Restaurant A - 2026 Spring's Colorful Dining Experience

"Colorful" is the most straight-forward word that I can think of to describe Restaurant A's 2026 seasonal menu. They even named their non-alcoholic pairings with Pantone color code, which also echoes the color of the dishes that come together. 

So if you're up for such vibrant feast, this set menu will continue till early June. And I highly suggest to come during lunch hours. With daylight shining through the windows, which further brighten up the white and beige color-toned interior, and of course all these lively dishes will become even more vivid to the sight.

Restaurant A is located on the fairly new Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store Diamond Towers branch. They have two buildings side by side, with connecting underground parking. Building one has some shops, medium-priced restaurants, and a small supermarket. Building two has one or two high-end fashion stores and mostly mid to high priced restaurants.

So Restaurant A is on the 4th floor of building two. You'll face directly at their reception counter when the elevator arrive. 

By the way, the restrooms are here too, and the receptionist did ask us if we would like to use it before officially entering the restaurant. I did, also weirdly took a picture of lady's room. 

Back to the restaurant, it can be roughly separated by two areas. A more cozy, casual café-like space up front.

Then the server led us through a short hallway leading to the main dining area. There you get some big window view, natural light, and at the end of the spectrum is semi-open kitchen.

Most diners can get a glimpse of actions and magics happening in the kitchen. But all that is also shielded with glass, keeping all the hustling noises inside.

Up to this point, we are already in love with our main server of the day. A tall gentleman who is super attentive to details. I actually went there with my mom to celebrate Mother's Day. You know that my mom is pretty old already with a bit trouble with her legs. The server helped us to adjust the air conditioning, offering cushions, and make sure the water temperature is suitable for my mom's preference.

Not only that, throughout the meal he handled the conversation time perfectly, provided just the right amount of attention to us. Not too much that my mom might possible get annoyed (she gets irritated easily sometimes), but enough to let me know all the details about the food presented.

On top of that, the sommelier was great too. Patience and lovely, explaining our non-alcoholic beverage pairings without much hard to understand words, but successfully showcase the aroma and the taste of the drinks, and how it relays to the dishes coming forward. 

Upon making a reservation online, it's required to select the set menu and pairing options. Basically just one set menu for lunch and a more elaborate one for dinner. The price listed on the booking website already include the pairing. 

Considering that the pairing was already included, I find it actually a lot cheaper than expected, especially Restaurant A is now a two Michelin-starred restaurant. Our lunch was priced at $4,850 NTD, about $155 USD per person. By the way, dinner is priced at $6,850, about $220 USD per person.

One of the best things about having a fine dining meal in Taiwan is that you don't have to tip. Well, you can tip a little bit extra if you feel like it, but usually no tipping required, and most people don't really add up the tips in the final bill. There's only 10% service charge on top of the final bill, which seems super minor compared to the skyrocketing tips "required" in America.

Just like the name suggests, this course is called "bouchon" (representing the "saltiness" part of the course) - 

Among all these real corks, there were two look-alike finger food hidden inside. It's fun to see my mom trying to pick out where is the edible cork in the bunch.

After few failed attempts, our server helped to shovel away the corks and reveal the slightly different looking "bouchon" inside. Despite its cork appearance, the texture is actually very light with thin crisp on the outside and mousse filling in the center. Think of it as a smoked caviar spring roll with main ingredients including cauliflower, Comté, and smoked caviar. 

Our first non-alcoholic pairing, rosé with Pantone color code 26303 - 

Torch ginger, strawberry, and rhubarb. When I first learnt about torch ginger, I thought it was some kind of old chunky earthy ginger used in many Chinese cooking. Little did I know it was in fact a pretty good size vibrant orange red colored flower. And that's why it's called "torch" due to the shape of the flower bud looking like a torch.

So this first pairing tastes just like the color implied. Vibrant, refreshing, a bit sweet and a bit sourish. Also a mild bubbling drink, a perfect opener for the meal ahead. My mom really enjoyed this one too.

Saumon l'oseille (sweetness and acidity) -

They take the Japanese crisp wafers as a vessel, inside you'll find king salmon in a slightly velvety texture. A bit sweet and sour touch from the citrusy ingredient. Components like osmanthus and sorrel can also be found. On the upper right side is cold cauliflower soup. 

Pistou (bitterness) - 

This dish actually has a very local Taiwanese name, kind of like gai lan and beef stir-fry. Key ingredients including wagyu beef, gai lan aka Chinese broccoli, and pistachio. 

I guess it's a fun play between the classic pistou sauce, which is generally made with basil, garlic, and olive oil, with the similar aroma strength of Taiwanese beef stir-fry. Pistachio was used in both bites, acting like a bridge to connect these two mini dishes.

The tiny sphere thing is wagyu wrapped with fried olive. The seasoning is on the saltier side but that combined with fried olive to achieve a more concentrated flavor. It's more like a thin line between salty and bitterness. A delicate and more so pleasant way to showcase the "bitterness" intended in the sequence of the course.

Soup and bread (umami) -

Umami is always a crowd pleaser. As expected, my mom really enjoyed this course consist of mushroom cappuccino and truffle doughnut. 

Look at our new spoon holders, I guess seafood is coming up - 

Hollandaise - benedict (orange) - 

Note that now we have three components for the name of the courses coming up. First is by French mother sauce categories, here we have hollandaise, classically made with egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice. The second part is the name of the dish, here it says benedict. Then lastly is the color part, which was the most memorable part to me throughout the course. All the different color theme between the food and the drinks, not just taste-wise, the entire setting was a great feast to the eyes too.

Fancy snow crab as the main. There are also marigold, carrot, and mimolette cheese, the cheese is used in the cute tiny madeleine on the side. All these orange-toned ingredients successfully represent the color theme of this course. Don't forget there is also an orange yet reddish hued crab shell on top, that is real crab shell by the way but for decoration purpose only.

Among all these components, what stood out the most to me was actually the blood orange used, somewhere hidden among the bunch. The blood orange definitely brought up some refreshing citrusy touch, more so a gentle kick, balancing the dense natured salted egg hollandaise. 

Our second non-alcoholic pairing, pearl with Pantone color code 11-608 -

Neroli, which is the blossom of the bitter orange tree, pomelo, and white asparagus. Looking at the creamy color of this drink, we should know by now that the upcoming course will be on the similar color spectrum.

If you Google Pantone color code 11-608, it's actually 11-0608 and named as coconut milk. So perhaps one can guess that the dish will also include the use of coconut milk. In fact it did! 

Béchamel - salade blanche (white) -

Here I represent you the "coconut milk" or white color-toned course. There's definitely white asparagus, but not the exact same white asparagus used in the pairing. The one in the pairing is Taiwan's local grown white asparagus. It's just as herbaceous and earthy, but a bit more fibrous compared to French white asparagus, which is why Restaurant A decided to use that in the drink.

The one used in actual meal is white asparagus from the Loire Valley in France, a seasonal jewel with juicy and tender texture. On top of that, there are also elderflower, white mocha coffee oil, Japan's Toyama white shrimps, and baby corn.  

Sauce tomato - bouillabaisse (yellow) -

If you are somewhat familiar with French cuisine, then you might know what gives a classic bouillabaisse fish soup its signature yellowish orange hue, saffron that is. On top of saffron, there are also yellow tomato and zucchini flower contributing to the color vibe.

The seafood stock was poured table-side, it's extra special this time, Chef chose to use sturgeon as the main ingredient for the stock, but note that the actual fish chunk in the bowl is red grouper. Taste-wise it's quite similar to the usual bouillabaisse, if you are a fan of saffron, you should fall in love with this one here too.

Our third and also the last of non-alcoholic pairing, malaya with Pantone color code 208C -

Lavender, purple cabbage, and black cassis. The black cassis part made this non-alcoholic drink a bit in toned with the real red wine. Together with lavender, this drink has the right elements, I mean with stronger character to stand alongside the upcoming lamb course. 

Espagnole - navarin (rose) -

A total rose vibe. This course is too pretty and I was a bit reluctant to break apart any element on the plate. The brioche served on the side has a brush of romantic hue too, dotted with cherry blossom powder.

There were two types of lamb preparations on the plate. The braised version was blanketed under the red cabbage, and the seared version was underneath the crispy sheet. Both lamb were tender and rich in its natural aroma. What surprised me the most was Chef's play on the classic espagnole sauce. 

Traditionally espagnole started out with brown roux, then there's the classic mirepoix, the beef or veal stock, the herbs, the seasonings, combining all will eventually landed you a brown sauce with depth of flavors. Kind of like a gravy but in a more complex way. However, I heard that the espagnole used here was more so a vegan version. No bones nor meat involved, but tons of caramelized veggies and mushrooms.

With such special sauce, of course I'll grab some of that glistening brioche and soak up all the remaining juice on the plate. As thoughtful as Restaurant A can be, we were presented with some herbal-scented wet napkins to clean our fingers afterwards. 

Coulis - gimlet (green) -

Dessert time! If you know a thing or two about French meal, you'll know that one dessert course is never enough, usually there should be two or three sweet stuff coming up. It's like a happy dessert section for sweet lovers. 

And I absolutely adore this first dessert course taking the concept from a classic gimlet cocktail. Gin, lime juice, and sugar, this cocktail's original form can't be simpler than that. Transfer gimlet's flavor combo onto a dessert, the ingredients become quite funky but interesting worked all so well.

Small peas, jasmine, guava, and green olives. There is also gimlet panna cotta, some foam action going on and matcha powder on top. I think some olive oil was also involved, threading everything in a smooth string of velvety yet refreshing herbal scent.

Vacherin (red) -

Not as much of a fan compared to the green gimlet dessert though. It's good, but it's my personal preference that I never take a liking to the acidity from berries. On this plate, pomegranate, hibiscus, and beet root were also used.

Yogurt too, that's why this dessert is not for me because that's one other thing that I always try to avoid if possible. 

Towards the end of the meal, our waiter came with two options to enjoy with the final café gourmande. Herbal tea or Ethiopian coffee, we got one each.

Served with cardamon, caramel, and sea salt flavored cannelé - 

So for the café gourmande part, usually diners can switch seats and head to the front café-like area, a more relaxed setting. Here's one more example of how attentive our server was. He actually came to us and checked for our preference. I'm glad he asked, because it wasn't that convenient for my mom to move around as such. So we decided to stay in the main dining room. 

We were given a more detailed food and beverage pairing menu upon checking-out. I guess they sprayed some perfume on these papers. Smelled really nice, a bit herbal with a touch of white flower sweet scent. 

Service and ambiance-wise, Restaurant A definitely worth that two Michelin stars. Food and drinks I would say one solid star for sure. But either way, overall it's been confirmed, go enjoy a meal at Restaurant A, especially the price point for lunch service truly was quite a bargain.

Restaurant A currently holds two Michelin star status.

Restaurant A (Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Diamond Towers)

4F, Building 2, Number 282, Section 3, Zhongxiao East Road, 

Da'an District, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

+886 2 2721 8088　　

Official website: https://restaurant-a.com/en/welcome.html

Online booking system: Restaurant A reservation

Opening hours:

Thursday through Saturday lunch 11:30 a.m. ~ 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday dinner 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:30 p.m.

Sunday and Monday off

　

de nuit French Restaurant - Hands Down A+ Service Michelin Restaurant in Taipei

"By night," as the restaurant's name suggests, you'll find yourself walking into a cozy space mainly filled with indigo and grey design, which echoes the tone of nightfall seamlessly. 

"I'm not carrying my heavy DSLR camera tonight," as I said to Mister. Instead, I'm going to use his recently purchased iPhone 14 for the food pictures. It's also a great opportunity to test out the new phone's camera capability in a very dark setting.

Without a bulky camera, I was happy to switch to my mini shoulder bag instead of a big tote bag. For that, I've also decided to put on comfy shoes, easy to walk long distance but still formal enough to dine at a Michelin restaurant. My plan is to stroll around the city after dinner. Considering the location of de nuit, there should be plenty new stores to see along the main roads, also a nice way to feel and explore the city at night once a while, on foot.

We arrived a bit early than our 6 p.m. reservation, so the roll-up door was still half way open. To kill the minutes in between, we started to investigate the surrounding neighborhood. Turned out there's a liquor store/wine tasting place right next to it. 

Seems like the whole place has been booked for a group of young people. The reason for my assumption is that during our dinner at de nuit, I can hear the muffled cheering noise, must be watching FIFA World Cup there. We also stumbled upon one happy and buzzed couple outside the restaurant.

The noise from next door was totally fine even when we were having an intimate dining moment. It doesn't bother much, more so kind of "lively" and suited for a city setting.

Right on time, de nuit pulled up the door and we walked through a hallway into the main dining area. The place is rather petite compared to what I had in mind. There's also a small private room on the side.

My original plan of testing out the new iPhone under dimmed environment might not work here. The restaurant actually took some effort in fixing the spotlight to a certain angle on every table. That way, the servers or the diners can place the food under the light for the best image outcome.

That puts de nuit a picture-friendly fine dining restaurant, as long as you turn-off the flashlight and not pointing your camera or your phone to other customers.

Menu of the night, including drinks and pairings.

I was going to try their tea pairing, but hesitated because I already had my share of oolong tea during day time. Good thing is that as for the wine pairing, de nuit also offer half-glasses option, just the right amount for my recent tolerance level. Not quite buzzed at all but it'll do the trick of enjoyment and level up the dishes (don't drink and drive by the way).

Butter and fleur de sel for the upcoming bread -

I can't recall if there's one fine dining restaurant, especially Michelin-leveled offer tap water in Taiwan, so there it was, our fancy bottled mineral water -

The server asked if we would like lemon in our water, I said yes, but not for Mister. It's that little details they noticed and truly kept in mind. Towards the end of our meal, Mister finished his water and I still have more than half glass full. Doesn't feel necessary to get another bottle, I passed down my water to Mister instead. The server soon went up to Mister and asked if he would like the lemon inside to be picked out, since Mister didn't want lemon in his water initially.

First wine pairing: Laherte Frères Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature NV, Champagne, France -

Not just for the food, even the sommelier pays extra attention on how the wine is presented and try to strike a best angle for the customer to take pictures.

Some hardcore customers would use a voice recorder to take notes on the food, that doesn't work for me. Before I would type down the descriptions from the server and sommelier to my phone right after their elaboration. Nowadays, I try to enjoy the food first, then perhaps key-in some thoughts in between courses.

Of course my memories faded even after such short time frame, but I take it as what's the most important will still remain in my head. It is a more compromising way for me to take note while not severely interfering with the dining experience. 

Also personally I don't like the servers to see me jotting down the notes, not mentioning letting them glimpse and saw what I've wrote. So I tend to quickly put down my phone when I sense someone is coming or passing by. That didn't work out quite as well, half way through, the kind server came and asked if I need any more information. They can always come to me and tell me more about their food, ingredients used, sauce components and such if needed. I was a little shy, but thanks for the kind gesture. 

Refillable sour dough and baguette. Server also suggested to use the bread to dip in some food sauces if applicable.

First course: Langoustine, fennel, sour cream. Second course: smoked eel, abalone, Oscietra caviar - 

The langoustine course is the one presented in phyllo shells. Shells made with phyllo dough sheets are lighter with a paper thin crunch to it compared to traditional tart shells. I think the lighter shell works really well with airy mousse filling.

Then we moved on to the slightly heavier-textured second course with whole wheat bread. It's not hard to find the smoked eel, but where's the abalone? Turned out that they thinly sliced the abalone and situated in between the eel and the whole wheat bread. 

Quail egg, aioli, ruby black tea - 

The server asked us to be ready for the upcoming scene, better to get my video recording ready because everything happens so quickly. I thought I did. Unfortunately I wasn't that familiar with Mister's new iPhone function yet so turned out my video was either tilted or shaken. At least I got the still images alright. 

What I failed to capture was the smoke flowing out when the server removed the lid of this quail egg dish. The scene was dreamy yet made you drool a little with all that beech wood smoky goodness. 

The soft-boiled egg was infused with ruby black tea, thus the golden brownish hue. You devour the whole thing, the egg and the fried rice vermicelli all together at once. It's a mixture of velvety versus gentle crunch, a hint of smokiness and tea aroma, very good and eye-pleasing with the whole presentation. 

Second wine pairing: Lvnae Bosoni Etichetta Nera Vermentino Colli di Luni DOC 2020, Liguria, Italy -

Note that it's half-glass pairing, plus the shape of the glass, I should be savour the wine rather than "drinking" the wine.

Ratatouille -

One of the classic French dishes, ratatouille was especially famous thanks to the popular animation back in 2007. The traditional ratatouille was compiled by assorted vegetable slices on a dish. 

Here at de nuit, the ratatouille stood up as a three-dimensional cylinder with a vibrant garden theme. As you can see edible flowers on top, also the colorful basil, tomato, and carrot sauce surrounding. 

Break the cylinder apart, you'll find red sauce hidden within. Surprisingly, this ratatouille doesn't taste as soft and gentle as its appearance suggests. The flavor had a unique scent to it, almost like the aroma from a fresh off the oven baked potato chips. A pleasant kick among all the tender ingredients. 

Third wine pairing: Domaine Pattes Loup Chablis Vent d'Ange -

It was only till the time I wrote this blog post then I realized that the third wine pairing was different from the menu. However, I do enjoy it, both the taste and the little background on the wine label told by the sommelier. The French wine description said it all, but if you can't read it, would you like to take a guess which two elements can be seen on the wine label?

...

...

...

...

...

Wolf claws and angel. 

Market fish, vin jaune, scallop -

Such romantic color scheme, with pinkish hue brushing over these ingredients, it says the beginning of spring time to me.

The fish they used was red tilefish, which has been a popular fish selection among the fine dining restaurants in Taiwan. The cost of the fish was decent, and after basting or some other cooking techniques, the file scale crisps up, that extra crunch and fried aroma is always a crowd pleaser. 

They poured over some tarragon oil in the center. A hint of licorice-like aroma add just the right amount of flavor to this delicate course. 

The fun part is that I couldn't really recognize where's the scallop? Ended up it was that semi-sphere thing on the plate. Its texture is almost like a version in between the actual scallop and mousse. Normally not my favorite but I think its creaminess works well here as a side and let the main fish shine instead.

Lobster, citrus, couscous -

Inspired by the Brittany fish soup, but the commonly used starchy ingredient potato has been substituted by pumpkin flavored couscous. Very comforting and homey at the same time. The portion is good too, I can even get a big piece of lobster in every spoonful of soup.

Mister was choking, not too seriously, I guess he was trying to tell me something but started coughing instead. He tried to hold back and lowered the coughing sound as much as he could. Guess what? Soon after the server brought over a cup of hot water. Very thoughtful move. I felt back because I was like Mister will be fine just need to cough it out, so I didn't really do anything and just kept eating. Oops. 

Aged quail, foie gras, fermented grape -

Lessons learned. The serve asked me to prepare to video recording the quail if preferred. Nope, not this time, I will stick to the pictures solely.

Another wave of scented smoke once the lid has been removed.

Aged quail was brushed with some grape juice during the cooking process. Underneath you'll find hay, grape leaves, and pine needles, all contributed to the smoky aroma. This was just for the show, the entire piece of meat soon sent back to the kitchen waiting for slicing and placing onto the final plates.

Forth wine pairing: Waterkloof Circle of Life 2020, Stellenbosch, South Africa -

I kind of like the fact that our sommelier put more emphasis on telling the story behind the wine label, instead of getting too much into detailed viticulture or grate varieties. I know grape varieties and flavors are important, but sometimes I wonder how many customers can really relate to that. 

I actually studied wine back then just out of interest and passed WSET level 3, but that's just me. I would guess the majority of the diners don't have in-depth knowledge or interests in regards to such information. It's like a Google engineer trying to show me how the coding works, you'll only find my head spinning under my friendly smiley face. So why not take a different approach, putting more emphasis on the story behind the wine label, that might raise some eyebrows and draw in more attention instead.

So this bottle, circle of life, the sommelier showed us the images of booming and dying grapevine circled around the bottle, printed on recycled paper material too. I find that interesting.

Our aged quail has come back -

The color vibe is just as romantic as the earlier red tilefish course, but with a tad earthy tone to it. The center sauce was made with Kyoho grapes, cardamom, and quail bones. Unlike what one would usually expect from a concentrated sauce, it's actually quite delicate and had a hint of sweet scent to it. 

The leg section was stuffed with foie gras. From there, I put down my fork and knife and decided to enjoy by hand. Once again, thoughtful server soon came over and presented with a bottle of disinfection alcohol, so that I can spray some to the napkin to clean my fingers with. 

Fifth wine pairing: Ximénez-Spínola Fermentación Lenta 2019, Jerez, Spain -

Iberico bellota pluma, juniper, morel -

The server specifically asked if we were good with the doneness from the previous quail course, it seemed that some customers prefer a more cooked-through version. Not us, we like it just the way Chef thinks what's the best doneness to enjoy the meat.

Just to be safe, the server came over and inquired about our preference for the bellota pork. With such high quality pork, again, we are totally fine if the center of the meat turns out on the pink side. It was a nice gesture from the restaurant though, to really put the customer first even it means the kitchen had to prep the meat well-done.

We do love our pinkish bellota pork. It was tender and slightly juicy as you continue to chew on it. The green bits inside are pistachio and spinach. To accompany the pork, there's juniper-infused sauce in the center and red cabbage purple sauce on the side. A hint of bitter, slightly peppery and herbal, goes hand in hand with the result of acorn-fed pork.

Cheese plate -

We're at a French restaurant after all, so here it came a small assembly of cheese plate, which includes blue cheese and 30-month aged comté, paired with 10-year balsamic vinegar, jam, nuts, and gold dusted honey.

Sugar apple, chrysanthemum, sake -

Sorbet came to my rescue. Opposite to Mister, I enjoyed the blue cheese but was having a hard time with comté. What a pleasant sight to see a refreshing sorbet coming up. It's like getting your hand burned by the oven then this chilly water stream pouring down right on time to sooth the sensation. 

We get one dessert each, so we chose two different kinds in order to try out all the options on the menu.

Chestnut, blueberry, cumin - 

Inspired by the classic French dessert Mont Blanc, here the chestnut component undergone liquid nitrogen treatment, became icy topping above the cumin-infuse dacquoise. However, with its temperature and the strong character of chestnut, one would hardly know that there was cumin involved unless known beforehand.

Grapefruit, orange, lemon marigold leaf - 

The flavor combo can trick you into thinking that this is supposedly a refreshing citrusy dessert. Well, if you treat the idea "refreshing" differently...

They took the idea from another French dessert baba au rhum, which is basically yeast cake soaked in rum syrup. I definitely underestimate the alcohol level here, the kick was more than all my half-glass wine pairing combined. 

Mignardise -

Religieuse on the left, which is made of two choux pastry cases stacking on top of each other looking like a miniature snowman. Paired with vanilla filling and dusted with salt flakes on top. In the center you'll find matcha and oolong tea combo with texture similar to chocolate bonbon. On the right, Poudre de Piment d'Espelette AOP and passion fruit flavored macaron.

I double checked with the server in regards to which one actually used the chili powder Poudre de Piment d'Espelette AOP. I thought I got the sequence wrong and the choux pastry was in fact the one infused with chili powder due to its darker appearance. Ended up the softest-looking macaron was the one with a spicy kick.

Server even brought over the spice jar in case I want to find out more about the chili powder. One more example of their thoughtful and extended act.     

After paying the bill and ready to leave, the server accompanied us on our way out the restaurant. At the door, she gave us a little gift before we start our "on foot" tour of the city. The bag had two madeleines inside, a sweet act from the restaurant.

We didn't really have in mind how long we were going to walk down the streets. Just miraculously we happened to show up at a sweet treats place that opens till late night in the east area of Taipei. We weren't even hungry, but again, I have no idea why we ended up with one extra sugary dessert on our way home.

Mister devoured the whole thing that night. 

By the way, the take-home madeleines were to die for. They were so good that I even thought about having them all for myself and not sharing to Mister. The madeleines taste a bit like canelé, especially the edges had a condensed caramelized aroma to it, and the center was moist. I would order many boxes and send to my friends and families if de nuit decides to sell these goodies on the side. It's that good. 

de nuit currently holds one Michelin star status.

de nuit French Restaurant

Number 175, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Da'an District, 

Taipei City, Taiwan

+886 2 2700 1958

Restaurant website: https://www.denuit.com.tw/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denuitTaipei

Opening hours:

Lunch - Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11:30 a.m. ~ 3:00 p.m.

Dinner - Tuesday to Saturday 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:30 p.m.

Closed on Sunday and Monday