freelance writing: TAIPEI summer 2019 Cover story

SO PROUD to have my recent article about Taipei Michelin restaurants for @taipeitravel to be the COVER STORY of the Summer 2019 issue. 

It’s been amazing to see the changes in Taipei’s culinary landscape the last 10-15 years, as well as be a part of highlighting it and helping people discover it! Still something magical about seeing your words in print

Everyone always asks me what other restaurants to go to beyond RAW and Mume (both which are amazing and definitely worth trying), so it was a chance to share a few other places. 

Many of you have asked me how to get a copy or read the article since I shared it on instagram. You can find the article here- 

From Street Eats to Tasting Menus, Michelin Guide Showcases Taipei's Thriving Culinary Scene

It also was reprinted in China Post.

As for where to find a copy in real life, locations listed include Taipei City Hall, Tourist Center in the arrival lobby at Taoyuan airport, AIT, TAS, MOCA, Taipei artist Village. Let me know if you guys have seen it!

My kitchen: EASY BANANA BREAD WITH YOGURT

I had the best mini loaf of banana bread from Tamed Fox a few weeks ago and since then I’ve been craving it. I actually went back a few times but they didn’t have it or ran out and sometimes you just can’t wait. I had some ripe bananas but only had two, so I adjusted this Recipe that used 2 bananas and I had some walnuts on hand, but pecans would work too. I also need to find some whole wheat flour since I really loved it in Tamed Fox’s version and it makes it slightly healthier. Putting this down for the next time I need it. 

Easy Banana bread with yogurt

(This recipe made 12 muffins) 

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter so I omitted)
• 1/2 cup yogurt 
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips 
• 2 medium bananas, mashed 

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). 

2- In a large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar. 

3- Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla, mix well. 
4- Add 1.5 cup flour and 1 tsp baking soda, stir into the liquid mixture until smooth. Then, fold in the 1/2 cup yogurt, and 2 mashed bananas. 

5- Finally add walnuts and chocolate chips with some to sprinkle on top. 

6- Spoon into muffin tin so it’s 80 percent full.

7- Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and top is browned. 

This is the previous recipe I used- http://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-kitchen-easy-banana-bread-muffins.html?m=1

news: 2019 TAIPEI MICHELIN GUIDE STARS REVEALED

If you didn't make your reservations at one of the 24 newly minted Michelin starred restaurants before they were awarded stars today for the 2019 Michelin Guide Taipei, then good luck getting a seat the next few weeks! I remember last year going to L'Atelier Robuchon a week or so after the inaugural awards and it was a packed and busy house. 

After screenshotting and cropping the Michelin Guide announcements like a madwoman, I've compiled a list of every Taipei Michelin starred chef and their restaurants on Instagram (and updated my previous post of Taipei chefs to watch with instagram handles as well!)

New to the Taipei Michelin Guide list are Sushi Amamoto with 2 stars, while RAW and Tarroir both moved up to two stars (!!), joining neighbor Shoun Ryugin, taking the number of 2 starred restaurants in Taipei from two to five. RAW and Shoun Ryugin are in the same building in Neihu, while Tarroir is right next door, so there are six Michelin stars just in that one block. 

I'm surprised by the some of the 1 starred restaurants that have remained on the list (there are a few I think that I personally wouldn't recommend), but happy that Impromptu by Paul Lee and Logy earned a star. Both were very buzzed about since they opened, and well deserved honors. 

Out of nine Chinese restaurants awarded stars, four are Taiwanese restaurants - Golden Formosa, Ming Fu, Mountain Sea House and Tainan Tantsumien Seafood Restaurant. Personally I think Din Tai Fung and Shin Yeh also deserve to be honored, but I think their multiple branches works against them.

Five sushi bars make the list, but Michelin still might not have been able to get seats to Adachi, one of the hardest sushi bars to book in Taipei (and one of the best imho). Le Palais remains the lone three star restaurant. 

If you prefer street food to fine dining, check out the 2019 Michelin Guide Taipei Bib Gourmand Street Food list here  and the new entrants to Taipei Bib Gourmand selections here. Also, last fall I wrote an article about Gastromonth for Taiwan Scene that featured Sushi Ryu and Guest House. I've linked it here!

Congrats to all the chefs and teams! 

Michelin three stars

Le Palais / @palaisdechinhotel

Michelin two stars

RAW / Chef Alain Huang & Andre Chiang @raw_taipei @alainh001 @andrechiang_sg
TaÏrroir / Chef Kai Ho and pastry chef Angela Sy  @tarroir @kaiho1011 @angela_sy
Sushi Amamoto / Chef Shogo Amamoto 
Shoun RyuGin / Chef Ryohei Hieda @hiedaryohei
The Guest House / @sheratongrandtaipei 

Michelin one star

Da San Yuan
Da-Wan
Danny’s Steakhouse
Golden Formosa 
Impromptu by Paul Lee / Chef Paul Lee @impromptu_tw @paulhwlee
Ken An Ho 
Kitcho 
L’ATELIER de Joël Robuchon / Chef Olivier Jean @olivierjean_23
Logy  / Chef Ryogo Tahara @logy.tw @ryogotahara
Longtail / Chef Lam Ming Kin @longtail.taipei @kin.cooks
Ming Fu
Mountain and Sea House
MUME / Chefs Richie Lin and Long Xiong @mume_taiwan @richie_lin 
Sushi Nomura / @sushinomura
Sushi Ryu 
Tainan Tantsumien Seafood Restaurant
Tien Hsiang Lo
Ya Ge / Chef Tse Man @mo_tpe

news/michelin: 10 TAIPEI CHEFS TO WATCH (+ 1 IN TAICHUNG)

Ever since Michelin launched its inaugural awards last year, Taipei has had a wave of chefs relocating here to try their hand with local ingredients, new restaurant openings, and passionate discussions about who belonged on the list (or not). 

With Asia's 50 Best wrapped and Taipei Michelin awards around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to highlight a few restaurants and chefs that have been on my radar and should be on yours too. 

1. JL STUDIO / Chef Jimmy Lim 
@jlstudio_tw / @jimmy_jlstudio

Chef Jimmy Lim and JL Studio was honored with the Miele's One to Watch this year at Asia's 50 Best Restaurant Awards putting this Singaporean restaurant in Taichung on the map. (and yes, I know he's not in Taipei, but he's definitely One to Watch!)

2. IMPROMPTU BY PAUL LEE / Chef Paul Lee
@impromptu_tw / @paulhwlee

3. LOGY / Chef Ryogo Tahara
@logy.tw / @ryogotahara

4. ORCHID / Chef Perin Gildas
@orchidno.83 / @gildasperin

5. ADACHI/ Chef Hiromasa Adachi 

6. VERDE / Chef Timothy Lu 
@verde_taipei / @cheftimothylu

7. ANIMA / Chef Marco Compagnin 
@anima.taipei / @compa89 

8. AMAMOTO/ Chef Shogo Amamoto

9. BENCOTTO/ Chef Iacapo Frassi
@mo_tpe / @iacopofrassi

10. SUGAR PEA / AVENUE / Chef Sandy Yoon
@sugarpea.taipei / @avenue.taipei / @sandyyoonn

11. INGE's BAR AND GRILL/ Chef Vincent Weng
@inges_taipei / @vincent_inges

I wanted to post this before the 2019 Michelin star announcements were made, so I will post first and add details later! The only two restaurants I have not been to on this list are Logy and JL Studio, but I hope to be going there SOON!!

And these are some of the chefs that earned Michelin Stars last year that you should know if you don't already. Currently, Mume, RAW and Ryugin are the three Taipei restaurants to hold the honor as one of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2019. 

• L'ATELIER ROBUCHON TAIPEI / Chef Olivier Jean * @olivierjean_23
• LONGTAIL/ Chef Lam Ming Kin * @longtail.taipei @kin.cooks
• TARROIR / Chef Kai Ho * @tairror @kaiho1011 
• SUSHI RYU / Chef Yolong Yang*
• MUME / Chefs Richie Lin and Long Xiong * @mume_taiwan @richie_lin 
• RAW / Chefs Alain Huang and Andre Chiang * @raw_taipei @alainh001 @andrechiang_sg
• RYUGIN / Chef Ryohei Hieda ** @hiedaryohei

And speaking of Michelin, they should definitely honor Din Tai Fung and Shin Yeh with stars imho, as Din Tai Fung is definitely a place that people travel across oceans to eat at- the OG shop that made xiao long baos a household name. How can it have earned a Michelin Star in Hong Kong, but not in Taipei? 

western/drinks: i strongly recommend AVENUE

AVENUE

Hi guys. Long time, no talk. I have a TON of drafts like this, just waiting to be sent into the world. I wanted to add some more photos from other visits to this post before posting this, but today I decided to just hit "publish" because Avenue is definitely one of my favorite new places that has opened recently. 

You probably get a good idea of Avenue's vibe just from this. Starfruit cocktails, mini corn dogs and cobbler skillets? I would say so.

Current faves from Avenue are the beet and apple salad, the burger, the truffle cheesy orzo and the beef cheek tagliatelle. And the mini corn dogs if you have room! Will have to dig up those photos buried somewhere in my 100,000 photo stream to add later. Until then, have a great week!

flashback/dessert: i still recommend KRISPY KREME

KRISPY KREME

No. 20, Songshou Road, Xinyi District

(02) 2345-3798

MRT: Taipei City Hall

hours: 11AM - 11PM

$

OPENED 2013

I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME that when Krispy Kreme opened its doors in Taipei in 2013 that the lines were INSANE. It was a FOUR HOUR wait, with lines around the block of Vieshow and this went on for a few months. YES, you read that correctly. FOUR HOURS.

Why are people so crazy about donuts? I remember hearing this about Mister Donut when they first opened in Taipei too (in Tianmu.. who remembers this?)

this is only the part of the line that is closest to the shop

So I've been trying to cleanup my computer, make sure my backup drives are still working, so it took me down memory lane. When I saw these (blurry) photos of people waiting IN THE RAIN for Krispy Kremes, I had to write a flashback post because I don't think I ever wrote about this when it was happening. Since no one blogs anymore, there are NO RULES. lol.

I was, though, lucky enough to be one of the first to receive a box of Krispy Kreme originals without having to wait in line (it's nice to have friends in high places) and it was so satisfying after such a long dearth of donuts. This was around the time that BLT Burgers and CPK opened up at Vieshow as well, and only Krispy Kreme still remains in 2019.

Sadly, they have moved to a spot much smaller than their original location pictured here, and they don't make the donuts on site anymore, thus no "hot doughnuts" to grab off the assembly line. They have, however, expanded to 5 different shops around Taipei, as well make the cutest seasonal donuts, and I do see people still buying them, though these ridiculous lines have moved onto something else, thankfully. 

I still go there for an original donut once in awhile, sometimes I go crazy and get a salted caramel one too. 

other locations: 

at Breeze Nanjing, No. 337 Nanjing East Road, Section 3, Songshan District,  opens 10AM

No. 49 在站內，M3, Zhongxiao West Road,  Zhongzheng District, opens 7AM

No. 20 Jingye 3rd Road, Neihu, opens 11AM

 No. 53, Tianmu East Road, Shilin District, opens 8AM

at Global Mall, No. 7號, Section 2, Xianmin Boulevard, Banqiao District, opens 11AM