Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) The Michelin Guide has released its annual list of value-for-money "Bib Gourmand" restaurants in Taiwan, with a total of 91 establishments in Taipei and Taichung earning the distinction.
The Bib Gourmand list, which identifies the best restaurants offering a three course meal for a fixed price not exceeding NT$1,000 (US$34), selected places in Taipei for a fourth consecutive year and in Taichung for a second time, and includes Taiwanese, Chinese, and Indian cuisine.
It is a prelude to the release of the full Michelin Guide Taipei & Taichung 2021, which will come out on Aug. 25.
With no less than 17 styles and cuisines in the spotlight and 91 restaurants -- including six new ones in Taipei and 13 in Taichung-- the 2021 Bib Gourmand list showed that the cities' culinary scenes are becoming more diverse, Michelin said in a statement Wednesday.
"This year again, and despite the difficulties and challenges, the Bib Gourmand restaurants and the street food stands delighted our teams of inspectors!" said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides.
The Bib Gourmand list complements the Michelin Guide Taipei & Taichung, which awards restaurants one, two and three Michelin stars, representing very good cooking, excellent cooking worth a detour, and exceptional cuisine worth a journey, respectively.
Among the six newly-selected Bib Gourmand restaurants in Taipei were Inn's+, Jin Shang Hsuan and Sung Chu Yuan, which feature Taiwanese dishes, Michelin said.
There were also Indonesian restaurant Sate House, Chinese restaurant Talking Heads and noodle shop Shiang Dih Regimen Cuisine.
Meanwhile, Taichung reported a significant surge in new Bib Gourmand restaurants.
The 13 new entries included small eateries Chen Ming Tung Braised Pork Rice, Fresh Fish Stock, and Taichung Meatball.
Taiwanese restaurants included Gulu Gulu, Master of Mushroom, Luo Jia Food, and Moon Pavilion, while noodle shops included The Toas, Mu Gong Noodles and Ke Kou Beef Noodles.
Other selected restaurants providing different cuisines were House of Dawn, Kuisine and Niou Jia Juang.
Including the newcomers, the list covered 58 restaurants in Taipei and 33 in Taichung.
Some owners of the newly selected restaurants said they were surprised yet happy to be included in the prestigious guide, particularly during this difficult time when the COVID-19 outbreak has dealt a harsh blow to their businesses.
Master of Mushroom owner Lin Ming-shun said he felt like he had "won the lottery" upon learning his restaurant was on the list.
Like many others, his restaurant was forced to suspend dine-in services for nearly three months due to enhanced disease control measures imposed in mid-May by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), he said.
Chen Shu-hui, owner of 50-year-old Chen Ming Tung Braised Pork Rice, said the shop has not resumed full in-person dining due to concerns over the outbreak.
Chen said her sales were down about 20 percent due to COVID-19, and her customers have increasingly preferred the take-out option.
She said she felt the Michelin inclusion was an encouragement to time-honored restaurants, but also hoped the disease could be brought under better control so that her customers could again choose to dine in worry-free.
