Taipei City Government

The National Palace Museum (NPM) is not just a repository of the greatest art of the Chinese people, and not just a world-renowned cultural facility. It is an important historical site in its own architectural right. In order to bring together international business travelers and the best in fine dining, visitors who have sated themselves on the rich banquet of cultural relics within are invited to sate themselves on the riches of the grand culinary tradition of the Chinese people.

The attractive, majestic Silk Palace food and beverage facility is an NPM BOT enterprise; in 2004 the National Palace Museum Grand Formosa Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Formosa International Hotels Group, took on the task of building and operating the Silk Palace. After two-and-a-half years and an investment of NT$400 million, the palace was completed. The Silk Palace opens its doors to the world in June, 2008. Situated on the west side of the museum’s main exhibition building, it houses two basement levels and three levels above ground. At its core is a fine-dining area of international caliber, totalling 1,455 ping (1 ping = 36 sq. ft.) in size. The exterior design is the exquisite work of celebrated Taiwan architectural master Yao Ren-xi , who has respected the physical environment in which the complex lives and paid homage to the defining character and traditions behind the priceless cultural masterpieces on display in the museum. Great curtains of glass have been incorporated into the four walls to maximize the feeling of grand expanse and breadth of vision. The interior has been the beneficiary of the talents of the recognized interior-design, Hashimoto Yukio. In the grand lobby vestibule, the screens between dining tables, and on the walls the visitor can revel in the visual images evoking the cracked-ice effect of Song Dynasty era celadon ware. In addition, the ritual vessels and musical instruments used in ancient sacrificial rites are alluringly and imaginatively used here to both decorate columns and act as lamps and lanterns. The greatest paintings from the museum's superb collection are melded into the dining experience either via collages or in grand wall murals, adding that much more sophistication to the upscale experience.

The Silk Palace has a capacity of 1,200 diners. Your dining experience can range from just NT$50 to a sumptuous NT$5,000. Beyond the central kitchen on the first basement level, each floor offers a distinctive culinary experience and a distinctive theme. On the second basement-level concourse you can explore the world of traditional Taiwanese food and drink. On the first and second above-ground levels classic Chinese dishes can be enjoyed, the concentration on fine Cantonese fare but with many selections from the other famous Chinese Eight Cuisines. The second floor has a distinctive design theme featuring private rooms, and the third features a multifunctional banquet hall that can be readily reconfigured, and specially selects the cream of Chinese culinary treasures for your refined delectation in a formal banquet setting.

Information

Silk Palace, National Palace Museum Tel: (02) 2882-9393 Address: 221, Sec. 2, Zhishan Rd., Shilin District Hours: 11:30 am-2:00 pm, 5:00 pm-9:30 pm

From the gastronomic themes to the clever themes chosen for all dining ware, all are a complementary synthesis with the museum's cultural relics, wonderfully delivering the unmatched historical culture of the Chinese culinary arts to your palate for tasteful enlightenment. What better dining experience might one give oneself than gazing upon the National Palace Museum on the one hand, recognized as one of the world's five greatest museums, and gazing out over the invigorating green mountain vistas of the Waishuangxi environment? This facility, designed by grand masters and sitting amongst grand natural and manmade masterpieces, is simply the newest addition to a vast treasure vault of dining locales that has made Taipei perhaps the greatest destination on the planet for culinary travel. Establishing a new fashion trend, it is Taipei’s first international-caliber dining facility in a tourist cultural site.