Reviving Chef’s Memories of Cantonese Cuisine: Ziyàn Introduces Iberico Pork Honey-Glazed Char Siu

▲ Ziyàn Chinese Restaurant’s new Spanish Iberico pork honey-glazed char siu. (Photo/Taipei W Hotel, the same applies below)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Ziyàn Chinese Restaurant on the 31st floor of Taipei W Hotel has launched a new “Vivid Winter Solstice” set menu. Executive Chef Wu Haiming has crafted a selection of winter Cantonese tonic dishes, drawing inspiration from local Taiwanese restaurants and seafood suppliers in Yilan. The chef has also introduced a new Spanish Iberico pork honey-glazed char siu, aiming to bring his cherished memories of authentic Cantonese flavors to guests in Taiwan.

Executive Chef Wu Haiming, originally from Hong Kong, has been in Taiwan for nearly two years. He has actively visited towns and villages to learn about local ingredients and cooking techniques. His recent trip to Yilan included visits to Taiwanese restaurants and the Nanfang’ao Fishing Port, where he gained an in-depth understanding of regional cuisine and local culture—reflections of which are now seen in his culinary creations. Using seasonal root vegetables, premium prawns, scallops, as well as ingredients like three-star scallions and mountain wild pepper from Wulai, he has prepared a series of winter dishes that nourish and warm the body. In addition, Chef Wu has also reimagined Ziyàn’s signature honey-glazed char siu, meticulously overseeing everything from the choice of meat and the honey glaze to the roasting process—all to deliver the authentic Cantonese taste he remembers to his guests.


▲ To bring back the flavors of his cherished memories, Chef Wu specially selected Spanish Iberico pork collar meat for the char siu.

To bring back the flavors of his cherished memories, Chef Wu specially selected Spanish Iberico pork collar meat for the char siu. The meat from Iberico pigs has evenly distributed fat, high tenderness, and no fishy taste. It is then roasted with a honey glaze sauce infused with lemon and a secret recipe, basted repeatedly until the skin turns crispy and the meat becomes tender, resulting in a rich flavor with a hint of sweetness. The signature Spanish Iberico pork honey-glazed char siu is priced at TWD 580 per serving.

The lunch set menu for single-numbered months includes: Crispy Roast Suckling Pig, Spicy Lotus Root Strips, Taiwan Wild Mushroom Dumplings, Cordyceps Flower with Fresh Bamboo Shoots; the soup is Crabmeat and Fish Maw Spinach Soup; the main course is Grapefruit Honey Amber Shrimp Balls with Crispy Cod; other items include Taro Preserved Meat Taitung Corn Chicken Balls, Vegetable Basket with Chili Oil Wontons, and desserts such as Snowflake Fritillary and Tremella Pear Soup, Ziyàn Mushroom Buns, and a colorful fruit platter.


▲ “Vivid Winter Solstice” bi-monthly lunch set. (Photo/Taipei W Hotel)


▲ “Vivid Winter Solstice” single-month lunch set. (Photo/Taipei W Hotel)

The lunch set menu for double-numbered months includes: Crispy Roast Suckling Pig, Spicy Lotus Root Strips, Golden Hook Thousand-Shred Taro Cake, Three-Star Scallion Grilled Small Mackerel; the soup is Fish Maw and Abalone Shreds with Bamboo Fungus Soup; the main course is Hokkaido Scallop X.O. Prawn Balls, along with other dishes like Wulai Mountain Wild Pepper Braised Radish Clear Soup Beef Brisket, Five... (text garbled): Can be ordered, includes tender chicken or flavorful dishes, plus other carefully prepared options such as eight-head king mushroom abalone.


▲ “Vivid Winter Solstice” evening set menu. (Photo/Taipei W Hotel)

The evening set menu features: Crispy Roast Suckling Pig, Alishan Black Tea Sweet Potatoes, Chilled Love Jade with Shaoxing Wine-Soaked Chicken, Crispy Sesame Fried Eel; the soup is Red Lotus and Bird’s Nest Stewed Black-Bone Chicken Soup; refined main courses include Lotus Root and Lily Stir-Fried Penghu Live Lobster Balls, premium dish Okra and Wild Mushroom Spicy Sauce Bursting with Kagoshima A5 Wagyu, Oyster-Flavored Six-Head Mushroom and Abalone; healthy staple dishes include Taitung Red Quinoa Pumpkin and Grouper Grain Fried Rice. Desserts include the gorgeous Snowflake Fritillary and Tremella Pear Soup, Xinjiang Date King Cake, along with a colorful fruit platter.

Ziyàn Chinese Restaurant’s new “Vivid Winter Solstice” set menu is available from now until March 31, 2018. Lunch sets start at TWD 1580+10%, and dinner sets start at TWD 2580+10%.