Ya Ge Taipei : One Michelin Star Chinese Restaurant in Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Ya Ge Taipei was awarded one Michelin star by the Taipei MICHELIN Guide for the eighth consecutive year in 2025. It is located in the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel Taipei which is situated in Songshan District of Taipei City. There were cameras set up when we arrived at the hotel. We wished we could stick around to see who was the newsworthy person that they were expecting. But lunch was more important.

Michelin Star Cantonese Restaurant in Taipei

After our casual lunch at Taiwanese restaurant Sinchao Rice Shoppe, we decided to try a more formal Chinese restaurant. Ya Ge Taipei seemed like a good choice. Apart from the Michelin star, it was also easy to book without the need to supply credit card details etc.

The restaurant is helmed by Chef Yuen Ming San. He was born and raised in Hong Kong and has over 27 years of culinary experience including stints at famous Cantonese restaurant Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong. In recognition of his achievement in maintaining the restaurant’s Michelin one-star status for seven consecutive years, he was appointed Chef de Cuisine, effective April 2025. Reflecting the design of the Taipei Mandarin Oriental, the dining hall has a timeless, classy look.

Ya Ge Taipei Menu

Dining for two persons at a Chinese restaurant can be challenging. To maximise the variety of dishes we could try on our first visit to Ya Ge Taipei, we picked the most affordable set lunch menu – the Yi Zhuan dim sum set menu priced at TW$2080 per person. The full range of set menus as well as the a la carte menu are available online.

Here are pictures of the dim sum set menu and a page from the a la carte menu. From the latter we also selected a “regular” portion of roast goose (TW$1280).

Goose and Starters

The regular portion of roast goose was one drumstick – presented alone on a plate without any garnishing. In a way, it looked like a work of art, reminding us of the famous stone carvings of food such as the jadeite cabbage and stewed pork in the Taipei Palace National Museum. Taste-wise it was very good – similar to Hong Kong favourites such as Yat Lok or Kam’s Roast.

The starters – crispy tofu, poached chicken, barbecued black pork (char siew) and marinated cucumber were presented on a single tray. Not fond of this form of presentation as it reminded us of food served in army canteens, but the taste of these were delightful. Each delicious yet very different.

Ya Ge Taipei Dim Sum

We got to try three kinds of steamed dumplings in the dim sum part of the set lunch. Shrimp shu-mai with caviar and matsutake mushroom, morel mushroom dumpling and crab meat dumpling with truffle sauce. Each quite plain looking but with rich flavours.

Substance Over Form

By this time we were getting the impression that we were not going to get spectacular food photos. The appearance of the food did not seem to be of a high priority at this restaurant. Next to arrive was the soup of the day which was a pork based soup (picture above). It has brains but not much beauty. Likewise for the vegetable dish – seasonal vegetables braised in chicken stock (picture below).

The fried rice was very good – our second best dish of the day after the goose. Probably because it contained a lot of goose meat. And also being expertly fried till extremely dry and flavourful.

Finally, dessert was a simple looking double boiled almond cream with egg white. In this case, the “snow white” beauty was more than skin deep. It had a depth of flavour that greatly surpassed its looks.

Happy Year of the Horse 2026!

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 5
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Ya Ge Taipei Mandarin Oriental Hotel

No. 158 Dunhua North Road, Taipei, 10548

Open Daily
Lunch 12 – 2:30pm (Monday – Friday) 11:30am – 2:30pm (Saturday – Sunday)
Dinner 6 – 10pm

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