First night in Kaohsiung on a typhoon day, most of the restaurants around our hotel were closed except this one. We were recommended by the concierge to go try this seafood place within walking distance.
This unassuming yet incredibly popular private kitchen, known as “Yu Xin“, specialising in deep-sea fish, is owned by Xia Jincai, a former captain of a deep-sea fishing vessel. While on board, he not only discussed the types of fish caught with other captains but also how to cook them deliciously. After retiring from his captaincy, Xia Jincai opened his restaurant to sell these dishes. His delicious food has won the approval of many gourmets, who jokingly refer to it as “the captain’s private cuisine” and is famous for its braised fish rice, a favourite among locals in Yancheng. Their restaurant operates on a no-menu basis, depending on what fresh ingredients are available that day.
Taiwanese black pork belly is salted before they are sliced and sautéed with leeks, this salted black pork belly with leeks is a Hakka homemade favourite. Must eat with steamed rice as they can be quite salty and very smoky.
Their braised fish rice is their signature dish. A bowl costs only 30 NTD and is topped with fish floss, cucumber, and a hug chunk of freshly caught fish braised in their secret sauce. It may look unassuming, but every table that comes here orders it, which shows how amazing it is.
They are not exactly like the firefly squid from Toyama Bay, but these baby squids from the coast of Taiwan called Sió-kńg-á 小卷 are equally good eats. They don’t do well out of water and are usually sold dead and frozen so you can’t eat them raw like hotaru ika. So we ordered a sautéed version with garlic and scallions.
Princess picked the vegetable, and I chose the way it was cooked. Sautéed zucchini with garlic and sakura prawns was quite nice, something I would try to make at home.
The Venus clam soup is made by boiling Venus clams in fish stock with nothing else by shredded ginger. Simple and full of umami from the shellfish.
These moonlight prawn cakes are supposed to originate from Thailand (a myth as I don’t see them in Bangkok, only in Thai restaurants in Taiwan) and is made from minced prawn, battered and deep fried.
You can normally get this only in an aborigines restaurant – tobiko (flying fish roe) sausage offers a savoury, juicy pork flavour combined with a fun, smoky, popping crunch from the tiny fish eggs in every bite. Princess loved it, and when you combine it with the raw garlic, the flavour is further enhanced.
The prices are quite reasonable; you can enjoy a delicious fish meal without spending too much money, which explains why it’s always packed with people and you have to wait for a table during mealtimes. We were just lucky it was typhoon day so we didn’t have to wait. Here’s them featured on local TV in a very popular food and travel show.
Yuxin Seafood 魚鑫 深海鮮魚料理
No. 76, Dacheng St, Yuren Village, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 803
高雄市鹽埕區大成街76號
Tel : +886 7 521 6610
Visited Jul 2026
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