Cantonese fine dining$$$$zhongshan
Le Palais has held three Michelin stars since 2018, Taiwan's only 3-star room. Cantonese fine dining with Cherry Valley duck from Yilan as the marquee.
Signature: Crispy-skin roast duck, Char siu Iberico, Chinese spinach and salted-egg dumplings
Order: Cantonese roast duck served in two courses and the salted-egg spinach dumplings at dim sum.
Tip: Lunch dim sum is the easier reservation. Book online four to six weeks ahead through the hotel.
Asian contemporary tasting$$$$daan
logy holds two Michelin stars under chef Ryogo Tahara, sister to two-star Florilege Tokyo (chef Hiroyasu Kawate). Asian-contemporary, deep Taiwanese sourcing.
Signature: Tasting menu, Mountain ingredients course, Hand-pulled noodle
Order: Whatever the seasonal tasting menu is built around; ask the sommelier to thread the pairing.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. Reservations open one month ahead online; one seating per evening.
Asian contemporary tasting$$$$songshan
T+T holds one Michelin star for a contemporary tasting menu rotating every three to four months. The name reads tapas-tasting; the cooking reads pan-Asian.
Signature: Tapas-tasting course, Asian ingredient parade, Small plates
Order: The seasonal tasting; small plates of pan-Asian ingredients with wine or non-alcoholic pairings.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Reservations open six weeks ahead by phone; weekday dinner is the easier seat.
Vegetarian Chinese dim sum$$zhongshan
Yang Shin opened 2013 as Taipei's first vegetarian dim-sum tea house. An all-meat-free Cantonese menu beside Songjiang Nanjing MRT, three sittings daily.
Signature: Vegetarian xiaolongbao, Vegetarian char siu bun, Truffle dumpling
Order: Vegetarian xiaolongbao filled with mushroom-stock jelly, plus the truffle dumpling.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 14:30, 14:30 to 16:30 and 17:30 to 21:30 daily. Reserve through Klook for weekends.
Taiwanese beef noodle$wanhua
Lao Shan Dong has been hand-pulling ribbon noodles since 1949 from the Wan Nian Building basement in Ximending. Bib Gourmand, ten-herb beef broth.
Signature: Hand-pulled beef noodle, Ten-herb broth noodle, Beef tendon plate
Order: Hand-pulled ribbon-noodle beef bowl; add tendon and pickled greens.
Tip: Open 10:30 to 21:30 daily. Cash only; the entrance is via the building's basement food court.
Tainan dan zai noodle$daan
Du Hsiao Yueh transplants the 1895 Tainan dan zai bowl onto Yongkang Street. Tiny porcelain bowls of shrimp-and-pork noodle, garlic and coriander.
Signature: Dan zai noodle, Shrimp roll, Braised pork rice
Order: Dan zai noodle bowl with a side of shrimp roll and braised pork rice.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 21:30 daily. Order at the counter; the bowl arrives in two minutes.