TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
20 restaurants recognized in Taipei's first-ever Michelin guide
Change Size
Illustration of 'xiao long bao', traditional soup dumpling in Taipei. (Shutterstock/Achiraya Juntakoson)
A
total of 20 restaurants in Taipei, including five that serve Japanese food, received accolades in the inaugural edition of the Michelin guide for Taipei released Wednesday.
Touting the launch of the guide as a "truly historic event," Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guide, told a press conference in Taipei that Taiwanese food can now take its rightful place on the international stage.
"The food in Taiwan is vibrant, dynamic and delicious," he said. "That 20 restaurants obtain Michelin stars means that Taiwanese cuisine has now entered the area of being truly recognized as world class."
Among the 20 restaurants, only one, Le Palais, gained the top honor of three stars.
One star refers to a very good restaurant. Two stars refer to excellent cooking worth a detour, while three stars refer to exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.
Chef Ken Chan of Le Palais, a Cantonese restaurant, said he felt totally surprised and honored to receive the accolade.
Chan, who emigrated from Hong Kong some 30 years ago, said the top rating definitely put him under more pressure, but he will continue to do a good job and provide customers with good food.
Shoun RyuGin, one of the two restaurants that gained two stars, offers "innovative interpretations of Japanese cooking."
Chef Ryohei Hieda told reporters that obtaining the two-star status was recognition of his work.
When asked about his future goal, the young chef said that his motto has been to "do a better job tomorrow than yesterday," so his goal will be to provide customers with better food on a daily basis.
Read also: Michelin guide to launch in Taipei
Born in 1981 in Nagasaki, Hieda began his professional career 18 years ago when he apprenticed at a famous restaurant in Kyoto. Hieda joined Nihonryori RyuGin, a three-Michelin star restaurant in Tokyo, in 2008 and there acquired profound knowledge and techniques from founder chef Seiji Yamamoto.
When Yamamoto opened his second overseas restaurant in Taipei in 2014, he appointed Hieda as chef de cuisine at Shoun RyuGin.
Yamamoto defines the main theme of his restaurants on his website as "to pursue every single possibility of Japanese cuisine" and his mission as a chef "to share the richness of Japanese cuisine with others and make it a universal language."
In addition, 17 other restaurants were awarded one star, including four Japanese restaurants.
Taipei is the 31st city in the world and seventh Asian city to be rated by Michelin, following Thailand's Bangkok.
Tokyo was the first Asian city to have a red guide, followed by Hong Kong/Macao, Singapore, Seoul and Shanghai.
As Taiwan is also famous for street food, Michelin launched last week its Big Gourmand restaurant guide featuring 26 restaurants at moderate prices and 10 street food from night markets.
