What to know | André Chiang’s autumn tasting route at A Joy: 9 stops, 3 new dishes and memories of home

A Joy, Taiwan’s highest luxury buffet on the 86th floor of Taipei 101, introduced the autumn chapter of its annual Four Seasons collaboration with André Chiang in late August. Following the spring tasting route, Chiang designed a 9-stop map connecting the restaurant’s popular dishes with 3 new creations. Guests can continue serving themselves freely or follow the chef’s suggested sequence for a complete tasting experience.

What does the autumn theme "original" mean?

A Joy’s dining areas are organised around mountains, sea, plains and city. Chiang began curating its menus in spring and focused the autumn chapter on origins: the land, family and familiar flavours. He explained that the farther a chef travels, the more a bowl of soup, a festival or a family dish can remain in memory. The autumn menu uses 8 approaches—pan-frying, boiling, stir-frying, deep-frying, searing, roasting, baking and grilling—to explore ingredients through different forms of heat.

How does the 9-stop route work?

The route opens with seared nigiri sushi. Stop 2 introduces the new Tsukimi Kuruma Prawn with Handmade Shrimp-Roe Noodles, followed by whole grilled roe-bearing ayu and live abalone with liver sauce, then freshly made soup dumplings and Bayonne ham. Stops 5 and 6 feature Silkie Chicken Soup with Peeled Chilli and Green Sichuan Pepper, and Marseille Seafood Soup with Brown-Rice Monaka. Later dishes include salt-grilled pork collar, grilled rib-eye and Japanese oysters; espresso poured over 70% chocolate ice cream closes the route. The map is a selection from the buffet’s many dishes rather than a compulsory circuit, and guests can return to any station.

What stories are hidden in each of the three new dishes?

The Tsukimi prawn dish draws on the large pancake wrapped around a crisp smaller pancake that Chiang remembers from Shilin. It retains the soft outer wrapper and crunchy filling, using ingredients he encountered after leaving Taiwan. A dry-toasted tortilla is spread with a Japanese sweet sauce made from eel sauce and mirin, then filled with shredded cabbage, chervil and seasonal kuruma prawn. The prawn is wrapped in Hong Kong-style shrimp-roe noodles and deep-fried, with truffle mayonnaise, mentaiko, grated daikon and spring-onion-and-ginger sauce completing the layered textures.

The Silkie Chicken Soup connects directly to Chiang’s memories of his mother’s soups. More than 30 years working with French cuisine informed his attention to stock clarity and temperature, while his time exploring Sichuan cooking in Chengdu brought the aromas of green peppercorns and vine pepper. Mature-hen stock is slowly simmered with peeled chilli, vine pepper, green Sichuan peppercorns and their oil. Brined turnip, mushrooms that are first stir-fried and then braised, and blanched, chilled silkie chicken legs are prepared separately before a final gentle simmer in individual soup vessels. The result is intended to combine mild sweetness and heat with a fresh, numbing aroma.

The Marseille Seafood Soup with Brown-Rice Monaka brings together Chiang’s experiences in southern France, Japan and Taiwan. Fennel, onion and celery are sautéed, then slowly cooked with small red seabream, shrimp, white wine, tomato and saffron. A wheat-bran wafer, wild sea bass, king crab and kombu-seasoned seafood sushi rice are arranged with white shrimp, saffron cream, toasted brown rice and dill. Hot broth is poured over at service, allowing the crisp wafer to absorb it. The texture recalls Japanese rice served with broth, while retaining the tomato and saffron flavours of southern French seafood soup. A chef’s juice blend of cantaloupe, pineapple, freshly pressed Tainan white sugar cane and orange provides a transition to the meat dishes.

Who is this flavor path suitable for?

For returning guests familiar with A Joy’s self-service format, the map connects dishes scattered across the restaurant’s different areas. For first-time visitors unsure where to begin, the 9-stop route offers a way to explore the core of Chiang’s autumn menu.