A pebble that looks like something you'd casually pick up off the roadside turns out, once popped in your mouth, to be a jelly made from the rich collagen of goose feet — this is the opening trick of JUNTO's new September menu. The Chinese restaurant, recommended in the Michelin Guide Taiwan 2025, will roll out brand-new lunch and dinner tasting menus in September. Led by Executive Chef Louis Lui and Head Chef Wang Yu-chen, the culinary team draws on classic dishes and regional techniques from China's eight great cuisines, bringing Chaoshan-style raw marination, Cantonese roasted meats, Sichuan-style poached dishes, Hong Kong-style baked rice, and Chinese-style slow-simmered soups together onto a single table.
JUNTO is the Chinese restaurant under the hotel brand "Home Hotel," which opened in late 2024. The name "同" (tong) is drawn from the concepts of "Great Unity" (大同) and "Moderate Prosperity" (小康) in the Book of Rites' "Li Yun" chapter. The restaurant states that only food can transcend geography and culture, bringing people together at the same table. Both the lunch and dinner menus are served in tasting menu format, with flavor intensity, temperature, and texture carefully sequenced throughout the course, complemented by tableside carving, sauce-pouring, and plating service. Guests may also order additional chef's recommendations à la carte, ranging from handmade dim sum to wok-fried dishes bursting with "wok hei."
Chef's Background: From "Young Knife God" to Regular on Variety Shows
Executive Chef Louis Lui hails from Hong Kong and graduated from the master-level program at the Hong Kong Chinese Culinary Institute. He once won the Hong Kong Young Chef Chinese Cooking Competition championship, earning the nickname "Young Knife God" for his exceptional knife skills. He has worked at Hong Kong's Lei Garden Group, Yu Lei under K.O. Dining, as well as numerous Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants and exclusive private clubs, and previously served as Executive Chef for Chinese cuisine at Hong Kong's China Club. In recent years, he has frequently appeared on and hosted Hong Kong television cooking variety shows. This time, he teams up with Head Chef Wang Yu-chen and the team to continue JUNTO's direction of "honoring tradition while innovating through fusion."
The two creative appetizers that open the meal best illustrate this logic. "Real or Fake, Fake or Real" appears as a plain, unassuming pebble, but is actually a goose foot jelly made from the rich collagen of goose feet — its lifelike appearance creates a delightful mismatch with its delicate, bouncy texture, playing tricks on both the eyes and the palate. "Chaozhou Poison" draws from Chaoshan raw marination culture, using Argentine red shrimp prepared in the traditional Chaoshan style to preserve the shrimp's natural sweetness while layering in the savory, salty aroma of the sauce. If one shrimp leaves you wanting more, you can pay an extra NT$99 to "get poisoned twice" with an additional red shrimp. Such playful naming adds a bit of storytelling charm to refined Chinese cuisine — something guests can remember and share.
Lunch Set: Elegant and Refined, with Layers of Fermentation and Wok Hei
The lunch tasting menu opens with "Mandarin Duck Mountain Treasure Vegetarian Dumplings," presenting two distinct flavors using whole grains and seasonal vegetables. The "Parmesan Beef Tart" features tableside-grated Parmesan cheese, releasing its aroma the moment it's shaved. "Scallion and Preserved Meat Dajia Taro Cake" pairs the dense sweetness of Dajia taro with the savory notes of preserved meat and scallion. "Triple-Roasted Black Char Siu with Fermented Black Bean Sauce and Olive" balances the sweetness of char siu with honeyed black bean sauce and olives, resulting in a caramelized, glossy exterior after repeated roasting while retaining juicy tenderness within.
The soup course, "Chive and Shrimp Wonton Hot and Sour Soup," features a tangy, slightly spicy broth that highlights the natural sweetness of the shrimp, with an optional NT$99 upgrade to fish maw. The main course, "Braised Flounder with Yangjiang Fermented Black Bean and Bitter Melon," pairs the fermented saltiness of Yangjiang black beans with the subtle bitterness of bitter melon to bring out the delicate sweetness of the flounder — embodying the Cantonese balance of "bitterness tempered by sweetness, saltiness enhancing freshness." An optional NT$99 upgrade adds crispy fried rice noodles that soak up the black bean and fish sauce. The staple, "A Different Kind of Fried Rice," swaps rice for rice noodles stir-fried with preserved radish, minced meat, and olive vegetables, preserving the familiar wok hei and savory flavor while achieving a lighter, springier texture. The meal concludes with "Lily Bulb, Lotus Seed, and Mung Bean Sweet Soup," slow-cooked to perfection.
Dinner Set: Nostalgic Cantonese Craftsmanship and Hong Kong Memories
The dinner set opens with "Life Is Like Soup of the Day," presenting a broth infused with the fragrance of apple and the delicate sweetness of pear. "Herb-Tossed Jellyfish" — referring to jellyfish by its nickname "gelatin fish" — is tableside-dressed with sauce by the serving staff, combining the aroma of herbs with the jellyfish's crisp, refreshing texture. "Nostalgic Chicken Wrapped in Goose Liver" builds on traditional Cantonese cuisine, employing the precise oil-temperature-controlled "oil-poaching" technique to keep the chicken tender while bringing out the rich, delicate aroma of the goose liver.
"Two Delicacies in Peppercorn Salt Water" presents pork large intestine and squid with two contrasting textures, creating a interplay of numbing pepper, savory salt, and spicy aromatics; an optional NT$299 upgrade adds premium 36-head fish maw. "Sea Coconut, Dried Scallop, and Whelk Slow-Simmered Soup" is cooked over a long, gentle simmer, melding the natural sweetness of dried scallop and whelk into the broth. "Deep-Fried Stuffed Snow Crab Shell" reintroduces crab meat, onion, and mushroom back into the crab shell before frying it to crispy perfection; "Stir-Fried Garlic Beef Short Ribs" are quickly seared over high heat to lock in the rich, fatty aroma of the short ribs.
The staple, "No. 1's Baked Pork Chop Rice," recreates the classic flavor of Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng with tangy-sweet Hong Kong-style tomato sauce, pan-seared pork chop, and the aroma of baking — bringing together refined craftsmanship and everyday nostalgia at the same table. The dinner set concludes with a Hong Kong-style finish: "Milk Tea Jelly" and the temperature-contrasting "Ice Cream Pineapple Bun."
JUNTO's new September menu journeys from Chaoshan and Guangdong through Sichuan and into Hong Kong — relying not just on the fusion of culinary traditions, but on Chef Louis Lui and his team's deep technical mastery in preserving the classics, while using creative naming, visual presentation, and tableside interaction to bring refined Chinese cuisine closer to diners.
JUNTO's brand-new September menu launches on September 3 and will be available through November. The lunch tasting menu is priced at NT$1,388, plus a NT$100 tea fee and 10% service charge; the dinner tasting menu is priced at NT$2,388, plus a NT$100 tea fee and 10% service charge. Chef's recommendation dishes can be ordered separately. The restaurant is located at 2F, No. 22, Guanqian Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. For reservations, call 0976-684-366, or check availability via the official website or the LINE official account @junto. JUNTO is a recommended restaurant in the Michelin Guide Taiwan 2025; related information can be found on the official Michelin Guide page. Menu items, service formats, and add-on pricing are subject to change per the restaurant's on-site announcements.
