A delicious and healthy running-themed restaurant that even lists calories clearly on the menu (now closed)

▲ One of the main dishes: pan-seared crispy duck breast.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

Vitality Kitchen ceased operations starting July 25.

Situated in the fiercely competitive East District, this restaurant doesn’t feature any flashy or over-the-top décor. Rest & Run Vitality Kitchen quietly sits in an alley—it’s a running-themed restaurant. Partnering with a nutrition professor from Chang Gung University and a marathon runner from the London Olympics, they’ve crafted distinctive meal plans that blend flavor and wellness. Each dish balances taste and health, and the calorie content is clearly listed on the menu. Furthermore, the restaurant provides facilities such as showers and lockers for runners, allowing them to shower after exercise, change into fresh and comfortable clothing, and then enjoy their meals.


▲ Grilled boneless beef short rib slices & yam salad


▲ Starter – pan-seared Hokkaido scallops with arugula.

If you’ve met Rest & Run Vitality Kitchen’s owner, Cheng Xunkai, it’s hard to imagine he once weighed over 100 kg. Falling in love with running motivated him to lose weight while also researching how to eat healthily, deliciously, and in a way that supports weight loss. After successfully shedding the pounds, Cheng wanted to share his findings, so he opened this running-themed restaurant, Rest & Run, which focuses on offering healthy meals. Cheng also emphasizes that none of the dishes at the restaurant contain artificial seasonings.


▲ Mustard wine vinegar grilled tempeh.

Because the meal plans are carefully designed and balanced, the menu is simple with not many variations—just two types of salads, two starters, three types of pasta and one type of risotto, three soups, six main dishes, and only two desserts. Though the selection may seem common, Cheng Xunkai puts great thought into the ingredients, incorporating highly nutritious options like quinoa, mashed peas, oats, and yams into the main meals. He hopes diners will not only enjoy meats like beef, pork, duck, and fish but also pair them with various nutrient-rich vegetables—for example, four out of the six main dishes include stir-fried seasonal wild vegetables with quinoa.


▲ French-style red wine braised beef cheek.


▲ Low-temperature slow-cooked salmon.

Although there are only three soup options, the care Cheng puts into them is evident. Take the 27-calorie mushroom soup, for instance—it genuinely contains just 27 calories. The mushrooms are first sautéed, then cooked with cilantro and vegetable chicken broth before being blended into a smooth soup. Because it’s blended with a juicer, the texture is extremely fine, setting it apart from typical mushroom soups found elsewhere.

Address: 1F, No. 51, Lane 240, Guangfu S. Rd., Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-27711878


▲ 27-calorie mushroom soup.


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