The Bib Gourmand selection of the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan 2023 has just been revealed, and among the four cities spanning the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan — Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung — the total number of restaurants and street food stalls offering exceptional value-for-money gourmet experiences is 139.
Of these, there are a total of 26 newly awarded Bib Gourmand establishments, with many restaurants offering Taiwanese cuisine specialties and local small eats.
We invited our MICHELIN Guide inspectors to share with us the eight dishes that impressed them the most. Make sure you check them out on your next visit to Taiwan!
RELATED: 139 restaurants awarded a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan 2023
Stir-fried Pork Belly with Garlic Sprouts
Chao Ming / Kaohsiung
Pork belly is sliced into equal sizes and stir-fried with garlic sprouts. The sauce has a rich fragrance and a slightly thickened texture, while the pork belly carries a combination of tenderness and the aroma of sautéed meat. The flavors of the sauce and the wok hey (breath of the wok) with high heat brings out this savory, delicious dish that pairs excellently with rice. (Header Photo: ©MICHELIN)
Abalone Silky Chicken Soup
Hsiao Cho Chih Chia / Taipei
This classic Taiwanese nourishing soup will not only warm your body but also your heart. The dark-amber color of the soup comes from long hours of double-boiling. Served in a large pot, the soup contains ingredients like silky chicken, dried longan, and Chinese herbs such as red dates, ginseng, and goji berries.
The soup is warm and soothing with a lingering sweetness. The tender texture and the fresh sweetness of the abalone is impressive, while the chicken remains flavorful and tender even after long hours of boiling, without any hint of bitterness from the medicinal herbs. The aftertaste is also pleasantly sweet.
Hand-rolled Noodles with Poached Egg
Lao Shih Kuan Noodles / Taichung
The wide noodles are hand-rolled on site and cooked to perfection, which brings a lovely chew and tender texture. The braised ground pork has a smooth and slightly viscous touch that goes perfectly with the noodles. The yolk of the poached egg, when mixed with the braised pork and the noodles, brings out a simple yet flavorful combination of smoothness and savory richness.
Chicken Braised in Rice Wine with Chinese Herbs
Saka / Taichung
Made with Taiwanese free-range chicken and a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs and rice wine, no water is added when cooking the chicken broth. The amber-colored soup is simmered for long hours in order for the rice wine to evaporate. As a result, the flavor bursts with a deep umami and rich sweetness, with a lingering and nourishing taste.
When the classic Taiwanese-style chicken braised in rice wine with Chinese herbs is served, the attentive staff informs diners to first try the tender and sweet chicken breast meat, which tastes especially good after being dipped in the special sauce of the restaurant.
Braised Pork Rice
Night School Braised Pork Rice / Taichung
The rice is well-cooked, retaining its shape and texture, and topped with slow-cooked pork belly and pickled vegetables
The fresh pork belly is braised to a perfect tenderness, while maintaining its shape. It strikes a balance between being flavorful without being overly salty, allowing the meat's aroma to come through. The pork skin still retains its elasticity and bounciness; while the accompanying pickled vegetables on the side provide a crunchy texture and a sour fragrance. Adding the restaurant's spicy dried radish further adds another layer of flavor to this seemingly simple yet tasty braised pork rice dish.
Migao
Hao Nung Chia Migao / Tainan
Without a doubt, this is a bowl of rice cake that excels in appearance, aroma, and flavor. Prepared with long-grain glutinous rice, this migao is served in a small porcelain bowl that is layered with fish floss, cucumber, peanuts, and braised pork sauce.
The sauce is savory and rich without being greasy. The rice grains remain intact and tender — yet not overly soft — and goes perfectly with the crispy cucumber and peanuts. This perfect balance makes this migao not cloying at all; it won't leave you with a sense of heaviness or difficulty in digestion after finishing.
Milkfish and Assorted Seafood Congee
Xie Shopkeeper / Tainan
A typical bowl of congee from the southern part of Taiwan is prepared with cooked rice and high-quality ingredients — the clear fish broth is lavishly topped with fresh shrimp, cuttlefish, milkfish skin, milkfish meat, fishballs, and a bit of chopped celery. The broth is clear and sweet, while the rice is soft and tender, bringing together the beautiful taste of the congee.
Steamed Taro Root Cake
Erge Shih Tang / Kaohsiung
The cake is made to order and requires 20 minutes' waiting time before it's served, but the wait is worthwhile. It comes in a small steamer and is adorned with sautéed mushroom slices, dried shrimp, and red shallots on top.
The cake itself is made with taro and sweet potato shreds, which retain their shape after steaming until soft; it exudes a lovely sweetness to go with the smoothness. The stir-fried mushrooms and red shallots also provide a tantalising aroma. The whole dish looks simple yet bursts with layers of flavor.
The full restaurant selection of the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan 2023 will be released on 31 August 2023, during a physical MICHELIN Guide Ceremony event. It will be published only in digital format on the MICHELIN Guide’s official website and the MICHELIN Guide mobile app (iOS and Android) on the same day. Prior to 31 August 2023, the entire restaurant selection (including Bib Gourmand addresses) shown on the website and app are from the 2022 edition.
Follow the official MICHELIN Guide accounts for the latest updates:
MICHELIN Guide Taiwan website
MICHELIN Guide Taiwan Facebook
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Instagram: @MichelinGuide
