Are traditional home-style Taiwanese dishes disappearing? Chef Ah Rong: It’s not that no one knows how to make them—it’s just too labor-intensive

▲Phoenix Seven-Colored Butterfly Platter. (Photo / Provided by Beitou L’Hotel-Elysée Hot Spring Resort)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

As more people opt for steak or Japanese cuisine, are Taiwan’s traditional multi-course banquet dishes—known as “home-style skillful dishes”—gradually vanishing? Jiang Wenrong, head chef of Yongcuiting at the Beitou L’Hotel-Elysée Hot Spring Resort, explained that these disappearing skillful dishes aren’t necessarily unknown to chefs. The problem is that they require too much labor, so nowadays few are willing to make them. Most places simply buy semi-finished products and finish the cooking, which results in a loss of authentic flavor. To address this, the Beitou L’Hotel-Elysée Hot Spring Resort has specially invited Chef Jiang Wenrong of Yongcuiting to curate and launch the “Lost Skillful Home-Style Dishes” multi-course banquet, now available to diners.

Chef Jiang Wenrong’s “Lost Skillful Home-Style Dishes” multi-course banquet starts at NT$36,800 per table and requires a 10-day advance reservation. Known as Chef Ah Rong, Jiang Wenrong comes from an eight-generation family of traditional banquet caterers and has nearly 30 years of experience in Taiwanese cuisine. To deliver the authentic, nostalgic flavors of old-school home-style dishes, he follows traditional methods using elaborate, classic culinary techniques. Without any MSG or artificial flavorings, the chef relies on his expertise to recreate vintage tastes through precise ingredient ratios and cooking temperatures.