops, with a particular concentration along Zhongxi Road. The representative long-standing shop A-zhi Lamb Hot Pot, located at 226 Zhongxi Road, was founded by Yang Guizhi, whose father had made a living selling lamb from early on.

What is Xihu Lamb Hot Pot

Lamb hot pot is Taiwan's foremost winter tonic dish: skin-on lamb is slow-braised for hours with Chinese medicinal herbs including angelica root, astragalus, jujube, and cinnamon — the broth turns a deep brownish red, rich and herb-fragrant. Xihu's version is distinguished by its "skin-on" approach: the gelatin and elasticity of the skin are preserved, and the meat is braised until tender but not stringy; the broth is especially rich from the combination of lamb bones and herbs. A pot typically comes with vermicelli noodles, hot pot ingredients, and vegetables, eaten with a fermented tofu dipping sauce.

Changhua's Xihu Township is an important hub for lamb hot pot in central Taiwan. Multiple long-established lamb hot pot specialty shops cluster along Zhongxi Road, creating a "lamb hot pot street" scene. The Changhua County official tourism website has a dedicated page for A-zhi Lamb Hot Pot, one of Xihu's representative shops. The period around the winter solstice through the Lunar New Year is Xihu Lamb Hot Pot's busiest season, when queues and reservations are often required. This guide presents all lamb hot pot shops along Zhongxi Road together as a category without ranking individual stores.

How to eat it the local way

Local knowledge

Data compiled from the Changhua County Government Tourism website, Lukang Township Office, and a large volume of public reviews; promotional listings have been filtered out. Photos will be replaced with exclusive channel footage after Dio's field shoot.