19 December 2025
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While working at The Bathers’ Pavilion in Australia, a colleague asked him what unique seasonings Asia had to offer. At the time, he felt that many of the sauces he grew up with seemed too ordinary or unrefined to bring up. “I suddenly realized I couldn’t name anything,” he recalls. “And then I wondered, ‘why is that? Do we really not have anything worth sharing?’”
That question echoed even louder when he later tasted a refined version of a familiar clam, mushroom and chicken broth at Jacques Reymond in Melbourne. The flavors reminded him of home — yet here they were, presented with confidence. “They introduced these flavors with such pride. Why weren’t we doing the same?”
Afterward, he spent time working in several kitchens in London, followed by two months traveling across Europe from Italy to Denmark, tasting his way through six or seven cities. At Three-MICHELIN-Starred restaurant Épicure in the Three MICHELIN Key Hotel Le Bristol Paris, helmed by Chef Eric Frechon, he encountered something transformative — not only delicious food, but a deep sense of happiness and warmth in the dining experience. The way the restaurant offered magazines to solo diners, explained recipes or even initiated a photo with the chef, were all unexpected touches that created memories far beyond the plate.
Warmth and quiet confidence
Perhaps this explains why diners at the FRONT HOUSE often feel a sense of warmth — and a quiet, self-assured confidence radiating from the cuisine.
Perhaps this explains why diners at the FRONT HOUSE often feel a sense of warmth — and a quiet, self-assured confidence radiating from the cuisine.
The restaurant treats dining as a full experience, from the warm tones greeting guests at the door to a menu filled with personal memories and service that strikes the perfect balance of attentiveness and subtle detail.
Notably, Tsai places great importance on the front of house experience, a priority reflected in the restaurant’s English name. To him, service is the final mile in conveying a dish’s intention; only when done well can the culinary vision truly reach the guest.
RELATED: The Art of Service: Kiky Chen of the FRONT HOUSE
In his dishes, Tsai hopes to create works of art — something that satisfies in the moment but can also be remembered long after. His creative process is meticulous, layered with consideration: flavors must be balanced; seasonality must be honored — not just through ingredients and colors, but through sensations such as the fruit-forward freshness of summer or the deeper aromas and fats of winter.
He also aims to reflect Taiwanese culture and terroir through dishes like autumn’s stir-fried crab with satay or by experimenting with ingredients tied to specific regions. One example is dried pomelo from Tainan — made by slowly cooking pomelo peel with other ingredients such as honey, a labor-intensive traditional craft that’s often used as a soothing throat lozenge.
Further Reading: MICHELIN Inspectors Share Their Favorite Dishes from Taiwan’s Newly Listed One-Star Restaurants and Promoted Two Stars
Every element matters
To Tsai, every detail in the restaurant contributes to the guest’s experience. And every ingredient in a dish must be thoughtfully elevated — each playing a unique and irreplaceable role.
Even something as easily overlooked as water is crucial, in his view.
The water served must not interfere with the flavors but instead let the dishes shine as intended. In Tsai’s cuisine, acidity is essential — used to tickle the taste buds, as well as soften richness, refine saltiness or balance fruit-driven sweetness. “Why do we recommend pairing dishes with mineral water? Soft water has a smoother mouthfeel and can mute acidity,” he explains. “But water with minerals such as Evian can make the acidity in a dish more defined.” (Left image © PCS Photo Studio)
For his dish Gleaming Reflections, inspired by memories of growing up in Penghu, he marinates and lightly torches the fish, pairing it with grapefruit, jasmine tea-kombu sauce and autumn accents like preserved plum, cucumber and shiso.
He recommends pairing this dish with still mineral water, allowing the simple flavors of the fish to come through clearly.
For dishes where acidity is gentler and the layers more complex, he suggests sparkling water: the mineral character presents the acidity properly, and the bubbles delicately reset the palate.
RELATED: Best Seafood Restaurants in Taiwan
Forest in Autumn Chestnut is inspired by a scene of quail resting among autumn leaves. Smoked with aged tea leaves, the Liugui quail is paired with porcini jus, Parmigiano-chestnut purée and seasonal elements like water snowflake, chestnut and porcini — richer, more textured and less acidic than the cold starters. Sparkling water provides just the right reset.
The same logic applies to the seven-day dry-aged Ibérico pork shoulder, paired with pumpkin, Ibérico ham, sansho leaf, candied kumquat jus, ailanthus prickly ash oil as well as the red miso with Hakka dried mustard greens. Iberico pork's deep, rich flavors — accented by pumpkin, kumquat and the gentle acidity of dried mustard greens — pair best with sparkling water to weave together and balance the dish’s many layers.” (Right image © PCS Photo Studio)
“Water is definitely an important part of the dining experience,” Tsai shared. To him, Evian’s mineral water and sparkling water strike an ideal balance — refined, unobtrusive, and complementary to the FRONT HOUSE’s cuisine. “Evian’s flavor and its brand are pure, with a restrained character, and they resonate very well with our restaurant’s philosophy,” he said.
Further Reading: From Oo-peh-tshiat to Offal Delicacies: A Culinary Exploration from Hooves to Beaks in Taiwan
A constant pursuit for him is reframing everyday ingredients, elevating them to new heights so guests can experience surprise and emotion in the familiar.
In the main courses on his autumn menu, the Ibérico pork shoulder is completed by red miso with Hakka dried mustard greens, which complement the rich flavor of the meat with their umami and distinctive savoriness. Using this humble, everyday Hakka ingredient in a new and refined way has long been a challenge for him.
“I’ve always wanted to use dried mustard greens but never found the right approach to give it a fresh perspective,” Tsai says. He kept the idea in a dedicated cloud folder — adding thoughts whenever inspiration appeared — until the day the right answer finally arrived.
A guide through a local journey
Carefully built step by step, the FRONT HOUSE is Tsai’s ongoing effort to become a guide for his guests’ journeys — to let diners travel through flavor, place, history and culture, gaining curiosity and appreciation for Taiwan along the way.
“It’s like inviting you to my home,” he says. “I tell you about this place — the things we can share with confidence.” Through the meal, by paying attention to every detail and even the water pairing, he aims to give guests just the right balance of comfort and satisfaction. “And in sharing these stories, I feel joy and happiness — a sense of delight that I believe guests can also feel.”
Further Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Kaohsiung for Sea Lovers
Hero image: © PCS Photo Studio
