Stories through food

A visit to a fine-dining restaurant in Kaohsiung often feels more like visiting the chef’s home and being told stories through the food they serve. Kaohsiung-born and Penghu-raised, Tsai Chung-ho worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Australia and Europe for years before returning to his hometown to strike out on his own.

Last year, he and his wife opened French restaurant The Front House. “As a local son, elevating the fine-dining scene in Kaohsiung is my mission,” he says.

Tsai has seen the scale of Kaohsiung’s transformation over the past six years, with a revitalisation of both its infrastructure and transport. Now, Tsai believes, it’s time for cultural innovation – including on the culinary scene. “I want others to know that Kaohsiung’s food industry is developing,” he says. “It goes beyond just snack food: southern Taiwan has unique, high-end cuisine.”

Tsai’s menu serves as a history of Kaohsiung, with dishes named after aspects of the city and making use of ingredients sourced from the region. They are an invitation to experience the beauty of the port city through taste, smell, and sight.

For example, the refreshing Harbour Impression is inspired by southern Taiwanese snacks like ginger tomato, and combines salt-cured Donggang toro with dried Taiwanese black persimmon tomato and cherry radish, presented in a floral shape, served with ginger soy jelly and black persimmon tomato juice.

Taste of the Mountain consists of black-feather native chicken wings, deboned and stuffed with mushrooms, onions and chicken mousse, mixed with chocolate plum sauce from neighbouring Pingtung country and smoked with charcoal-roasted oolong, creating a subtly smoky, woody aroma.

“Fine-dining restaurants in Taipei are larger and more international, but Kaohsiung focuses on small- and medium-sized establishments,” says Tsai. “It’s a different taste of Taiwan.”