Shin Yeh 101, Taipei, Taiwan

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Shin Yeh 85F-1, No. 7, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd., Xinyi Dist. Taipei City, Taiwan 02-8101-0185 02-8101-0131 (Fax) Shin Yeh Website

Why did we dine here? – Shin Yeh at Taipei 101 is the flagship restaurant for this local restaurant group. This particular Shin Yeh is located on the 85th floor of the Taipei 101 Skyscraper. We were looking for a high end restaurant to celebrate Christmas and settled on this place. Of note, there really aren’t a lot of fine dining Taiwanese restaurants here. Night markets, small local places are all over the place. If you have other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

Shin Yeh 101 has several other locations including more casual restaurants and even a buffet. The Taipei 101 restaurant focuses on Taiwanese food and Chinese food with many local signature dishes that we were excited to try for the first time.

While they are open for lunch, we would recommend dining here for dinner. The view is stunning at night, assuming weather permits. If there are fireworks for the New Year, you will have a surreal view of them.

Insider Tip – There is a minimum charge per person during holidays. NT$900 per person on Christmas Eve. Make reservations well in advance.

Cuisine – Taiwanese, Chinese
Location – Taipei 101, Taiwan
Opened – 2004

Service – Shin Yeh was very good, not as good as the top restaurant in Hong Kong, but far more professional than Chinese restaurants in our San Francisco home base. The waiters knew the menu cold, helped with suggestions and never required us to ask for refills. The food came fast after ordering.
Verdict – Shin Yeh in Taipei 101 lets you eat a great meal with an incredible view of the city. You can think of it as a way of saving money by not taking the journey to the top. If you are in search of authentic Taiwanese food in a beautiful restaurant, visit this place.

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Yes.

Shin Yeh Signature Dishes – The menu has several pages showing their specialties. Seafood, local dishes.

Shin Yeh’s Menu is fairly huge. There are a lot of expensive seafood options. Smart foodies will ignore the expensive shark’s fin and abalone and focus on Taiwanese dishes that are not available back home.

Website Shin Yeh Specialties Menu

Shin Yeh Food Picks:

Grandmother’s Soup (NT$160) is a pretty generic translation of the Chinese! A small individual portion of medicinal chicken soup. Ok, but not for everybody.

Steamed Shark’s Fin Soup with Sea Cucumber, Pork Spare Rib and Chicken (NT$560) was expensive but we needed some items to hit our evening minimum. Yes, this dish was not PC. This dish normally known as Buddha Jumping Over the Wall and it definitely hit the mark. Very rich flavors, tons of high quality shark’s fin along with the other ingredients. At approximately US$20, this is a steal.

Fresh Spring Roll Filled with Cabbage, Bean Sprouts and Peanut Powder (NT$100) is another signature Taiwanese dish. Some hidden egg inside. This burrito like dish is filled with vegetables and a strong peanut flavor. A must try.

Steamed Bun with Pork Belly and Pickled Mustard Leaf (NT$120) is another local signature dish, also known as Gua Bao. This is a rich meaty, fatty sandwich wrapped in plastic. Each bite is rich and crispy from the included pickles. On a side note, we found it difficult to get this dish at the night markets.

Sauteed Beef Tenderloin with Garlic (NT$680) was earmarked to cover our beef needs. Quantities were on the low side but the beef cubes tender, juicy, not oversalted, and possessed slight Angus flavor. Nice crispy garlic.

Wok Seared Chicken with Basil and Ginger in Clay Pot (NT$680) is known as 3 cup chicken. We loved this dish at 5Joy in Foster City. We could not wait to try the real deal. Shin Yeh’s version was very spicy. The chicken was very bony and cubed. You could taste the sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar combination. This is definitely more authentic, but we prefer the one back home.

Fresh Seasonal Greens (NT$220) were fresh yam leaves cooked in a more watery style.

Sweet Potato Rice Porridge (NT$40) is a signature dish. Pretty plain and bland.

Crispy Cakes Stuffed with Turnip and Minced Pork (NT$150) looked great and were cooked with a lot of care. Nice flaky pastry and tender interior.

Sweetened Tapioca Soup (NT$60) came with red bean and hit the spot without being too sweet.

Steamed Glutinous Rice Treat Coated with Peanut Powder (NT$60) at the equivalent US$2 was a steal. Freshly made chewy dessert with lots of peanut flavor.

Hot Sweet Almond Milk with Dough Fritter (NT$90) was an interesting combination. Lots of rich almond flavor along with a small Yau Tiu.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?

Restaurant Map: