The State Banquet Dishes Served at Yingtong’s Inauguration to Be Available at Marriott Hotel’s Chinese Restaurant After June

▲ The exquisitely labor-intensive Chrysanthemum Chicken Soup with Embroidered Vegetables.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, reporter in Taipei

The inauguration state banquet for the 14th President and Vice President of the Republic of China will be held at Taipei Marriott Hotel. Excluding appetizers, the menu consists of eight dishes, many of which feature fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced locally in Taiwan—such as the wild Welsh onion favored by indigenous peoples, bird cherries from Keelung, spring bamboo shoots, mussels from Matsu, grouper from Pingtung, and Hakka-style preserved mustard greens. The hotel’s Chinese restaurant executive chef expressed that after May 20, these dishes will remain available, and starting from June, they can be ordered at the Chinese restaurant.

The three appetizers served before the state banquet are: Yunlin Welsh Onion & Hyacinth Bean, Plum Sauce Taro from Dadu, and Vinegar-Marinated Wood Ear & Lotus Root. The eight main dishes are: Spring in Formosa, Steamed Lobster with Scallions & Garlic (Dish 2), Roast Happy Pig (Dish 3), Organic Lily Green Vegetables (Dish 4), Steamed Gentiopicroside with Pickled Tree Fruit (Dish 5), Hakka Stir-Fried Preserved Mustard Greens (Dish 6), Chrysanthemum Chicken Soup with Embroidered Vegetables (Dish 7), and Garden Taiwan Colorful Platter (Dish 8). For beverages, Eastern Beauty Tea from Beibu in Hsinchu and organic coffee from Gukeng in Yunlin have been specially selected to showcase Taiwanese flavors.


▲ The chef carefully slices tofu slice by slice.

Gao Ganghui said that the new government team hopes to highlight the deliciousness of Taiwanese cuisine using local ingredients. As early as two months ago, he traveled across the province with his team in search of the most suitable ingredients—even venturing to the eastern regions of Taiwan. The final menu presents a diverse fusion of Taiwanese, Hakka, indigenous, and Western culinary styles. However, Gao Ganghui is from Hong Kong and specializes in Cantonese cuisine—so how did he capture the essence of Taiwanese flavor that the new government wanted? Gao explained that he has been working in Taiwan since 1987, has lived here for 29 years, and his wife is Taiwanese, so creating authentic Taiwanese-style dishes isn’t difficult for him.


▲ Organic Lily Green Vegetables.

Among all the state banquet dishes, the most labor-intensive one is likely Dish 7, the Chrysanthemum Chicken Soup with Embroidered Vegetables. The chef has to make dozens of precise horizontal and vertical cuts on tender Chinese tofu to form a chrysanthemum shape when placed in a rich broth made from a 450-day-old hen. Just slicing one piece of tofu takes five minutes. If this dish were to be made on May 20, it wouldn’t be feasible last-minute. Gao Ganghui said that multiple chefs must be gathered in advance to slice the tofu beforehand and then keep it in water to preserve freshness.


▲ Steamed Gentiopicroside with Pickled Tree Fruit.


▲ The Marriott Hotel’s state banquet chef team, with the hotel’s Chinese Executive Chef Gao Ganghui in the center.