A restaurant specializing in goose dishes in Kaohsiung’s Renwu District has come up with Taiwan’s first-ever line of goose fat products and they are getting international attention. The 23-year-old family run business got a new lease of life when the son of the original owner went to study in France, where he was inspired by French cuisine. They’ve come up with a line of products that includes delicious condiments made with goose fat and shallots. The restaurant also sells salted braised goose and roast goose, and has made this year’s Michelin Bib Gourmand list.
This restaurant specializing in goose dishes in Kaohsiung’s Renwu District sells salted braised goose and roast goose, all made in store. The goose meat sells out so quickly, that it’s all gone in just five and a half hours.
The owner of the restaurant comes from a family of banquet chefs in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District. Twenty-three years ago, she learned from her relatives how to cook goose and started her own business. Then, more than 10 years ago, her son returned from studying in France and joined the family management team. He began to give Taiwan-style roast goose a whole new look.
Luc Chen
Second generation restaurateur
I was studying in Bordeaux and they used both goose fat and duck fat. I never thought much about these things before but after I came back, I thought that because we are a goose shop, we should use goose fat throughout for cooking. For example, we should use goose fat to seal goose legs before cooking them and then braise them to make them more tender.
Luc Chen actually set out to study urban planning in France, but while he was there, he also threw himself into the world of goose cooking. He has injected some French soul into Taiwan-style goose and has developed Taiwan’s first-ever goose fat brand.
Taiwan-style shallot flakes are traditionally made with lard. Chen changed the formula to use goose fat and made unique condiments consisting of goose fat and shallots. He packaged them in elegant French-style jars, which are now sold in fresh food supermarkets and department stores across Taiwan. The products are widely used in the restaurant’s various dishes.
Liu Chin-lien
First generation restaurateur
I think this is healthier. The first time he came back from abroad, he bought me a can of goose fat. And that started it all. In fact, I had already been using goose fat when cooking for my customers. But it’s only after we started promoting the fact that we used goose that we realized how good it was.
With a taste of refined Taiwan-style goose, the restaurant has scored a spot on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list this year, the only goose restaurant in Kaohsiung to do so.