SHOWEI opens in Taipei: a seven-course menu reworks Taiwanese food memories
Chef Adam Chiu connects French technique with pepper-leaf tacos, a rice-filled blood sausage and bubble-tea soufflé. Opening-menu prices, seating and reservations explained.
Spring-roll wrappers, pig’s-blood rice cake and bubble tea need not arrive in their familiar forms. Chef Adam Chiu’s new Taipei restaurant, SHOWEI, uses French techniques to explore Taiwanese ingredients and food memories. Its opening seven-course menu brings references from street food and family meals to an intimate chef’s table.
The restaurant is at 1F, No. 68, Section 1, Jianguo North Road, Zhongshan District, with six counter seats and private rooms for six and ten. Reservations are required. The announced opening menu costs NT$3,500 per person plus a 10% service charge. Seasonal dishes, current prices and possible dietary adjustments should be confirmed through the booking information and restaurant.
A vegetable-and-smelt taco changes the frame of reference
One taco uses pepper leaf, herbs and leafy vegetables in a wrapper made with rice flour. Smelt and Vietnamese rice noodles sit inside, combined with avocado, wild greens and a Vietnamese-style dipping sauce. The handheld format recalls a taco, while the ingredients connect with Taiwanese spring rolls and greens. Looking at the role of each component can be more useful than assigning the dish a single cuisine label.
The chef adds ingredients to vegetable-and-smelt tacos
The caviar opener also rearranges a familiar serving format, combining sturgeon rillettes, cured fish and caviar with fried mochi and assorted crisps. These are descriptions of the menu’s construction, rather than personal tasting conclusions. Anyone avoiding fish, dairy or other ingredients should provide full details when booking so the team can assess what the seasonal menu can accommodate.
From rice-filled blood sausage to bubble-tea soufflé
The Australian wagyu fillet is accompanied by house-made blood sausage containing beef tongue, tendon and glutinous rice, wrapped in potato strands and paired with fermented green chili and yuzu pepper. Rice and blood sausage connect the dish with Taiwanese pig’s-blood rice cake. Another course fills quail with chicken mousse and offal, using smoke, charcoal and corn to explore the chef’s approach to heat and sauces.
Dessert includes a bubble-tea soufflé combining black tea, barley milk and tapioca pearls, with a related frozen accompaniment. Pineapple and pine needles appear in another dessert, while a hidden hot-oil noodle dish refers back to the chef’s family noodle stall. The seven-course menu and hidden dish are separate elements of the opening arrangement, not promises that every future season will repeat them.
SHOWEI bubble-tea soufflé with a frozen accompaniment
Counter seating, private rooms and booking details
The six-seat counter offers proximity to the kitchen, while groups can inquire about the six- and ten-person private rooms. A seafood display inspired by Taiwanese seafood restaurants lets guests discuss ingredients and à la carte possibilities. It does not establish walk-in access or identical seafood and vegetables every day. Confirm the seating and meal format when making a reservation.
Announced hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 6–10pm, with reservations through Eatsy. The opening NT$3,500 menu plus 10% service charge totals NT$3,850 per person; other options require separate confirmation. Chiu’s experience includes Paris 1930, NKU and Impromptu by Paul Lee. At his own table, technique becomes a way to articulate ingredients and personal memories rather than a label standing apart from them.
Questions and answers
How much does SHOWEI’s menu cost?
The opening price is NT$3,500 per person plus 10% service, totaling NT$3,850. Check current booking information for updates and additional options.
Where is SHOWEI and how do I book?
At 1F, No. 68, Section 1, Jianguo North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei. Reservations are required through Eatsy; announced hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 6–10pm.
What seating and dietary arrangements are available?
There are six counter seats and private rooms for six and ten. State allergies and avoided ingredients when booking; adjustments depend on the seasonal menu and the restaurant’s assessment.
