Six Elite Restaurants Included in the Latest Michelin Guide Taiwan
Author Rick Charette
Photographer Courtesy Of Restaurants
Taipei, a city that eagerly absorbs cultural influences from around the region and the globe, is one of the world’s leading gastronomic travel destinations. In the Michelin Guide Taiwan 2024, the seventh edition of the Taiwan-dedicated guidebook for foodies, Taipei is home to 157 of the 343 selected eateries. Following, we present six Taipei restaurants that have been awarded a Michelin star for the first time.
Circum-
This large posh restaurant is located inside the elite Regent Taipei hotel, its team crafts contemporary Asian cuisine, marrying French culinary techniques with Chinese flavors, and presenting Chinese cuisine’s rich regional and ingredient mosaic.
“Circum-” explained: In Chinese culture, the circle represents unity and wholeness. The name also evokes a global Chinese-diaspora map, Chinese traveling in all compass directions, absorbing new cultural elements while faithfully maintaining a gastronomic “taste of home.” Circle symbolism features prominently amidst the restaurant’s décor of subdued lighting and earth-tone woods, in the form of large circular ceiling lights, circular stainless-steel, trim-lit table supports, etc.
Inspired by rotating banquet dishes, Circum presents small delicacies in Tangram-inspired tableware. This grand gesture showcases the unique generosity of Chinese hospitality. While the small dishes pay homage to the wisdom of traditional food preservation, they also incorporate contemporary culinary techniques such as confit, sous vide, terrine, and gelatin to reinterpret familiar flavors.
Circum-
🚩B2, 3, Ln. 39, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd., Zhongshan Dist.
🔗instagram.com/circum1005
🕝By reservation only
A
A is in the gleaming Diamond Towers at the prime upscale East District. French contemporary cuisine is prepared using Asian techniques and influences. This is the first solo venture by chef Alain Huang, who rose to fame at another Michelin-starred restaurant.
The “A” is from “Alain,” and is at the same time a grade-A gastronomic experience promise. There are two tasting menus – changed each season – each with ten-plus courses and wine/non-alcoholic drink pairings. The creations resemble little art creations – such as the Caviar Aubergine, which features grilled longtail snapper paired with chickpea puree, eggplant puree, cucumber salad, and French caviar.
Bright white, blonde, and light beige are the comforting interior-décor colors, the space resembling a well-appointed art gallery, with pure, clean lines and contemporary furnishings utilized.
A
🚩4F, 282, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Daan Dist.
📞(02) 2721-8088
🔗restaurant-a.com
🕝By reservation only
Sens
This cozy 20-seater is in a quiet narrow-lane residential neighborhood before a compact community park. Selected by Michelin before, the French restaurant has been elevated to one-star status.
“Sens” is French for “sense/sensation.” The concept is to provide diners with a multi-sensory experience stimulating all five senses, from décor, with flourishes of elegance in every corner, to your event at the table.
A single tasting menu is provided, seasonally changing. Ingredients used are Taiwan-sourced, seasonal and of the highest quality, cultivated naturally and sustainably. To these are brought the essence of traditional French cuisine. The Michelin inspectors had especially high praise for the chef’s sauces and use of fresh herbs, wielded in perfect ratio. Note that the deliciously popular pâté en croûte is served through all seasons, and following traditional French custom, tiny-morsel cheese selections follow the main course.
Sens
🚩12, Ln. 127, Sec. 3, Minsheng E. Rd., Songshan Dist.
📞(02) 2718-6388
🔗www.senstw.com
🕝By reservation only
NOBUO
This is a venture buried deep within a notably leafy quiet grid of residential buildings. The heavy use of plants and long, dark stained-wood planking on the façade of the street-level establishment, lends it a Zen feel. The interior is Nordic in look, with soft browns toward the base of one’s view and soft whites higher up.
The restaurant is named after the chef-proprietor, who hails from Taiwan, but was raised in Japan. The cuisine is Japanese-French built on ingredients sourced in Taiwan, and a single tasting menu is presented. The”Simplicity/Purity/Honesty” house concept is reflected in the minimalist use of pure-white tableware and the minimalism of dish preparation and presentation. Perhaps the most emblematic dish of NOBUO’s concept is Scallop, a minimalist masterpiece featuring a single scallop surrounded by a delicate scallop mousse and a creamy scallop soup.
Nobuo
🚩8, Taian St., Zhongzheng Dist.
🔗nobuo.tw
🕝By reservation only
Eika
Ensconced within an old, renovated market building within Taipei’s historic Dadaocheng neighborhood, the culinary theme at Eika is creative Japanese contemporary. The décor theme is a Zen Japanese/Scandinavian mix, centered around simplicity, natural elements, and comfort.
In the first-floor waiting area, which has a tearoom mien, patrons are provided welcome drinks. On the second level, an open kitchen faces the intimate 16-chair dining space. A single tasting menu is presented, and the Michelin inspectors reserved especially fulsome praise for the kitchen team’s deft introduction of Taiwanese fermented syrups and pickles to Japanese-dish hosts. To ensure maximum freshness, a preponderance of ingredients is brought in daily
from Japan.
Eika 盈科
🚩58, Minle St., Datong Dist.
📞(02) 2550-6863
🔗eika.tw
🕝By reservation only
WOK by OBOND
This epicurean destination is in a mixed residential/commercial neighborhood with a hodge-podge of low- and high-rises – itself on the ground level of a senescent two-story structure.
The fare is highly eclectic – “familiar yet unfamiliar” – forged with Taiwanese and broader Asian f lavors to which French preparation techniques and presentation are fused. The themed single-tasting menu changes with the seasons and the restaurant’s Michelin-team visitors were especially taken with the imaginative Taiwanese tea and herb-infused cocktails.
The décor is sultry, fabricated with richred walls, bare-concrete walls, and deep-shade green velvet, the subdued accent lighting creating spotlight oases amidst surrounding sensual shadow.
WOK by OBOND
🚩18, Longjiang Rd., Zhongshan Dist.
📞(02) 2778-4503
🔗instagram.com/wokbyobond
🕝Wed-Sun 6:00pm-11:00pm
🍷Please drink responsibly.
This article is reproduced under the permission of TAIPEI. Original content can be found on the website of Taipei Travel Net (www.travel.taipei/en).
