Tempura Motoichi is one of the refined tempura experiences you can find in Taipei. It's quite popular too. In fact, it's been almost fully booked since the opening date back in March 2024.
Tempura Motoichi (元一台湾天ぷら) is the oversea branch of Tokyo's two Michelin-starred Tempura Motoyoshi (天ぷら元吉) led by Chef Kazuhito Motoyoshi (元吉和仁). Not going to lie, such pedigree definitely helps in drawing local diners' attention right from the beginning. As long as the quality and expectation hold, the Taiwan branch Tempura Motoichi is bound to success. And it did actually, earning its first one Michelin-star in August 2025.
That's quite an accomplishment, getting a star within two years of opening date. On a more financial stand point, Tempura Motoichi was also nearly fully booked even till this day. I was just checking its online booking site, and there were only three openings within the following month. For sure the these spots will be taken eventually. Fame plus actual business performance, Tempura Motoichi got them all.
And these meals are not cheap. Regular omakase style lunch is set at $5,500 NTD per person, about $175 USD. Dinner runs at $6,500 NTD per person, about $205 USD.
I didn't take all the pictures of their drink menu, but it seems like they do carry more "not so common" varieties compared to other Japanese fine dining places in Taipei.
They also carry Taiwan's local specialty beer, which Mister got one to try (don't drink and drive). I got the wine pairing instead and intended to have Mister help me with the most of it. Put the alcoholic drinks aside, we also ordered one extra bottle of cold brewed Biluochun (碧螺春), a rather refreshing Chinese green tea to enjoy the meal with.
This is our Head Chef at Tempura Motoichi, who was a bit quiet in the beginning but opened up and started to chat with the guests as time passed by and when the dining vibe became more relaxed -
On the very left was our cold brew Chinese tea, then the colorful bottle was Taiwan's craft beer Jim & Dad using locally grown Koshihikari rice. The flavor was very light and refreshing, the "touch" is even milder compared to the famous 18 days Taiwan Beer. No wonder the restaurant picked this selection for their generally light-tasting fried courses -
On the very right was my first alcoholic drinks pairing, Benten Tsuyahime (辯天/つや姫) sparkling sake. It was crisp with a wee bit sweetness, making it a refreshing start of the night.
Seasonal bonito fish and squid. By the way, if you're unfamiliar with the squid sashimi at a higher leveled Japanese restaurant, you might be surprised by its texture. With the right aging and knife skills, the squid can be super soft but yet still some glutinous bite remain. The texture is definitely on the other spectrum of the common slightly chewy fried calamari at an American restaurant.
We were about to venture into the "fried" zone. The Chef brought out most of the ingredients that will be served that night -
Some of the basic dressings to eat along with our fried courses, including the tempura sauce on the lower left. There's also coarsely grated radish, which diners can put some to the tempura sauce.
Lemon wedge on the side. Not seemed from the picture were soy sauce, salt, and more tempura sauce if needed. And that empty tiny bowl in the middle was actually a fancy "trash can," which we didn't use at all. I think it's for like leftover parts of the food such as fried shrimp tail. But the shrimp tail was actually fried to a point it's like an airy crispy cracker so we just ate the whole thing.
All that smoke wasn't just for the show. It was Tempura Motoyoshi's specialized technique recreated in Taiwan's Tempura Motoichi branch. Basically by introducing liquid nitrogen to the batter in order to quickly lower the moisture in the frying flour.
However, don't ask me about the actual science behind it, all I really know for sure is that I do enjoy the misty presentation and the light as the cloud fried shrimps in the end.
Only if I can eat like a dozen of these fried shrimp heads everyday as a luscious snack. Seriously, you don't feel any grease at all but a good brush of crustacean aroma and airy crunch instead.
In fact, on top of liquid nitrogen that was utilized sometime during the meal, the frying oil was also the key to their refined fried dishes. The main component of the oil they used is white sesame oil imported from Japan. But not just regular white sesame oil, think of it like the extra virgin grade white sesame oil, giving its food an distinct yet clean and elegant aroma.
Second pairing was Kokuryu (黑龍) daiginjo rice wine. The server was quite knowledgeable about their drink selection and always provided good amount of flavor and aroma descriptions when serving something new -
So the first shrimp was "lightly fried" and this second shrimp was more of a "deep fried" version instead. To better compliment each different texture, Chef recommended to enjoy the lightly battered version with salt flakes, and the heavier crunchier version with tempura daikon sauce -
Water bamboo shoot -
Kisu, Japanese whiting fish -
They brought up some finely diced pickled rakkyo (らっきょう), which is like a type of small onion bulb usually found in Japanese cuisine. I especially enjoyed this one because rakkyo's mild spicy kick with sourish pickling worked so well with white-fleshed fish.
I guess in a way you can try to imagine this as the fried fish fillet in a sandwich served with relish. Of course the rakkyo and fried kisu fish is a more refined version, but you can better grasp the idea of how these two components can pair so nicely together.
Unbelievably vibrant red carrot -
Of course that vibrant red color is all natural. This pretty-looking carrot is an imported specialty from Japan called "kintoki ninjin."
But besides that color, can you see how thin the fried coating was?
Zaku megumi no tomo (作/惠乃智) junmai ginjo rice wine, served warm this time -
Now this is something super fancy, the entire log was actually steamed snow crab, can you imagine how much hassle it'll take to get all the meat out and formed into a log?
And the luxury log of crab meat was fried and dotted with crab miso on top to further boosted up that umami punch. It was so well-prepared, the whole thing kind of just collapsed in my mouth, so smooth, and yet such a pampered way to enjoy a big mouthful of crab.
Oyster -
Even though with its simple-looking presentation, the fried oyster was actually one of my favorites that night. Well, in fact I liked all the dishes. But the fried oyster was executed so well, the taste was clean with extra crispy edge yet soft and moist meat. So I supposed it's the combination of contrasting textures that won over my heart.
Burdock root four ways -
By four ways, I mean served in different flavoring choices. From right to left were burdock roots served in salt, soy sauce, coffee bits, and goma sauce.
Shirako -
At first I thought with such delicate texture, shirako, frankly speaking the sperm sac of cod fish, would be enjoyed with salt flakes. Surprisingly the Chef instructed us to eat it with tempura sauce.
Well, no complaints there, I love eating tempura with the specialty sauce way more than mere salt flakes. And you know what, that coiled "structure" or the wrinkles can really hold up the sauce well, made my two big bites even more enjoyable.
Tsunan Beni (つなん/紅) junmai ginjo rice wine -
That cute rice wine label is actually a Japanese serow, kind of like a goat and antelope looking animal if you're not familiar with serow.
Since I really enjoyed all the dishes at Tempura Motoichi, it's very hard for me to pick the best one. However, put the personal preference aside, I do give high praises to the shrimp stuffed shiitake mushroom.
They use Taiwan's selected shiitake mushroom that is super big and plump, stuffed with chopped shrimp and fried into a giant ball. With one full bite, you are first impacted by the mushroom aroma, strong but not like dried mushroom kind of dense scent. Then there's intentionally raw layer of shrimp in the center and just about fully-cooked shrimp on the exterior.
Now that's jaw-dropping technique there. How do you keep all three layers attached seamlessly without over-frying any single spot? Texture-wise on top of the fried coating and the softer ingredients, there're also different degrees of moisture coming from the shiitake, raw shrimp, and cooked shrimp. One course that let you experience layers of delicate flavors and mouthfeel, and that's why I picked this dish as this post's cover photo, truly deserved the spotlight.
Thick-cut karasumi, salted and sun-dried mullet roe -
Just for your information, this is super good with Japanese rice wine. In fact, I think all Asian style karasumi pair well with Japanese rice wine.
Ozōni with Taiwan's branded chicken -
Ozōni (お雑煮) is like a style of Japanese soup infused with mochi rice cakes. Well, usually you'll actually find a piece or two mochi inside the soup, but the version served at Tempura Motoichi blended the mochi into the soup. So you get this somewhat roux-like yet a little soupy consistency in the end.
Imagine something with a bit thickness and filled with chicken soup aroma, this is indeed a heart-warming and comforting dish. I would love to have this whenever I'm feel low in energy or even catch a cold.
Suavia Monte Carbonare Soave Classico DOC -
Uni, sea urchin that is. Always a crowd pleaser -
I think many people would die for this Japanese sea urchin-filled dish, especially such creamy bite was carefully held by a thin layer of fried shiso leaf.
Not me though. I did enjoy it. However, if you want me to choose my top three of the night, the spot won't be crowned to the uni but there's certainly a spot for the shrimp stuffed shiitake mushroom, oyster, or even the snow crab log.
Lotus root with a dab of soy sauce -
Hairtail fish -
Considering hairtail fish's ribbon-like shape, these two fish chunks were actually quite thick and juicy. You can probably see some fat glistening on the image, very delicious.
Kamoshibito Kuheiji (醸し人九平次/黑田庄) junmai daiginjo rice wine -
Sweet potato -
It's a bit like enjoying a dessert. The already sugary sweet potato tasted even sweeter after frying, and the texture was tongue-smashing soft.
For shokuji (食事), an actual small meal to make you full, like you weren't already stuffed with lots of food by the time being, guests can pick between rice or thin flour noodles, both will also be served with a piece of fried shrimp pancake.
And you have to pick the size too, so I guess they do understand that by this time the guests might feel quite full already, especially for the ladies. However, the smallest bowl on the far left was way too tiny, of course I aimed for the biggest one on the right, no matter I felt full already or not.
If you pick the rice then the shokuji will be served like tendon (天丼) style. As for the somen noodles, it'll be served with clam based soup, which I think was even better than the rice because some umami-filled hot soup can be very comforting towards the end of the meal.
Despite the serving bowl difference, each guest gets the same sized fried shrimp pancake that's made up with many smaller whole shrimps inside.
You can soak the entire shrimp pancake inside the soup, then the whole bite became much more gentle and soothing in a way. Also the shrimp added a bit seafood sweetness pop every time I chewed into it.
To enjoy along the shokuji, the restaurant also brewed some Chinese black tea for the guests.
Matcha pudding with Taiwan's Jin Xuan Oolong tea -
The Chef was pretty generous in sharing meal-related information, like when some diners were talking about the tea served, he told us where the restaurant sourced the tea leaves from. We can even go to the tea store and asked to buy the exact same tea that Tempura Motoichi used if we wanted to.
Overall is Tempura Motoichi worth a try? Well, let me put it this way, there's this nice gentleman sitting next to me, a solo visitor from Hong Kong. Throughout the dinner service we learnt that he actually just had another fine dining tempura meal for lunch the same day, that shows how much love for food he had there.
So he was sharing his opinion regarding the earlier restaurant he went to, which is also a Michelin-starred location. Apparently he's not a fan of that place, but he did give high praises to Tempura Motoichi. Towards the end of the service he even told the Chef that he'll be visiting again in the future.
Well, that earlier lunch place he mentioned about, I've been there too but it was like many many years ago, long before that restaurant got the Michelin star. So it's not that fair for me to say anything about the other place at the moment, but I do agree with that Hong Kong visitor that our dinner was great. In fact, I think me and Mister were happy with all the dishes, nothing disappoint or mediocre.
I would definitely recommend Tempura Motoichi for locals if the budget allows. What about foreigner visitors? I think Tempura Motoichi should be a very high bet to try a fine set of tempura dishes outside of Japan. Just come, I say.
Tempura Motoichi currently holds one Michelin star status.
Tempura Motoichi 元一台湾天ぷら
Floor 1, Number 11, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4,
Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District,
Taipei, Taiwan
+886 2 2778 3380
Facebook: Tempura Motoichi Facebook
Online booking system: Tempura Motoichi inline booking
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday lunch 12:00 noon ~ 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday to Saturday dinner 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.
Sunday and Monday dinner 6:00 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.