Restaurant A: Michelin 2 Star in Da’an Taipei

Taste test Michelin 2-star Restaurant A’s Spring 2026 Course Set with my mom and I in Da’an, Taipei! After coming back to Taiwan for so many years, I’m finally exploring the fine dining side of Taiwan for the very first time. After enjoying a fun tasting course at Circum, we’re taste testing Chef Alain Huang’s interpretation of spring ingredients with surprises throughout the meal!

Restaurant A Spring 2026 Set Course

Taiwan is famous for its street food, bite-way night markets, and tiny hole-in-all restaurants that I absolutely adore. Even though I was born here, we’ve never really been to any Michelin-starred restaurants. So today, I’m taking my mom on an adventure to explore Taiwan’s fine dining scene for the first time. 

We are at Restaurant A, led by Chef Alain Huang. This is a 2-Michelin star restaurant located in the Da’an District of Taipei. The tasting menu includes 10 creative courses that are French in origin, but influenced by Asian cuisine using seasonal ingredients.

Inside The Restaurant

Walking into the dining room, you’re greeted with a full kitchen view of the “white army”, their hardworking chefs. I literally felt like I was transported into another world. The camera cannot do its justice! The entire restaurant feels like you’re inside a soft, dreamy cloud with a soft white interior, floor-to-ceiling windows, warm lighting, and beautiful artwork that rotate seasonally.

Behind The Menu with Chef Alain

We had a chance to interview Chef Alain and he share with us some of his inspiration and thought process behind building the menu. He described his cuisine style as “like a continuum. It’s continuous and dynamic”. Each season’s course set takes about a month and a half to develop. This season incorporates a lot of seasonal spring Taiwanese ingredients, especially vegetables, thanks to the quality agriculture here in Taiwan.  The full menu is a surprised until the very end, giving you that relaxed energy of dining at home with your mom. Every color of the season is represented with a flavor. It’s so creative, and so fun, I can’t wait to get started!

Canapé

Before we knew it, we were presented with a series of canopies inspired by the six fundamental tastes, which I thought was such a fun and creative way to start the meal.

Saltiness: Bouchon

Cauliflower / Comte/ Smoked Caviar: Restaurant A’s signature edible cork featuring a cauliflower Comte interpretation of Mornay sauce

Our first bite starts with a little treasure hunt, where we dug through a bowl of real corks to find the perfectly recreated cork. Inside was a creamy Comte cauliflower filling topped with smoked caviar. The attention to detail was honestly insane, they even created a custom plate just for this dish.

Even though it was such a tiny bite, it was packed with so much flavor. Everything melted together right away and it instantly woke up my appetite for the rest of the meal. >> Crispy on the outside yet creamy on the inside. It’s like an explosion of flavors. Very, very delicious.

Pairing 1: Fruity Palette Cleanser

We were then served our wine and non-alcoholic pairings: a champagne, and a non-alcoholic strawberry-rhubarb drink. Both were bright and naturally sweet, acting like a palette cleanser between the punctuated flavors of the next few dishes.

• Eric Rodez Cuvée Des Crayerres: Bright, mineral, elegant Champagne with brioche, citrus, chalk, and finesse.
• Rose 26303: Torch Ginger / Rhubarb / Strawberry

Acidity & Spiciness: Tiradito

Scallops / Jalapeno / Kohlrabi: Scallops marinated in jalapeño, orange, and lime, bursting with rhythmic acidity

Next up is the most beautiful appetizer I have ever seen in my life. For a second dish, we had a Tiradito of scallop, jalapeno, and citrus. I really, really love this one. The sauce comes beautifully arranged in a plate, while the scallops came separately in the shell. You pour the scallop into the sauce, and mix together like a salad.

The scallop was sweet and tender, but has a gentle, fresh kick from the jalapeños and citrus. It’s very refreshing and delicate, but still super bright and lively. It was spring in a bite!

Sweetness and Acidity: Saumon L’oseille

King Salmon / Osmanthus / Sorrel: Presented via the Chaud-droid technique. Low-temperature cooked salmon is glazed in a vermouth and champagne gelee, balanced by elderflower.

Our third appetizer is the Saumon L’oseille. How can salmon look this beautiful? It tasted so delicate and refreshing. The salmon was so, so buttery soft, and perfectly balanced. It was one of those bites that felt super elegant, but also really easy to love and enjoy. On the side, it was paired with a creamy cauliflower soup that was light, fresh, and the perfect palette cleanser. It felt like a really clean, simple dish.

Bitterness: Pistou

Wagyu Beef / Kailan / Pistachio: Wagyu served in two textures (carpaccio and tartare) with charred kailan (Chinese kale) and pistachio for a deep, herbal bitterness.

We then moved into the bitterness flavor profile, where we were served Wagyu beef as both carpaccio and tartare, with pistachio and kailan. This bite was a pop of flavor in my mouth. It felt deeper and more savory than the courses before. The wagyu was rich and tender, while the kailan added a slight bitterness which gave the bite a subtle nuttiness with a bit of texture. All the flavors balanced out nicely, so it didn’t feel too heavy at all.

Umami: Soup and Bread

Mushroom Cappuccino / Truffle Doughnut: A concentration of forest flavors.

Finally, it’s my favorite appetizer of the whole meal, Umami soup and bread. This is a deep fried, bite-sized truffle doughnut alongside their signature mushroom cappuccino. Their signature mushroom soup was earthy, rich, slightly nutty with a hint of coffee. It even looks like a cappuccino cup on the top! This one’s my favorite. This was honestly such a fun and memorable way to finish the opening bites! It’s like a little reset before the rest of the meal to come.

Main Course

Next are our main courses. As the courses progress, they switch the card on our table to a different color so you have an idea of what you’re going to see on your plate. It feels like picking up clues for the courses to come!

Orange: Hollandaise Benedict

Hairy Crab / Marigold / Carrot / Mimolette: Creative take on an eggs Benedict.

The first course was Chef Allen’s creative take on a well-known eggs benedict. It was served with marigold and tons of hairy crab. The most special part of this dish was definitely their hollandaise sauce. Instead of using the traditional heavier cream-based version, Chef Allen uses carrots, citrus, and pickled roe to keep the sauce very bright and fresh while still giving you that rich, creamy feeling you expect from eggs benedict. The crunchiness of the carrot mixed well with the creamy sauce. I really loved how soft and airy everything felt together because it delivered all that richness without feeling too heavy.

Pairing 2: Delicate Citrus

Before our second course, we were served our second drink pairing of the night: a Greek white wine and a pomelo asparagus juice. Both were bright, citrusy, but a bit floral, meant to compliment the most delicate dish of the night: an asparagus salad. I love the extra detail of adding a garnishing flower to the glass. Every time I take a sip, I also smell the flower at the same time.

• Monemvasia Tsimbidi La Lu Di 2024: Greek wine from Monemvasia Tsimbidi, notes of white flower, herbs, white peach, and grapefruit.
• Pearl 11-608: N / White Asparagus / Pomelo, bright, citrusy, and light

White: Salade Blanche Bechamel

White Asparagus / Elderflower / Coconut / Shiro Ebi

The theme for the next course is White Spring, with a white asparagus salad with elder flower, coconut-based vegan bechamel, and sweet white shrimp. Wow. The attention to detail in the way everything is prepped is crazy. As I’m eating more, I’m seeing little things like I’m seeing a little leaf here, thinly sliced apples there, corn that looks like flower here. They all add different texture in every bite.

Pairing 3:Crisp Floral

For the third pairing, the drinks focused on crisp floral and light fruity flavors. These notes paired perfectly together with our third course of spring chicken and vegetables.

• Chateau Grand Village Blanc 2023: from the Fronsac area of the Right Bank of Bordeaux, France, slight peachy finish
• Jade 583C: Marigold / Pine Needles / Melon, light, floral and super refreshing

Green: Fricasse – Veloute

Spring Chicken / Chrysanthemum / Greens / Cress: Spring chicken soufflé

Our third course is a spring chicken soufflé with greens, and cress. The creamy sauce added a fresh green floral flavor that made it feel so light. It’s one of those plates where you literally had no idea what to expect just looking at it, but it completely blew me away. This is probably one of my favorite courses so far. It was incredibly comforting yet still light and clean. The chicken was so soft and tender, I really had no idea how they made that texture work.

I love how they’re using the seasonal greens. There’s so many vegetables in here. I know as a home cook myself how annoying and difficult it is to prep this many veggies and make it taste this good! That’s especially you’re leaving it on its own original shape like in this dish.

Pairing 4: Fresh and Juicy

For our fourth pairing, we focused on drinks that paired beautifully with seafood: a French rose and a chamomile apricot juice. This was my personal favorite pairing of the night, which was perfect because we were about to have one of my favorite dishes of all time, bouillabaisse.

• Chateau Teyssier Le Reve Rose Cotes De Provence 2021: Rose from Provence, France. pale, elegant, fresh, and mineral driven with subtle notes of wild strawberry, pomegranate, and florals.
• Amber 135C: Chamomile / Capsicum / Apricot, a light fresh floral profile.

Yellow: Bouillabaisse Sauce Tomate

Rock Fish / Saffron / Yellow Tomato / Zucchini Flower: Fresh seasonal seafood soup with saffron and yellow tomatoes.

Our course for the color Yellow is a tomato-based bouillabaisse served with a fresh seasonal seafood with rockfish, clams, scallops, and fresh zucchini flowers. While serving, the soup is poured on top of a pat of compound butter so it melts into the dish. That is probably the best bouillabaisse I’ve ever had in my life. My mom says this one is her favorite dish so far.

The soup base uses saffron and yellow tomato, which made it feel brighter and lighter than traditional bouillabaisse. The yellow tomato kept everything fresh and delicate, while the saffron added a gentle warmth. All the seafood was perfectly cooked and tender. It was a dish that captures spring flavors so beautifully.

Pairing 5: deep Red

As we entered into the main course and our final pairing of the night, The drinks take a darker turn with an elegant red burgundy from France and a dark lavender-based juice. This pairing enhances the meaty and herbal flavors of the lamb dishes coming later.

• Edition Perron De Mypont Gevrey Chamvertin 2023: Red burgundy from Gevrey-Chamvertin in Cote de Nuits, France, made from Pinot noir. Elegant, red fruited with light spice and depth
• Malaya 208C: Lavender / Purple Cabbage, soft floral elegance

Rose: Navarin Espangole

Highland Lamb / Cherry Blossom / Watermelon Radish / Kintoki Potato: lamb with cherry blossom and watermelon radish risotto with sea salt cherry blossom brioche.

Then came the star of the meal, which was Highland Lamb served two different ways. I love lamb, so I was super excited. But, if you’re not into lamb, you can actually swap it for another protein. The first preparation was paired with cherry blossom and watermelon radish risotto. On the side, we’re also served a sea salt cherry blossom brioche, which was fluffy and soft.

The lamb was comforting and full of flavor, while the cherry blossom brought a gentle floral note that kept everything refined. I especially loved the watermelon radish risotto, which added crunch and a slight peppery kick. They really helped cut through the richness of the lamb. 

The second main course was another High Thailand lamb preparation. This time, a lamb chop served with potato gnocchi. This lamb was rich yet still delicate, while the added soft sweetness that made the whole dish feel really, really balanced. This dish definitely felt richer than the earlier ones, with more depth and savoriness. The lamb was not gamey at all. Both my mom and I really, really enjoyed it.

Dessert

Normally, I am not a dessert person, but oh my goodness, these two final desserts were amazing! I would 100% come back to this restaurant just to have both of these desserts again.

Light Green: Gimlet Coulis

Petit Pois / Jasmine / Guava / Green Olive: Guava panna cotta with pea ice cream and chewy tapioca.

Okay, we’re now at dessert number one with the color light green. I love this color so much and I love the element of the color. This first dessert is such a fun surprise because it was made with guava panna cotta with green olive, sweet pea ice cream, and jasmine. I’ve never had pea dessert before, but this dessert alone is worth visiting this restaurant.

Oh my goodness. I can’t believe I’m saying this. I want to have more pea ice cream. Sitting somewhere between savory and sweet, the sweet peas brought so much freshness. The jasmine made everything super fragrant. The guava added a lovely spring-like fruitiness. I especially love the chewy tapioca with the creamy panna cotta! It was one of my favorite bites of the night.

Ivory: Taiwanese Rice Pudding

Fragrant Rice / Magnolia / Amazake / Custard Apple: Inspired by Taiwanese Rice Pudding.

Finally, the last official dessert for the night was the Taiwanese inspired creation of fragrant rice, magnolia, fermented Japanese rice drink, and custard apple. It felt like such a soft and beautiful ending to the meal. It was inspired by Taiwanese rice pudding but with a lighter and fresher twist. The rice flavor made it feel really comforting and familiar and the floral notes added such a delicate sweetness. I literally could not put my spoon down because it was so delicious. It was creamy, crunchy, light, sweet, but not too sweet.

Petit Four and Coffee Lounge

Before the night ended, we were welcomed back to the lounge to enjoy final cups of coffee, tea, along with sweet bites to end the evening. The petit fours were delicious and so fun, from their signature cannelé to adorable little lollipops.

Final Thoughts

I honestly felt like this restaurant was so much more than just a restaurant. It felt like a full experience from the beginning to the end. I love not having a physical menu presented to us at the really front. It really allowed me to fully sit back and enjoy the experience without any expectations. From the custom design plates to every single dish, the interior design, and even the final tiny bite-sized desserts, every detail felt so intentional. To be able to share this full experience with my mom was a core memory unlocked!