MICHELIN Guide Taiwan 2026: 61 starred restaurants and a ninth consecutive three-star rating for Le Palais
The "Taiwan Michelin Guide 2026" was announced on July 21. A total of 61 restaurants have received stars, and Le Palais in Taipei has achieved three stars for the ninth consecutive year; at the same time, Zhou Yuan Tiantura announced that it will be stationed in Zhubei, Hsinchu in September, Terra Land and the Forestry Conservation Department launched conservation-themed chocolate gift boxes, and Unnecessary, a newly opened cocktail ice cream shop in New York, was created with the participation of the Tainan Wanwei family team.
The "Michelin Guide Taiwan 2026" was held at the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel in Taipei on July 21. The ninth edition of the guide includes 434 restaurants, covering seven locations in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City, with a total of 61 restaurants earning stars. In the same week, Taiwan’s restaurant industry also saw a number of new store openings and cross-border cooperation news, from a new tempura location in Zhubei, Hsinchu, to a cocktail ice cream shop in Manhattan, New York.
How has the distribution of Michelin stars changed?
This year, all three-star restaurants have been awarded three-star status, including Le Palais in Taipei, Taïrroir, and Taichung JL Studio. Among them, Le Palais has been recognized with three stars for nine consecutive years since its inception. In the two-star category, Mizue and Nobuo, which was promoted from one star, were added, bringing the total number of two-star brands to nine. There are 9 new restaurants with one star, 6 of which were promoted from last year's list, and 3 restaurants received stars after being selected for the first time, including Hābu in Kaohsiung, Restaurant 12 in Taipei, and Yudao in Tainan; Yudao also received a green star, becoming the first star-rated restaurant in Tainan, and Hsinchu County's Sushi An also set a local record for the first star. In the special awards section, the annual opening award was awarded to Yu Dao, the service award was won by Cai Xinyi of Circum-, the sommelier award was won by Li.nu Qiu Wenqi, and the young chef award was won by Liu-an Hsu of Sushi An.
Why did Yuan Tempura choose Zhubei to open a new store?
Yuan Tempura, which has just won one star in the Michelin Guide, announced that it plans to open a new store in Zhubei, Hsinchu, in September, which will be the brand's first location outside its main store in Da'an District, Taipei. The brand stated that the Zhubei store is not a copy of the Taipei store. The space design and atmosphere will be reinterpreted and will still be personally supervised by Japanese chef Kazuhito Motoyoshi.
How do conservation issues enter chocolate gift boxes?
The Hsinchu Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Service of the Ministry of Agriculture has cooperated with Taipei boutique chocolate brand Terra to launch a conservation-themed gift box "Sweet Guardian-Habitat Light" priced at NT$880. The gift boxes are designed in three flavors according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s threat levels. They use Sichuan peppercorns, chrysanthemum ginger, and mint orange blossoms to represent plants with different conservation levels. They are packaged and painted with representative threatened plants of Hsinchu and Miaoli. The brand stated that for every box sold, 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Miaoli Tongxiao Xinpu Elementary School, which has been involved in species conservation for a long time, as a threatened plant restoration and campus conservation education fund.
Terra｜Theme Picture Image: 官方提供
How can Tainan’s handmade cola and ice cream brands develop across seas?
Tainan handmade cola brand Project Cola has launched a four-week pop-up event in Ho Chi Minh City until August 16. It has cooperated with local cafes and bars to launch three limited drinks, one of which was available in limited quantities at the Tainan store simultaneously. Also developing across the sea is the Tainan Unnecessary team. The bartender ice cream brand Unnecessary, which has collaborated with the New York bar Double Chicken Please, has opened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. A single serving sold for US$11 (approximately NT$330), and offers two alcoholic and two non-alcoholic flavors every day.
Project Cola｜Theme image Image: Project Cola 可樂計劃
What other new stores and joint activities are there this week?
Modern French restaurant and bistro À Deux Bistrot opened in Chiayi in late July. Brasserie at Regent Taipei launched a summer festival yatai themed event until the end of August, offering a variety of Japanese yatai cuisine. During the event, members can enjoy meal discounts. American cinnamon roll brand Cinnabon officially opened its first store in Taiwan on July 25 on Chifeng Street in Taipei, launching strawberry cheese cinnamon rolls with a daily limit of 30 pieces. Taipei East District snack bar Canglin celebrated its first anniversary of opening. It collaborated with Baishui Douhua to launch a dessert inspired by braised pork rice. It was on sale until August 31 for NT$120 per bowl. In addition, the 11th Thailand Coffee Fest, a large-scale coffee exhibition in Southeast Asia, was scheduled to be held at the Impact Exhibition Center in Bangkok from September 10 to 13. More than 380 companies were originally planned to participate in the exhibition, but the relevant schedules have passed.
