Golden Formosa

Golden Formosa is one of the best places in Taipei to try classic Taiwanese restaurant cooking, the kind of food that families order for celebrations and that once accompanied long evenings of drinking. It holds one Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide Taiwan, yet its prices remain in the moderate range, which makes it unusually good value for a starred meal.

The restaurant's roots go back to the 1950s, when the family began serving bold, well-seasoned dishes designed to go with drinks. The restaurant is now in the hands of the third generation, who still use the family's recipes, so the menu reads like a guide to the Taiwanese banquet repertoire rather than a reinvention of it. That continuity is the point: the flavours are generous and direct, built on good local ingredients and careful technique.

The signature dish is deep-fried pork ribs made with local pork and fried twice, which keeps the meat juicy inside and the coating crisp. The Michelin inspectors also recommend the fried rice with prime mullet roe, generously topped with finely diced bottarga and carrying the smoky aroma of a hot wok. Taiwanese meals here are made for sharing, so come with a group and order several dishes for the table alongside rice and a soup or vegetable dish. Ask the staff for suggestions if the menu is unfamiliar.

Golden Formosa is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. From Wednesday to Friday it opens for lunch from 11:30 to 14:00 and dinner from 17:30 to 21:00; on Saturdays and Sundays lunch runs from 11:30 to 15:00 and dinner from 17:30 to 21:30. Booking ahead is wise, especially for weekend dinners and larger groups. The restaurant is family friendly, has wheelchair access and air conditioning, and accepts credit cards. Allow about an hour and a half for a relaxed meal.

The restaurant is on Tianmu East Road in Tianmu, in the Shilin District in the north of the city. A taxi is the simplest way to get there from central Taipei. It pairs well with a morning at the National Palace Museum, which is also in Shilin, or with an afternoon in the hills of Yangmingshan, before heading down for an early dinner.