Hiii there! 👋 Thanks for passing by and planning a visit, here are a few tips and tricks for you.
At this moment our dinner service is walk-in only. First come, first serve with a daily rotating menu. Your order will be taken at the counter. This is the time when we love to take the time to walk you through our menu of the day and the rules of the house. After having ordered, you’ll seat yourself in our dining room or charming outdoor patio.
From this point on, we set your table and bring in one dish at the time. We will introduce ingredients and social history of every dish placed on your table. We love when these introduction follows-up with a conversation about Taiwanese culinary landscape. This is really what we wake up every day excited to do. Food's power resides in its humanity, and this is also how your flavour journey with us starts.
Tips & Tricks
Walk-in only, first come first serve. Counter order, table service.
Please note, we currently do not take reservations* and highly recommend you to visit outside of peak hours (6:30-7:30 pm) if you would prefer a slower and more conversational service (plus chances are there won't be a line outside!)
You order at the counter first, then find a seat. Usually our table turnaround time is pretty quick (15-20 minutes), but it is possible that you encounter a wait-list. In this case, we humbly ask you to stay close-by so we can sit you as soon as possible. Our bar sitting is considered a sitting space and not a waiting area. We are working on a new waiting area space for the summer so you and your party member can enjoy a drink while waiting for a table to open for you. We'll keep you in touch on our development!
* Large party of 8 guests and more can be accommodated if capacity permits.
Daily rotating menu. Small batch made. Emphasis on seasonality.
Since becoming a restaurant we have been dreaming of expanding our menu and introduce you all to the delightful dishes that exists in Taiwan.
One simple and precious ingredient that is central to our cooking philosophy, and dear to our Taiwanese culinary legacy is: Time. The flavors we get out of taking our time prepping, cooking, fermenting, and pickling our dishes is what pushes us forward in constantly making no compromises on quality, adapting to environment and seasons, and follow old wisdoms into caring every day for every dishes we plate.
Taiwanese sensibility is all about the process and efforts to not be tempted by the quicker way. Every day Chef Tony Tung still goes to the market, conscientiously sourcing the ingredients, and thoughtfully making as much as we can from scratch (we won't lie — we sometimes dream of making our own soy sauce...!). We push ourselves to do better every day, we push our recipes to achieve unforgettable umami. And our aim is not only to serve you the flavors and a good meal, but the wholesome experience of being touched, being heart-warmed by food.
A word about dumplings
A lot of people have asked us why we do not have dumplings every day anymore. The honest and simple answer is: because dumplings were our pop-up product, but now we have a restaurant — a full working kitchen that elevate our dreams in sharing with you all the intricacies of Taiwanese flavor profile.
Intentional hospitality
Talking about food's power resides in its humanity. When you walk-in into our restaurant, you will immediately notice that we have a unique way to approach dining hospitality.
Our decisions are guided by our intention to be true to ourselves. What we love about food is that it can makes us feel cared for. More than once in our lives we have felt seen, understood, and cared for by someone who has cooked for us. This is what we constantly keep in mind when designing your experience at our restaurant. It's the genuineness, the human warmth and desire to care.
We do not believe that servers and line-cooks should be hidden in plain sight. That dining rooms should be dark, that all guests should speak quietly, and that your surrounding tables should all remain strangers. Again, what we hope to emphasize the magical power of food. Its soul-healing warmth, its nostalgia, its ability to make whole when emptiness resides, and its ability to make friends where there were none. We do not want our restaurant to be a place that embodies anonymity. On the contrary, we want our restaurant to be a place of belonging, of community, and humanity. We will take the time to talk to you, get to know you and tell you the stories of the food of Taiwan and the people of Taiwan. We will try to remember your name, not for the business value, but for the human value. This is just the fantasy we set ourselves to realize every day. We are a community of like-minded people who care about eating, learning, and connecting.
We, as the staff of GTE, are all in agreement to make your dining experience one that is above and beyond one of being fed, but one of connection and care in our flamboyant way of being us, of doing hospitality.