Cheongdam-dong's Korean Beef Icon Goes Abroad for the First Time in 28 Years: The "Fire" and "Fragrance" of Three Collab Dinners in Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung

TTEURAK, the famed Korean beef restaurant in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong, has been open since 1998—28 years—and this marks its very first collaboration with another restaurant. What's more, that debut partnership is happening overseas. On August 13 and 14, TTEURAK's chef team flew to Taipei to cook alongside fine dining yakiniku brand VANNE Yakiniku. The choice to make an international crossover for a "debut collab" is, in itself, more noteworthy than the menu.

A longtime haunt for VIPs and Korean celebrities, TTEURAK is known for its aged Korean beef and Korean beef filet. Since Korean beef can't be imported into Taiwan, this limited set menu swaps in wagyu while keeping the original Korean sauces and techniques intact. The menu places both restaurants' takes on "meat" side by side for comparison: TTEURAK's Korean-style raw beef tartare against VANNE's own raw beef tartare, and the signature charcoal-grilled filet, smoked over straw for extra aroma, served with mountain-sea salt, black truffle, and VANNE's house-made garlic sauce. The meal closes with TTEURAK's secret braised beef tail rice and beef offal soup. All seats for this "VANNE x TTEURAK" guest chef event have sold out, but after the dinner wraps, four dishes—beef tail rice, raw beef tartare, water kimchi, and salted shrimp—will stay on VANNE's regular menu through the end of September.

Kaohsiung's Ukai-tei: Tempura Oil Temperature Meets Teppan Heat

At the same time, Ukai-tei Kaohsiung has brought in Hitoshi Arai, second-generation head chef of Tokyo Kagurazaka's celebrated tempura restaurant Tenko, for a limited run through August 14—seats sold out just as quickly. Founded in 1977, Tenko comes from a lineage of tempura artisans, and Arai's craft centers on the fragrance of sesame oil, the thickness of the batter, and split-second timing on when to pull food from the fryer—a skill measured in seconds.

What makes this collaboration interesting is that teppanyaki and tempura, though seemingly opposite techniques, both revolve around "fire" at their core: teppan relies on intense heat to instantly lock in flavor, while tempura depends on precise control of oil temperature. The menu opens with hairy crab paired with Oscietra caviar, followed by Edo-style tempura featuring prawns, squid, sweet peas, corn, shiso-wrapped sea urchin, scallop, and conger eel, before moving into teppanyaki showcasing Omi wagyu with black truffle. One standout dish, a "Tenko x Ukai-tei Kaohsiung collaboration," combines abalone with tempura-style somen noodles—essentially bringing the fryer and the teppan together on a single plate. The tableware includes collaborative sake cups by Japanese ceramicist Shozo Michikawa, extending the sense of ceremony all the way to the table.

Taichung's Yuánjì: Bringing a Yakitori Grill Station into a Taiwanese Restaurant

From September 10 to 12, Michelin one-star Yuánjì Taiwanese Cuisine teams up with Torien Yakitori head chef Tang Chung-hung and Astēa Taiwan Tea Flavor Lab founder Huang Hsin-hao for a three-day exclusive event called "Fragrance Through the Seats." Rather than pairing ingredient with ingredient, the three parties are focusing on "aroma": the stove fire of Taiwanese cuisine, the charcoal flame of yakitori, and the blended notes of Taiwanese tea all converge at one table. The Torien team is bringing their in-house grill station directly into Yuánjì, letting diners witness live yakitori grilling inside a Taiwanese restaurant.

The dishes draw from familiar Taiwanese flavors: Yuánjì reimagines the memory of traditional eight-treasure meatballs by folding them into milkfish belly, creating "Five-Willow Eight-Treasure Milkfish." Torien applies yakitori techniques to silkie chicken, marinating it in garlic oil, air-drying at low temperature, then grilling it over the fire. To close the meal, Taichung's jute mallow leaves are worked into glutinous rice to make "Jute Mallow Mochi," ending the course with a lightly bitter, slightly sweet finish. Drinks are crafted by Astēa, using Wenshan Baozhong, Guifei Oolong, Dong Ding Oolong, and Sun Moon Lake Ruby White Tea as bases to create tea champagne, tea white wine, tea highballs, sake martinis, and other pairing drinks—non-alcoholic versions are also available.

Though the three dinners each belong to a different culinary system, they all follow the same approach: rather than simply inviting a guest chef to showcase a few signature dishes, the participating restaurants—whether two or three—collaboratively redesign the menu, techniques, drinks, and even tableware from the ground up. Currently, the Taipei event has closed ticket sales, the Kaohsiung event is fully booked, and Taichung's "Fragrance Through the Seats" is scheduled for September 10 to 12—please contact each restaurant directly for reservations and pricing.