EVA Air Taipei

EVA Air VIP Lounge Taipei Taoyuan Airport TPE – Review

Review of EVA The Star VIP Lounge features an extensive buffet counter complete with international cuisines.

EVA Air operates an impressive quartet of four VIP lounges at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) – The Garden, Infinity, Star, and Club. Each of these facilities has its own unique décor and thematic atmosphere and serves a specific subset of the airlines’ customers (more on that later.) For example, The Garden features a green theme with lush foliage spread throughout the space and caters to the airline’s highest tier of frequent flyers. This particular review focuses on The Star which highlights a bright and airy space illuminated by a starry-sky theme punctuated by shades of blue lighting.

Updated September 27, 2024, with more food and more yummy-looking pictures.

Table of Contents

Location

Passengers are ascending and descending on a pair of escalators at an airport terminal.

All of EVA’s flights depart from Terminal 2 in TPE and the airlines’ lounges are located on the fourth floor. After clearing security and passport controls, follows signs to either Gates A1 – A9 or B1 – B9 and take the escalator upstairs. Both sets of escalators lead to the same space, so it really doesn’t matter whether you turn to the A gates or B gates.

Access

A vertical banner sign directs passengers based on their status to the appropriate clubs to their left or right.

As mentioned earlier, there are four EVA VIP lounges at Taipei Airport and the eligibility to access each facility is summarized briefly (and probably incompletely) below.

A trendy looking space under an airport terminal's glass ceiling has yellow lighted signs identifying it as The Garden.

The Garden, the poshest of the four, is exclusive to Diamond members of the airlines’ frequent flyer program.

The entrance to an airline lounge is adorned with futuristic looking blue color glass doors that leads to a counter with agents.

Both the Infinity and the Star share the same main entrance. After the agent has checked your credentials, he or she will direct you to the appropriate facilities.

The Infinity is reserved for First Class and Business Class passengers of EVA Air and its Star Alliance Partners.

The Star is for MileageLands Gold as well as Star Alliance Gold members travelling in any class of service.

As of this writing, the hours of both facilities are from 04:30 to 23:30 daily.

An elegant sign of "The Club EVA Air Lounge" is written in white letterings on a black marble surface.

The Club, which is located at the other end of the floor, welcomes the airlines’ Silver frequent flyers traveling on EVA or UNI as well as Star Alliance Gold members traveling on any of its partners’ flights.

Please refer to the airlines’ official website for complete admission policies.

Seating

The entrance leads to a long and elegant hallway adorned with shelves of antiques and some delicate and precious looking porcelain pottery. To the right are two spacious seating areas with sofas facing a large screen TV.

These sofas are soft and very comfortable. Some of them have a small coffee table next to them. However, I did not see any charging outlets in this area.

A bright and airy dining room is set up with round dining tables paired with leather lounge chairs.

Near the end of the hallway and to its left is an area set up with round dining tables which are mostly two tops.  This space has a very cozy and casual café or bistro vibes and is where my wife and I like to hangout.

A large white communal table with charging outlets is accompanied by stylish highchairs.

If you need to get some work done, there are several large communal high-top tables equipped with charging outlets in various areas of the lounge. These are some very comfortable and spacious workspaces which have plenty of space for a laptop accompanied by food and drinks.

A long white work bench facing a wall is accompanied by trendy looking highchairs.

If you want to avoid distractions, there are also some work benches that are lined against a wall. You can almost always find a space there as these are often the last places to fill up when the club gets crowded.

Another few sets of high tops line the windows which overlook the check-in counters on the third floor below. These are the only window seats in this EVA Air Lounge in Taipei Airport.

A rest area is equipped with four large leather recliner chairs.

If you want to take a nap, there is actually a rest area with large leather recliners with footrests. These are very comfortable, and you can really sleep soundly there. Just don’t forget to set an alarm so you won’t miss your flight!

TIP: You can ask the agent at the front desk for a blanket if you need one.

Breakfast Menu

An elegant buffet counter with bright green color graphic has many chaffing dishes and utensils placed on it.

The center piece of the dining area at this particular EVA VIP Lounge was a grand, stylish, and elegant buffet counter that features the airlines’ “evergreen” theme. In case you don’t know, EVA originally stands for Evergreen Airways, a term that is no longer used nowadays.

A pair of chaffing dishes are set up on a counter with turnip cakes to the left and bacon to the right.

Breakfast on the day I was there was a medley of Chinese and Western cuisines. You can see a tray of bacon sitting right next to pan-fried turnip cakes (lo bak go) above. Asian bacons were pan fried just like ham, so the texture was soft, and not crispy. The turnip cakes were delicious, and they were very popular. Every time the staff brought out a fresh tray, it was quickly emptied before I got a chance to snap a picture. So, my apologies that I could not provide a better picture here.

A chaffing dish filed with scrambled eggs is accompanied by a few slices of French toast to its right.

Above are the usual staples of scrambled eggs and French toast. The eggs were soft and slippery – an Asian term referring to the texture of the egg.

Two chaffing dishes are placed side by side, one with mixed sauteed vegetable and the other with grilled ham.

Thick slabs of grilled ham were accompanied by a tray of mixed vegetables. The veggies of the day were zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots. What a great combination!

A breakfast plate that contains eggs, ham, vegetables and bread is placed on a tray with silverware.

Above is one of my breakfast plates. One thing that I really like – and I think US based airlines should copy – is that they give you trays to carry your food, and also provide wet sanitizing hand wipes in addition to napkins.

A bamboo steamer is filled with buns that appear to have been steamed.

You have to try the pork buns if you haven’t already. These are special in the way they are cooked – they are pan-fried first and then steamed – which gives them a crusty bottom but a moist and soft body of the bao.

A plate contains a bowl of congee with toppings together with a steamed bun and a piece of yam.

Congee is a staple of Chinese breakfast, and it was served with plenty of toppings. Above is my bowl of congee accompanied by a baked yam and a pork bun.

Placed on a counter are six bowls each containing some type of radishes and a long tray of halved hard-boiled eggs.

Toppings for the congee include all the Taiwanese staples such as salted duck egg, pork sung, radishes, etc.

A silver tray contains a large plate of noodles accompanied by a cream sauce and garnishes.

A more recent (September 2024) addition to the EVA Lounge breakfast rotation is a dish of cold noodles with sesame sauce garnished with shredded carrots and cucumber.

Lunch and All-Day Menu

A salad bar with bowls of vegetables such as lettuce, corn, carrots, etc. placed on ice.

Usually, lunch entrées are served around 11am, replacing some of the breakfast items. However, many items served during breakfast, such as the salad bar, remain available throughout the day. The salad bar was nothing fancy but carried all the essential staples. The Asian sesame dressing was delicious!

A bowl of vegetable broth contains chunks of turnips.

When I was there for lunch on a recent visit, soup of the day was a Chinese vegetarian specialty – turnip and eryngii mushroom (aka king oyster mushroom) soup with sesame oil. It was delicious and refreshing.

A pair of chaffing dishes contain vermicelli on the left and mixed vegetables with cabbage and carrots on the right. The.

The other two vegetarian entrées were pan-fried vermicelli with veggies and white cabbage sautéed with carrots and sliced shitake mushrooms.

A tray contains rows of small fried meat patties.

For the meat lovers, there were pan-fried pork patties, which looked somewhat like flattened meatballs.

A large bowl contains sliced beef and onions served in a broth.

A Japanese rendition of Wagyu beef with onions was served with steamed rice.

The chaffing dish on the left contains zucchinis, squash, and carrots while the one on the right contains spaghetti in a red sauce with sliced sausages.

The Western dish on the lunch menu today was spaghetti with sliced chorizo in tomato sauce. A fresh tray of sautéed zucchinis, squash, and carrots complemented the pasta.

A pair of chaffing dishes contains cauliflower on the left and meatballs in a red sauce in the right.

On my most recent visit in September 2024 I was delighted to find some very delicious Italians meatballs in tomato sauce paired with stewed cauliflower. The sauce was rich and tasty, and I soaked it up with some bread. I was a little surprised that they didn’t serve the meatballs with pasta.

Desserts

A pot of clear broth with a few red dates floating on its surface.

If you have never tried an Asian dessert soup, here is your chance. It is a type of desserts almost exclusive to Asian cuisines that comes in the form of a delicate sweet broth. The specialty of the day was a blend of red date, sundried longan, and snow fungus.

A refrigerated compartment with a glass door on top contains four different flavors of ice cream.

Ice cream lovers will enjoy the four flavors of Mövenpick from Switzerland. Selections of sliced cakes and other sweets are also available in another refrigerated compartment.

Beverages

A large refrigerator with double glass doors has a total of 8 shelves carrying a wide variety of soft drinks, juices, and beers.

All drinks – including alcoholic beverages – at the EVA lounge in Taipei are self-served. The main source of your cold drinks is a huge refrigerator by the wall right by the buffet counter. A good variety of soft drinks, juice, Asian teas, as well as beers are available. I always love to check out the local beer in every country that I visit, so I am glad they have their iconic Taiwan beer there.

A sophisticated looking espresso machines has two containers of coffee beans on its top.

Coffee lovers will probably appreciate the fancy espresso machine there, that apparently grinds the beans the moment you make your drink to preserve the richest and freshest flavors.

A stainless-steel hot water machine has a digital display and buttons with instructions.

Hot water is dispensed in a special machine. You need to pay attention to the instructions there and unlock the machine first, then press and hold the dispense button. Be careful that the water is very very hot – in most of Asia it is customary to brew their tea using boiling water to bring out the flavor and aroma of the tea leaves.

Other beverages in self-served dispensers include lemon-infused water, iced milk tea – a Taiwanese favorite, and a selection of chilled juices. The day I was there for breakfast, they were serving fresh orange and passionfruit juices.

Two rows of bottles of liquors are displayed on a counter. Two bottles of wines are in an ice bucket.

Last but not the least, there are good selections of adult beverages. Mixers, such as soda, tonic, etc. are in the same fridge where all the soft drinks and beers are stored.

During my two recent visits, the selection of wines was:

  • Chateau des Annereaux Lalande-de-Pomerol (a very good Bordeaux)
  • Masseria Surani Primitovo (similar to Zinfandel)
  • Cuvée Dissenay Chardonnay
  • J. Bäumer Rheingau Riesling

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed my recent visits to the EVA Air VIP Lounge at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. I found the space thoughtfully designed with a thematic character subtly reflected in its décor. It exuded a sense of sophistication and casual elegance but was not overly opulent. This made the atmosphere more relaxed and welcoming. The extensive buffet of international cuisines was adequate and also diverse enough to satisfy different dietary requirements. I thought the chefs there did a great job with some of the dishes, and I particularly liked the pork bun, among a few other things. Service has been almost impeccable, and truly exemplified the spirit of Asian hospitality.

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