On the 17th floor of the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, The Guest House operates. Unassuming and simple, the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan has awarded this restaurant at least one star for eight years running.
First, they joined as a two Michelin-starred restaurant in 2018, before being demoted to one from 2023 onwards. Cured in an early 2000s interior design style, the restaurant has decidedly aged, but to its benefit.
As Taiwan, and largely Taipei, grows into its modern self, slowly but surely, some relics of the past stay put, and The Guest House is one of them. Previously named the Sheraton Hotel Member Club Restaurant and shut off from public visitors, The Guest House reopened in 2005 to the public.
The cuisine presented here is a blend of Sichuanese and Huaiyang, the latter symbolising lighter and delicate flavours of China, plus with additions of Taiwanese ingredients and techniques.
Our Chongqing-born waiter, full of recipe history and knowledge, begins our meal with the delicate free-range chicken with green Sichuan pepper oil (TWD980/HKD245). Bathing in a bright green pool of oil, the chicken is delicately poached and soft to touch. It glides onto your palate and leaves a nice peppery and scallion-y flavour to last.
A highlight of Huaiyang cuisine, the shredded hundred layered bean curd with special sauce (TWD420/HKD105) dances onto the table next.
Firm to touch, the bean curd offers a pleasant texture for the tongue to enjoy, soaking up the soy sauce-vinegar mix of the special sauce to cleanse the palate, but also tease it for strong flavours down the road.
Where The Guest House wins its star is in this dish, the beef jerky with crispy lotus root (TWD1,280/HKD320). According to the restaurant, the chefs cut, freeze, slice, air-dry, and then deep fry shoulder tenderloin into 0.1cm thin pieces to reveal a translucent cut.
With a coating of dried tangerine peel and sauce on top, the jerky gives into a nice crunch. The blend of the tangerine and beefy flavours is a warm hug. Soothing yet meaty.
Following this, we prepared for another starry dish: the supreme chicken soup with minced chicken and egg white (TWD680/HKD170 pp.). What you may assume is the traditional and typical silky tofu addition found in the centre of a chicken soup is actually chicken here!
The chicken is ground down to a minced paste and cooked within the chicken soup. What results is a heart-warming course. It reminds me of grandma’s cooking.
The more meaty side of the meal commences now, with both the deep-fired pigeon with Sichuan pepper (TWD1,880/HKD470) and the special flavored beef short ribs (TWD1,880/HKD470).
Fried and served table-side, the pigeon is meaty, gamey, and salty, boosted by the intense aroma of the sizzling peppercorns below. Whereas the beef short ribs, caked in a pepper and plum sauce, are dizzyingly tasty. Each bite trades between hot fire and pickled sweetness that is intoxicating to enjoy.
The meal ends with sweetened red bean pancakes (TWD520/HKD130), a pleasant end to a fantastic adventure on the 17th floor.
Our verdict of The Guest House, Taipei
The Guest House enshrines coastal Chinese traditions and Taiwanese recipes in a menu that is simple, but far from when sampled. Whilst the interior is dated, it is appropriate for a more classical-style meal in Taipei. I will be back for a visit the next time I visit the capital and you ought to too!
The Guest House, 17F, Sheraton Grand Hotel, 12, Section 1, Zhongxiao East Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan, 100, +886 2-23211818, book here
| Order this: beef jerky, supreme chicken soup, deep-fried pigeon, special flavored beef short ribs Menu: á-la-carte menu Price for two: TWD7,640/HKD1,910 | Atmosphere: age-old, refined, calming Perfect for: relaxed fine-dining, Sichuanese food |
This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.
