North District, Tainan City｜Principe

I have been here twice now and both times have been exceptional. Hopefully there is a Michelin star in their future as they deserve it. I let the staff know ahead of time that I can only speak English and they did their best to accommodate me and they provide me with a English menu. It is a quite small restaurant with only a few tables and everyone is seated and served at the same time so meals can take a while (3-4 hours). Food is delicious and the wines are pairings are nicely matched with the different courses. Will definitely be back next time I am in Tainan!

From the dining environment to the creative dishes, I had had a fantastic night at Principe! The chef pays tribute to his root by reimagining the traditional Taiwanese cuisine with French cooking. For example, the Fricassée de poulet with French toast resembles the “coffin bread”, one of the best known street food in Tainan. Other dishes including, milkfish pie, oyster consommé and shrimp chips, also exhibit the flavours of An-Ping Old Street and An-Ping Port. There are much more surprises that you have to experience yourself. Highly recommend ❤️

I write this as a cousin of the owner of the restaurant, Cheng Yu. Although it's easy to be biased due to the familial relations, I write this with the utmost sincerity. I really looked forward to dining here even before they opened as Cheng Yu had shared with me that this has been a childhood dream of his and we had the opportunity to dine here as a private function with family members. Wait staff was extremely attentive, very professional in her explanations on each course and accommodating towards our needs. I ordered the Fish whereas my husband had the Pork. The dishes were beautifully presented and tasted equally as enticing as it looked. The mushrooms on the side of the Pork was buttery and seasoned well with the Yuzu Sauce a delight to match with the Pork! Beautiful explosion of flavours! I don't normally go for a Fish dish but I had a feeling that Principe would do an outstanding job and I wasn't wrong. The Swallowtail Fish was soft and had a lovely slightly crunchy skin and when paired with the foam, it was simply a great match. I would gladly eat this again. Each dish was beautifully presented and the quality of the food was delicious. It's quite obvious to me that each course had been well-contemplated and constructed. The creativity of each course as well as the play on flavours all worked very well and I liked how everything came together. It's quite clear that a lot of love and passion was put into the restaurant as a whole and not just in the food. This will definitely not disappoint especially as Principe is such a different restaurant in Tainan. Fantastic for a special occasion or when you feel like indulging in the foodie within you! I look forward to dining here again in future! =D