Serving as an idyllic and upscale French retreat in Kaohsiung, with an influence of local Taiwanese culture and customs, 'The Taste Journey' by Thomas Chien serves a seasonal menu that infuses southern Taiwanese seafood with a French touch. With a total area of 198 square metres, the restaurant design, a cross-cultural fusion like its culinary offerings, houses six immersive zones, demarcated by the introduction of fluid, curved surfaces. The silky cream-coloured curved wall profiles complement the extravagance of French cuisine, while the sinuous flow through the restaurant space depicts the city’s relationship to maritime elements.

"Dining under the canopy” is a common Taiwanese tradition wherein people come together to celebrate the dining experience as a communal and conjugal act. This innate concept has been thoughtfully integrated to celebrate local culture and customs, while also ushering in a sense of nostalgia. The vaults that primarily compose the space and its experiential aesthetic, dipping and flowing like cascading waters, are further Inspired by classical French architecture. Instead of the linear geometry definitive of the volumetry of classical architecture, the vaults in this restaurant are deconstructed into parabolic groves projecting like fireworks.

Based in the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, TaG Living is an interdisciplinary firm with expertise in Michelin-star restaurants and industrial design. With a catalogue ranging from high-end eyewear and home décor to stationery, their products have markets in 16 countries. The practice aims for a balance between tradition and modernism while infusing experimental concepts to develop a product that is rooted and extensively functional. Similar thought has been inculcated in the design of this Thomas Chien restaurant, where experimental thought is expended in the direction of upcycling sustainable material.

Having followed sustainable design techniques in the design process, as well as attempts towards carbon neutrality, various types of waste, including food waste and marine waste have been repurposed into products that have been creatively integrated into the interior design of the restaurant. One such remarkably conscious choice is to tap into the 7.3-million-ton oyster market by upcycling stubborn, high calcium shells—that are otherwise difficult to disintegrate—into concrete-free textured paints through roasting and grinding. These textured surfaces incorporated on the walls and the pergolas accentuate the interiors by offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic inorganic compounds. 

Furthermore, Kaohsiung, one of the largest shipping ports in the world, remains littered with several ghost nets drifting through the surface of its waters, causing a threat to the local ecology. The designers sought to recycle the nets to create organic carpets that embodied the 'language' of the beach through colour and partly through texture. Inspired by the grey sand of the beach and the blue tides of the vast ocean beyond, the carpet design spiritually navigates visitors into the space.

The lighting scheme comprises lamps made from biodegradable natural ocean litter such as coral stones, red quinoas, azalea roots, and salix argyracea skeleton leaves that wash up to the harbour. With technical assistance from the local florists, the design team deconstructed coarse hemp into thin strands spiralling around the luminaire with coral stones and other biodegradable add-ons, thus creating a rhythmic swirl of layers that echo sustainability. 

Furnace slags from smelting at a steel corporation in the city were collected and combined with the oyster shells from dining waste to produce raw material that was then integrated with 3D printing technology to develop counters, table legs, and chairs shaped as boats. The regenerative concept, coupled with technology, highlights a sensory exploration of material and form. The conscious choice of the fluid, the thinly stacked shape of table legs arises from the famous French napkin fold, where tradition marries innovation. Each furniture piece in the space has a story to tell, paying homage to the traditions of Taiwanese as well as French classical design and architecture.

Drawing inspiration from its immediate context, the restaurant resonates with the idea of a sailing ship, with the various segments within serving as cabins of the ship, while the fluid wall structure represents the ship itself. The door panels enfolding the front façade bring in most of the natural light throughout the day, accentuating the organic wall profiles and creating a scenic metaphor of flowing water. The overall design principle of creating a structure from salvage makes The Taste Journey a pioneer in restaurant designs that inspire upcoming architecture in local and broader contexts to be more resourceful. The restaurant also aims at sourcing seasonal, local ingredients to not only celebrate the Taiwanese tradition but also minimise the overall carbon footprint of the business. The restaurant’s emergence from being a concept on paper to its current form backed by an extensive research unit that inspired a sustainable new culinary culture in the city begets a parallel thought that harps on the imperativeness of research units as appendages to architectural practices.

Project Details

Name: The Taste Journey
Design Team: TaG Living
Interior Designers: Wang Pin-Ho, Wang Pin-Shian, Chen Xiao-Xian
Client: Thomas Chien Restaurant
Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Area: 198 sq.m.
Collaborative Process Technology: Zhou Jia-Lang, Huang Zheng-De, Zheng Zhi-Cheng, Guo Shi-Chang, Guo Zhen-Wei
Collaborative Mechatronic Design: Yang Shan-Chun, Du Wen-Qing
Collaborative Florist: Yang Keng-Chuan
Collaborative 3D Printing: Chen Po-Chung, Chen Guo-Xin
Collaborative Recycling Materials Consultant: Kuo Wen-Yi