Taipei's Michelin

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new head chef from Hong Kong opened a private kitchen featuring modern Cantonese cuisine at Michelin-star restaurant Ya Ge in Taipei.

Chef Cheng Kwok-hung boasts more than 25 years of culinary experience, specializing in contemporary Cantonese cuisine. Formerly employed at the Michelin-star establishment Lei Garden, he joined Ya Ge as a sous chef in 2022 and was promoted to chef de cuisine in June 2023.

He introduced a novel Cantonese cuisine menu at Ya Ge, featuring upscale ingredients such as abalone, caviar, and fish maw. Additionally, Cheng offers a private kitchen menu requiring a 24-hour advance reservation, with a minimum spending requirement of NT$5500 (US$173).

Situated on the third floor of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, Ya Ge has garnered one Michelin star for five consecutive years since 2018. Interior designer Tony Chi (季裕棠) took care of the stylish setting.

Cheng relocated from Hong Kong to Canada, where he worked at his family's Chinese restaurant at age 17, igniting his passion for cooking. In 2020, he assumed leadership at the Spring Moon restaurant at The Peninsula Hong Kong, a five-star hotel, elevating his expertise in Cantonese fine dining.

In an interview with Taiwan News, the 44-year-old chef said that a skilled chef can craft any type of cuisine using a wide array of ingredients. Among the five-star hotel's fresh offerings, the top three dishes are South African abalone aspic and caviar, deep-fried Japanese Kagoshima A5 Wagyu prepared Kung Pao style, and pan-seared flower Grouper accompanied by Marmoreal mushroom.

The Kagoshima Wagyu Beef, diced and cooked to medium-rare perfection, is drizzled with a Kung Pao sauce made of black vinegar, rock sugar, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, and osmanthus syrup. Beneath the pinkish-hued beef ball, a layer of pan-fried rice cakes offers a delightful contrast of crispiness and chewiness.

Notably, Cantonese cuisine is renowned for its soups. Cheng's South African abalone and Chinese yam double-boiled soup, simmered with Jinhua ham and pork along with fish maw and longans, infusing the soup with richness and sweetness, is a must-try.

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Ya Ge's new menu. (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)