"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
