Kaohsiung gains another Michelin-starred restaurant; set to open in summer 2017

▲ The Taiwan branch of the UKAI-TEI teppanyaki restaurant is expected to open in summer at the Crystal Hotels International Resort. (Photo / courtesy ofUKAI-TEI Teppanyaki Restaurantofficial website)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Following the celebrity restaurant at the Howard Plaza Hotel, Kaohsiung will soon welcome another Michelin-level dining establishment. The Crystal Hotels International Resort, scheduled to open in 2017, has invited UKAI Group’s UKAI-TEI teppanyaki restaurant to establish a branch in Taiwan. The UKAI-TEI teppanyaki restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district earned one Michelin star upon the release of Japan’s first Michelin Guide, and the upcoming branch at Crystal Hotels International Resort will further increase the number of Michelin-level restaurants in Kaohsiung.

The UKAI Group currently operates five UKAI-TEI teppanyaki restaurants. Its Ginza location was awarded one Michelin star in Japan’s first Michelin Guide in 2008, followed by the Omotesando branch, which also received one Michelin star. As the UKAI-TEI team had previously guest-chefed at the Regent Taipei, the Regent Group invited UKAI Group to collaborate when planning the Crystal Hotels International Resort, bringing the UKAI-TEI teppanyaki experience to Taiwan and establishing it within the Crystal Hotels property.

The Crystal Hotels International Resort is operated by the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel Group under commission from Yumeng Construction. Originally slated to open by the end of 2016, the opening has now been postponed to summer 2017. The property was tentatively named the Kaohsiung Regent Hotel but has now been officially named the Crystal Hotels International Resort, targeting the luxury hotel market.