Le Palais 頤宮中餐廳: Michelin 3 Star in Taipei

If you’re curious about Michelin Star Restaurants in Taipei, you may have heard of Le Palais 頤宮中餐廳. Awarded 3 Michelin Stars 8 years in a row, this restaurant is well known for its classic Cantonese and Chinese banquet cuisine, with iconic dishes like their BBQ Pork, and their Peking Duck. Today we have the opportunity to come enjoy their Michelin 3 Star Set Menu. Let’s see if it’s worth the price (and stars!)

Family Dinner in Taipei’s Michelin 3 Star Le Palais

Le Palais 頤宮中餐廳 is known for serving classic Chinese cuisine using hand-picked premium ingredients, and is especially recognized for its Cantonese dim sum and banquet-style dishes. They have been awarded three Michelin Stars in the Michelin Guide Taipei for eight consecutive years (2018–2025). Here, you can order à la carte, or choose from there specifically designed sets.

We went to celebrate Dom’s grandma’s birthday as a large group of 10+ people, so our experience may have been a little different. Since we ordered the set menu, rather than ordering à la carte, it was probably different from the more personalized one-on-one service you’d get if you come as a smaller group.

Le Palais Michelin Three-Star Set Menu

We had the Michelin three-star set menu 米其林三星套餐, which was priced at NT$32,980 per person + 10% service fee. It comes with a tea pairing for some of the dishes as well. The set includes:

• Le Palais Assorted Appetizers 迎賓彩碟: Bean Curd Sheet Roll with Spinach 百頁菠菜卷, Barbeque Pork 頤宮叉燒皇, Roast Suckling Pig with Caviar 魚子醬乳豬
• Braised Lobster in Cream Sauce 上湯焗龍蝦
• Fish Maw Soup with Dried Scallops and Ham 火烔干貝燉花膠
• Steamed Marble Goby with Yunnanese Style Pickled Turnip 雲南大頭菜甫蒸筍毅魚
• Braised 28 head Japanese Abalone and Goose Foot 吉品28頭日本溏心鮑魚扣鵝掌
• Stir Fried Garlic Wagyu Beef 金蒜爆日本骰子和牛
• White Guord Stuffed with Shrimp and Crab Meat 古法冬瓜帽
• Deep Fried Cheese Pastry 炸豆腐奶
• Edible Bird’s Nest Soup with Red Dates 棗皇燉官燕

Amuse Bouche

Before the meal starts, everyone is served their amuse bouche of Hibiscus Vinegar Shot. This was bright and sour, and really kickstarts your appetite before the meal starts. It’s the perfect palette cleanser.

Tea Pairing

The tea pairing with the meals was pretty good. They have all the tea pots lined up on the side so you can see them all on their stations. The teas tend to be a bit strong, to cut down some of that richness dishes like lobster and fish maw. But, if you’re not used to drinking a lot of Chinese tea, it can feel a little harsh on your stomach.

Assorted Appetizer

The set meal starts with an appetizer plate with 3 different bites: Bean Curd Sheet Roll with Spinach, Barbeque Pork, Roast Suckling Pig with Caviar. They’re particularly well known here for their barbeque pork. The pork is slowly roasted until tender, then covered with a sweet malt glaze so it is the right amount of sweet and savory. The suckling pig skin cracks with the lightest bite. Combined with the umami caviar, it brought out more of the pig’s porky flavor. After the two bites of juicy, rich pork, the bean curd roll is a refreshing palate cleanser before the next dish.

Braised Lobster in Cream Sauce

Our next dish is the braised lobster in cream sauce. The super fresh Australian lobster is braised to perfection. Then, they combine cheese, cream, and Chicken stock together into a rich, creamy golden sauce. It’s served with its shell, but it’s already completely deshelled and easy to eat with your forks.

Fish Maw Soup with Dried Scallops and Ham

Next is my first favorites of the set: Fish Maw Soup with Dried Scallops and Ham. The thick piece of fish maw is simmered until gelatinous and sticky. The soup is a rich, but clean tasting broth made with dried scallops and aged Chinese ham, slightly thickened so it clings to the fish maw like a sauce. Alongside the fish maw is a chunk of that dried scallop that’s been cooked until tender. It brought out all the best flavors of the meat and seafood used to cook this dish.

Braised Japanese Abalone and Goose Foot

Up next was the Braised Japanese Abalone and Goose Foot. The abalone here is a 28 head Japanese Abalone from Iwate Prefecture in Japan cooked low and slow with mushrooms and goose feet for about 8 hours. The broth base is rich from chicken, ham, pork, and more. This dish comes in a big simmering pot on a cart, and is served table-side. The abalone and mushrooms are the right amount of soft but slightly chewy. The goose foot, on the other hand, literally melts in your mouth. It’s so gelatinous, it has that signature stickiness around your mouth.

Stir Fried Garlic Wagyu Beef

Another dish I enjoyed here at Le Palais was the Stir Fried Garlic Wagyu Beef. The chunks of A5 Wagyu are stir-fried with crispy garlic, making each bit super aromatic. Paired with fresh wasabi, the fatty Wagyu is balanced with the refreshingly sharp flavor.

Deep Fried Cheese Pastry

Our first dessert is a Deep Fried Cheesy Pastry. This is a pocket of dough that’s fried until crispy, then covered in powdered sugar. Inside, there’s that oozing filling of thick melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The creamy filling is slightly savory. In one bite, you have the sweet dough mixing with savory cheese.

Bird’s Nest with Red Dates

The final dessert was a light, hot dessert soup with bird’s nest and red dates. The sweet syrup itself is not too sugary, and well balanced with the flavors of herbs. The birds nest doesn’t have a lot of flavors, but adds a chewy-soft texture. It’s a nice way to enjoy this luxurious ingredient.

Final Thoughts

Although everything was beautifully done and delicious, the standout dishes for me were:

• Fish maw soup with dried scallops and ham
• Braised 28-head Japanese abalone with goose foot
• Stir-fried wagyu beef
• Edible bird’s nest soup with red dates

That said, personally, I did not feel that the price was justified by the food and overall experience. It felt more like we were paying for the extravagant ingredients versus the experience and taste. I actually enjoyed Silks House more. The meal service was also very long. Each course was quite rich and heavy, so by the end it started to feel like too much.

Le Palais FAQ

Let’s Try More of Taiwan’s Michelin-Recommended Restaurants