To step into this place is to enter an eccentrically decorated retreat from the neighbourhood’s unprepossessing industrial surroundings. There are potted plants nestled around the place. Paintings suspended from the walls. A television down one end of the shop. For some reason, a life-size statue of a winking chef in a corner. We love the ambience. And we love the food even more. There are two paths you can take at Hsiu Yuan. One option is to order from the menu — choosing a bowl of noodle soup or one of their single-serve hotpot sets. The other is to make your way up to the counter to build a plate from their canteen-style selections, which include stewed meats, stir-fried greens and braised tea eggs. This is an ideal way to sample the various flavour profiles and cooking styles — salty, sweet, fermented, peppery, braised — associated with Taiwanese food. If you’re wondering: that imposing, steaming hot vat at the back of the dining area is filled with a cabbage and pork soup which you can help yourself to.