KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) – Gen Restaurant, fresh off its latest Michelin win, is celebrating with three unique summer menus that capture five decades of Cantonese tradition and innovation in every dish.
The three new tasting menus — Gen Roots, Gen Legacy, and Gen Realm — are named to represent the three stages of a chef's career: returning to a culinary foundation, upholding tradition, and achieving personal mastery. Ip Chi-kwong (葉志光) is scheduled to be a guest chef at the restaurant for one year, an extraordinary opportunity for diners to experience his decades of expertise.
The menu is a testament to the decades-long bond between the two chefs. Now partners in the kitchen, their collaboration combines Ip’s half-century of experience with Chef Matt Chen’s (陳泰榮) contemporary vision.
Among the new offerings, several dishes stand out for their exceptional flavor and narrative. The steamed wild Antarctic toothfish with spicy sauce from the Gen Realm menu is a prime example of culinary fusion.
Ip, inspired by his time cooking in Singapore, pairs the delicate texture of the toothfish, perfectly steamed in a classic Cantonese style, with a complex, spicy Southeast Asian-inspired sauce. The result is a vibrant, multi-layered dish where the fish’s natural sweetness is enhanced but not overwhelmed by the sauce's fiery kick, demonstrating the adaptability of Cantonese cuisine.
Another remarkable dish is the wild mushroom and seasonal vegetables in golden broth. Ip revives it with a modern twist, using winter melon instead of the traditional white radish.
The winter melon is hollowed out and filled with wild mushrooms and seasonal vegetables, then gently simmered in a golden broth made from pumpkin and carrots. This seemingly simple dish reveals a deep mastery of subtle flavors, proving that true artistry lies not just in a wok, but in the meticulous details of a dish.
For a final flourish, the chicken rice from the Gen Legacy menu is a humble masterpiece. This was a recipe Ip created for a former client, winning praise for its profound flavor from simple ingredients.
The chicken rice dish is made by stir-frying diced chicken with shallots before braising it in a special sweet and savory sauce. Served over premium Japanese Koshihikari rice, the meal is crowned with a soft-boiled egg, allowing the velvety yolk to blend with the rich sauce and fluffy rice, offering a taste of comforting nostalgia elevated by impeccable technique.
Prices for the new menus are: Gen Roots at NT$2,680 (US$87), Gen Legacy at NT$5,280, and Gen Realm at NT$8,880.
(Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
