i. Biography
Bitter Melon, Salted Duck Egg, Grains reworks a Taiwanese staple: Salted Duck Egg and Bitter Melon congee. At Raw (Taipei), Alain Huang treats that home-cooking reference with control rather than nostalgia. The dish stays legible as comfort food, but the execution pushes it into a sharper register, where familiarity is handled as material for refinement.
The Path
A period as chef at RAW in Taipei placed Alain Huang inside one of the city’s most closely watched kitchens. The work there sharpened his approach through pace, discipline, and precision, and gave shape to a voice built under pressure. Since 2023, that experience has carried into his role as chef of Restaurant A, Taipei, marking a move that reads as continuity in craft rather than a reset.
The Work Today
The Shellfish, Oxtail Soup, Chia Seed brings together gooseneck barnacles from Penghu and the west coast with Chinese angelica Oxtail Soup. At Raw (Taipei), Alain Huang uses that pairing to build contrast: marine and meaty, braced and rich, tight and expansive. The naming is plain, and the structure follows suit, with each element kept distinct enough to register on its own while still working as a single composition.
Signature
Alain's signature dishes include Bitter Melon, Salted Duck Egg, Grains and The Shellfish, Oxtail Soup, and Chia Seed. Read together, they point to a style anchored in Taiwanese reference points and carried by restraint. One dish turns a congee template into a controlled exercise in memory and form; the other builds from shellfish and broth into a measured study of contrast. Both show a kitchen that values balance, structure, and clarity over effect.
Acclaim
The public record around Huang is built less on accolades than on named dishes. Bitter Melon, Salted Duck Egg, Grains and The Shellfish, Oxtail Soup, Chia Seed are the clearest markers of his work and the terms by which it is discussed. In that sense, the dishes themselves do the reporting: they show authorship through composition, and they give shape to how Alain Huang is read in the trade.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Alain
What is Alain Huang's current role?
As of 2026, Alain Huang is Bitter Melon, Salted Duck Egg, Grains.
Where did Alain Huang work before?
Alain Huang's earlier career included RAW.
