Taiwan, August 11 - Ahead of the full release of the MICHELIN Guide Taipei & Taichung 2020 on August 24, Michelin is pleased to release today the Bib Gourmand selection of this year’s Guide. This selection highlights 31 restaurants and 23 street food stalls in Taipei, including 7 new additions. In the city of Taichung, which is covered by the Guide for the very first time this year, 21 venues made the list.
These eateries all offer value-for-money food. In Taipei and Taichung, this means that diners can enjoy a high-quality three-course meal for less than 1,000 Taiwan dollars (excluding drinks).
7 new addresses in Taipei
Out of the total of 54 addresses in Taipei that received the Bib Gourmand distinction, 7 are new to the list. The new entrants include North Indian restaurant Taj, whose chefs have been specially recruited to Taiwan from India and use spices carefully sourced from their country. Not just its cuisine, but its decor and the music are full of exotic flavor.
Set next to the Qingshui temple in Wanhua district, Yijiazi is renowned for its authentic Tainan flavours and dishes served by its third-generation owners, such as the stewed pork belly, pork blood curd soup with shacha sauce and Madou rice cake. Also located in Wanhua, Chang Hung Noodles in the Huaxi Street Night Market has built a loyal following for more than half a century for their "Chrysanthemum Pork Noodles" made with pork cheeks and side dishes including boiled chicken and pork tails.
In the same market, Yuan Fang Guabao has been selling buns stuffed with marinated pork belly, pickles and ground peanuts for over 60 years.
Of the 7 newly listed venues, 3 establishments are former Bib Gourmand venues that have moved to new locations, namely A Kuo Noodles at Jinxi Street, Chen Tung Pork Ribs Medicinal Herbs Soup at Raohe Night Market, and Wu Wang Tsai Chi (previously named Sung Ching Taiwanese Burrito) at the Nanjichang Night Market. Their re-selection for the Bib Gourmand list by MICHELIN’s inspectors is an affirmation of their continued high standards.
Taiwanese cuisine shines in Taichung
Local cuisine takes the spotlight in the brand new Taichung selection of the MICHELIN Guide, with 10 out of the 21 Bib Gourmand venues offering Taiwanese cuisine. Chin Chih Yuan draws in lunchtime queues for its steamed local rice and deep-fried pork ribs; Dong Shan Zhan offers claypot-roasted chicken grilled over longan wood for an hour; and diners go to self-service stall Fu Din Wang (Central) for its gelatinous pork trotter, hock and leg that are braised in a flavorful marinade. Another pork trotter specialist, Fu Juang Yuan in the Western district was praised by MICHELIN inspectors for the “liquid gold” — a broth of soy, rock sugar, chilli and shallot — they gently simmer the trotters in all day.
For a lighter option, Shin Yuan specializes in healthy Taiwanese cooking in small portions and an array of quality teas.
In the Central district, 60-year-old Fu Kuei Ting holds many fond memories for many Taichung residents and their signature goose noodle soup and smoked goose often sells out every morning. Orient Dragon offers Taiwanese home-style cooking, with a few creative Sichuan dishes. For tastes of a bygone era, Peng Cheng Tang is a time capsule, serving comfort food that is as warm and familiar as its decor, while Wen Tao, set in a 1950s courtyard house in the Beitun district, serves Taiwanese cuisine that will transport guests to grandma’s countryside home. At San Hsi Shih Tang, the owner-chef offers personalised service in a tranquil private house.
Comfort food: Hot pot, congee, noodles
Restaurants offering comfort food also enriched the Bib Gourmand selection in both Taipei and Taichung. In Taichung, eateries spotlighted by MICHELIN inspectors include Tai Ke Meat Congee, beef hotpot specialist Shang Niu Erh Kuan as well as three venues offering distinctive noodle dishes: third generation-run A Kun Mian serves noodles tossed in braised ground pork sauce and fried scallion; No Name Noodles is known for its preservative-free Shanghainese noodle soup served with pork chop, beef shin or zhajiang sauce.
Gubami, run by chef Chen Lanshu of former French fine-dining restaurant Le Mout, offers stewed beef noodles with prized Miyazaki Wagyu or Canadian bone-in beef short ribs and truffle chilli sauce.
Asian flavours from Beijing to Shanghai and across India
In addition to the familiar Taiwanese flavours, several restaurants serving Chinese and Indian cuisines also entered the selection, including local favourite Lu Yuan, nostalgia-themed 1924 Shanghai Restaurant and 70-year-old Qin Yuan Chun, which serve classic Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine; elegant Beijing cuisine restaurant Moment in Beijing that is styled after grand mansions in Northern China; and Shanghai Food, which is known for its authentic pan-fried pork buns. Opened in 2015, Chilliesine (West) serves authentic pan-Indian dishes.
The full selection of the MICHELIN Guide Taipei & Taichung 2020, including its Starred restaurants selection, will be announced on August 24. Log on to the official Facebook page of the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan or the MICHELIN Guide Asia Youtube channel at 1pm Taiwan time to watch a livestream of the press conference and learn the results first-hand.
Official website of MICHELIN Guide Taiwan: https://guide.michelin.com/tw/zh_TW
Official Facebook Page of MICHELIN Guide Taiwan: https://www.facebook.com/MichelinGuideTaiwan/
MICHELIN Guide Asia YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/MICHELINGuideAsia/
