When you think of a Michelin-star restaurant, your mind might go to omakase or painstakingly crafted farm-to-table plates. While dessert is often a memorable part of a high-end meal, a whole tasting menu around ice cream is probably not what you'd expect. Yet Minimal, an ice cream and dessert establishment in Taichung, Taiwan, has proved that focusing solely on ice cream is enough to earn a star.

In 2024, Minimal became the first ice cream shop in the world to receive a Michelin star. The founder of the shop, chef Arwin Wan, was previously the pastry chef at another Michelin-starred restaurant in the same city, called Sur. According to the Michelin Guide, the only requirement for a restaurant to receive a star is to have "outstanding cooking" — factors like atmosphere, service, or being a high-end establishment aren't considered. Michelin inspectors look for ingredient quality, flavor harmony, consistency, and culinary techniques, and Minimal achieves this through its use of ingredients unique to Taiwan and creative use of texture and flavor combinations.

What attracted Michelin inspectors to Minimal was its creative tasting menu that serves ice cream in surprising styles. Far from just a basic scoop of the best ice cream flavors, they sampled plates like a yuzu moroheiya frozen lollipop that melted in the mouth, an osmanthus, rum, and longan gelato with freshly baked brioche, and nitrogen-frozen red plum flesh.

What to expect when eating at Minimal in Taiwan

If you wanted to try the ice cream tasting menu that wowed the Michelin inspectors in 2024, unfortunately, it was phased out a few months after receiving the star. Minimal has completely shifted to serving scoops of ice cream for takeaway. Flavors change often, but expect to find combos like olive oil, oolong tea, and magnolia leaf, or miso, almond, and soybean – you might never be able to eat generic ice cream again.

Customers who have visited the shop report on Reddit debated the shop deserving the star and expressed a dislike of the new business model of to-go only. One user wrote, "Probably the best ice cream I've had. Perfect texture, super creamy but not too thick, and the flavors were very distinct." However, their only complaint was the ice cream melted almost immediately after stepping outside into the humidity. Another user felt the same, agreeing, "It was amazing ice cream with excellent texture and flavor," but waiting in Taichung summer heat made the experience not worth it.

If you are able to go, it can be tricky to avoid hotter hours and busy periods, as the shop is open Friday through Monday from 1 p.m. until everything is sold out, so Monday could be your best shot for avoiding an hour-long wait. Once you have your scoop of high-quality ice cream, one Reddit user recommended finding the nearby park and sitting in the shade to enjoy it.