Ten restaurants in Taiwan were given one-star ratings for the first time by the Michelin Guide yesterday, while five restaurants that were granted one or two-star ratings in previous years failed to make it onto this year’s list.
The France-based culinary publication evaluated the gourmet scene in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung and gave star ratings to 49 restaurants, up from 44 last year. Of those that received stars, 37 are in Taipei, nine are in Taichung and three are in Kaohsiung.
For the third consecutive year, no restaurants in Tainan received stars.
Photo: CNA
Most of the restaurants selected by the Michelin Guide were on its Bib Gourmand list, which was unveiled last week.
The two and three-star lists are almost the same as last year, but the one-star list showed more dramatic changes.
The 10 restaurants that secured one-star ratings for the first time this year were Gen (雋) in Kaohsiung; L’atelier Par Yao, Minimal and Yuen Ji (元紀) in Taichung; and Restaurant A, Circum-, Eika (盈科), Nobuo, Sens and Wok by O’Bond in Taipei.
Minimal is also the world’s first ice cream shop to receive a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide.
Danny’s Steakhouse (教父牛排), Longtail and Sushi Nomura (鰭野村), which had had one-star ratings for six years consecutively, failed to make it onto the list this year.
One-star restaurant Holt and two-star restaurant Liberte have closed down.
Danny’s Steakhouse apologized for not being able to secure a rating this year.
“We are deeply sorry that we let our customers down, who have been supporting us all these years,” the Taipei-based restaurant said in a statement.
“Not being able to defend our title means that we need to try harder and this also serves as an opportunity to re-evaluate our performance,” it said. “We would move forward and continue serving our customers with high-quality food and excellent service.”
Thomas Chien in Kaohsiung, as well as Embers, Hosu (好嶼), the Daan Road branch of Little Tree Food (小小樹食), Mountain and Sea House (山海樓) and the Shilin District (士林) branch of Yangming Spring (陽明春天) in Taipei received green-star ratings — symbolizing “excellence in sustainable gastronomy.”
The Michelin Sommelier Award this year was given to Tseng Ya-hui (曾雅慧) from Yuen Ji. Tseng is the first woman in Taiwan to receive the award.
Le Palais of the Palais de Chine Hotel was given a three-star rating for the seventh consecutive year.
Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that the Michelin Guide would add two more cities to its list of places to examine in Taiwan.
“I would let them make the assessment themselves about where they want to visit next year,” Chou said, without disclosing locations.
Asked about Tainan not having any Michelin-starred restaurants, he said that the city has many delicious snacks on the Bib Gourmand list and draws visitors with its unique style.
For a complete list of Taiwan’s Michelin-starred restaurants for this year, visit https://guide.michelin.com/tw/en.
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