Brilliant Taiwanese fare with a fantastic view

欣葉食藝軒 (信義區)

Iconic franchise Shin Yeh at Taipei 101 is a charming restaurant that combines both quality Taiwanese (Hokkien) staples and a panoramic view of the city from the 85th floor. This branch is English-friendly and waiting staff are nice and professional. While you do pay for the view and more attentive service, a satisfying meal among a party of three or above should come down to no more than US$50 per person, alcoholic beverages excluded. The food shouldn't disappoint anyone--plating isn't particularly outstanding and there are no "wow" dishes, but attention to small details are discernable and all add up to a memorable dining experience. We also appreciated that they served more than decent espresso-based coffees at the end of the meal.

Food Rundown

Braised free-range chicken
Tender bits of chicken breast and thigh, a much-appreciated start to fill hungry tummies.

Steamed shark's fin soup with sea cucumbers / Steamed shark's fin soup with fish maw
The soup had a great depth of flavor and contained generous portions of seafood and pork.

Stir-fry scallops and vegetables
Scallops were a little on the rubbery side and felt stale. We wouldn't order this again.

Taiwan-style sausages (requested off the menu)
Excellent, and even better served with deep-fried garlic slices.

Deep-fried prawns with pineapple (and mayo)
Crunchy and sweet, this is a must-order. Prawns were juicy and big.

Steamed grouper
Fine. Nothing spectacular there.

Egg fried rice and fried vermicelli (vermicelli not photographed)
While the egg fried rice was great, the fried vermicelli was even better. The noodles were so light and fluffy that I couldn't help but get a second and a third and a fourth serving of it…

Pork belly "burger" (刈包)
This was delicious, and has been served with a cling film wrapped around, which is very much the native, authentic way of serving it in China's Fujian.

Almond "tofu" 
A sweet and pleasant end to the meal.