MICHELIN Guide Inspectors spend all year on the road uncovering the best restaurants to recommend and reveal some of their latest favorite additions monthly ahead of the annual launch event.
Restaurants in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung will be added to the selection monthly, on the second Wednesday of every month. The newly selected venues will be featured on both the website and the app. There’s a special entry “New” created for those newly-listed restaurants and those restaurants will be highlighted with a "New" symbol, for easy identification.
Bookmark this page and check back monthly for the latest additions!
February 2025
Five new establishments in Taipei and Tainan join the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan this month. Highlights include a kappo-style restaurant renowned for its fermented ingredients, local produce and flavors; a Taiwanese beef noodle spot helmed by a former Japanese ramen chef; a small eatery offering Tainan’s beloved street food delicacies; a European contemporary cuisine restaurant that skillfully balances Taiwanese and European flavours while showcasing the best seasonal ingredients; and a charming izakaya-style restaurant that serves a nine-course tapas-style dinner with an à la carte menu available late at night.
Taipei
Kiku
The chef, whose prolific Japanese cuisine career spans two decades, opened his first solo venture in 2023. The wood-clad space is inspired by Japanese traditions, but dotted with Taiwanese art (hero image: ©Kiku). In the same vein, the food is a tasty amalgam of kappo cuisine with fermented items, local produce and flavours. The dinner tasting menu comprises 10+ courses that change according to the season.
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Kou Gyu Rou
The Japanese chef once owned a ramen shop. He open this joint to promote the beauty of Taiwanese beef noodles. His kombu beef bone broth is seasoned with sea salt and soy, not the herbs and aromatics that dominate the typical taste profile of the Taiwanese speciality. The beef cured in kombu and soy is tender and juicy; the springy noodles pick up the broth well. It tends to sell out, so come early.
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Tainan
The menu, like the room, has a retro feel to it. Popular picks include various cuts of milkfish – shipped daily from the port to ensure freshness – cooked in congee or stock. Try the braised milkfish belly for its delicate oily flesh and natural sweetness. The braised pork rice is another highlight: diced fatty pork exudes the fragrance of soybean paste; order an over-easy egg on top and break the runny yolk for extra creaminess.
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Liang Liang Table
After a few years of critical acclaim and commercial success, the owner-chef couple moved to this three-storey terraced house with a warm-hued façade and pebble garden. The rotating menu showcases the best seasonal ingredients, juggling Taiwanese and European flavours. The starch course, usually dumplings or risotto, references their Taiwanese roots.
Mayu Cocoon
Tucked away in a quiet alley, this place has a compact, Japanese-inspired space fitted with counter seats and brass pendant lamps. At dinner, all guests are required to order an izakaya-style nine-tapas dinner set, perfect with alcoholic drinks. Exact items depend on availability on the day; if you crave more, see the blackboard for add-ons. The chef behind the counter is happy to interact with diners. Later at night, order à la carte instead. (left image: ©Mayu Cocoon)
January 2025
This month, five new establishments in Taipei and Kaohsiung have been added to the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan. Highlights include a Japanese restaurant that reinterprets the flavours of the chef's hometown using premium local ingredients; the sister restaurant of Osaka's renowned yakitori institution, Ichimatsu; an eatery preserving the tradition of ba-wan and taro cakes for three generations; a restaurant offering innovative cuisine that blends Japanese, American, and Italian techniques in a 10-course prix-fixe menu; and a Taiwanese eatery serving freshly prepared, comforting home-style dishes. Each establishment brings its own unique charm to the table.
Taipei
The dining room features two areas – counter seats for diners ordering à la carte, and itamae for the omakase menu. The chef hailing from Niigata, Japan reinterprets flavours of his home prefecture using first-rate local ingredients, such as taro and root vegetables in a flavourful stew, known as noppe. His signature Dasu burger is only available on the omakase menu; the ingredients of the deep-fried patty change often.
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The sister restaurant of the Osakan yakitori institution Ichimatsu sports a dark colour scheme, reminiscent of an opera house. The young Japanese chef sources local poultry such as Hsinchu free-range chicken, and Wenchang chicken for his kebabs along with local herbs like prickly ash and maqaw. The set menu with 10+ courses showcases an array of textures and flavours. Consider paying extra for rare cuts such as shiro reba and kinkan.(hero image©fumée)
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Su Lai Chuan
Famous for ba-wan and taro cake, this institution celebrated its 70th anniversary with a facelift in 2024. The third-generation owner still makes ba-wan like his grandparents did – freshly ground rice milk is poured into a bowl before a filling of pork shin, shiitake, chestnut and bamboo shoot is added. The steamed dumpling is then poached in oil, and drizzled with a sweet bean paste and miso sauce. Add garlic purée or home-made chilli sauce for an extra kick.
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Kaohsiung
J Parc
After formal training in the US, the chef-owner launched J Parc in 2023. His 10-course prix-fixe aligns with the seasons, presenting audacious creations that celebrate local vegetables and Japanese seafood, underpinned by French, Italian and American techniques. Mildly sweet bread made with chestnut flour is a nod to the harvest season.
Yung Yen
Formerly known as Yun Lai Fang, this place was renamed and relocated to this address in 2024. The light-drenched room over two levels has wooden furnishings that impart a home-like feel. Regulars will find all their favourites on the menu; these are impeccably made to order by the chef, the son of Yun Lai Fang's founding chef. His signature scrambled egg comes with bouncy, umami-laden shrimps enrobed in silky half-set egg.
Stay up-to-date with the latest MICHELIN-recommended restaurants and news on the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan Facebook Page, MICHELIN Guide Taiwan Website, and on the MICHELIN Guide mobile app (iOS and Android), which enables you to find every restaurant and hotel in the world selected by the MICHELIN Guide.
