NOBUO by Nobu Lee (Taipei, TAIWAN) ★★★★☆

My life as a solo traveler is officially back in 2024! Since pulling the trigger for my ticket to Taipei last month, I have slowly filled up my itinerary with restaurants and cafés. And today is the day. I woke up early for my super early flight. Life is good, right? Things were rosy up until I heard the airline's PA announcement at the airport. "Mechanical problem with the aircraft". 😡

Luckily, I still managed to beat the odds and arrived at my first destination just ahead of my schedule. It was tight but the guy upstairs once again had my back. 

My first official stop (after a few mini stops) in Taipei is NOBUO, a relatively new addition to the city's vibrant dining scene. There was a strong reason why I made NOBUO my first destination – the person inside the kitchen. Ower-chef Nobu Lee (李信男), formerly of Orchid Restaurant (蘭餐廳), is the heart and soul of NOBUO. His culinary style combines elements of contemporary cuisine with a fusion of French fine-dining techniques, while drawing inspiration from Taiwanese ingredients.

Mushroom biscuit, Oolong tea – Lunch started off brightly with an amuse bouche of two small nibbles. The first, a shiitake mushroom biscuit, with fillings of shiitake ketchup, fermented shiitake and glazed Elingi mushroom, was finished off nicely with a cep dust.

The second part of the duo featured a Taiwanese Oolong tea from Nantou (南投), slowly roasted with longan wood for 40+ hours and brewed with pressure cooked shiitake consommé. It was very flavorful with deep and intense flavors.

Caviar, sesame – A further amuse bouche came with sturgeon caviar locally sourced from Yilan (宜蘭) served on a small bed of sesame cream.

Smoked kingfish, kohlrabi – Following the parade of small bites, here comes my first starter of the tasting menu. Cured kingfish ribbons from Yilan (宜蘭) smoked with oakwood were matched up with fermented turnip, kohlrabi and (pickled?) pear juice. The lovely acidity with a touch of smokiness worked very well with the fish.

Gillardeau oyster, cabbage – The chilled Gillardeau oyster was next.

Underneath the charcoal grilled cabbage were small pieces of the Gillardeau oysters drizzled with oyster emulsion. It was paired with a greenish buttermilk sauce which has been flavored with wasabi from Alishan (阿里山) and dill. The herby grassy note of the sauce was quite an interesting match for the briny flavors.

Hokkaido scallop – The pillow-soft, shell-shaped scallop "pudding" was made with scallop mousse, egg white and cream but the star here was the umami-rich dashi made from dried scallops and buttermilk.

Just before my fish course, I was presented with a tiny buckwheat bread with a delicate olive oil espuma on the side.

Sawara, buckwheat, celtuce – Sawara fish from Wang'an Island (望安島), a small island on western Taiwan was charcoal grilled on the side with the centre deliberately untouched.

The bed of homemade pesto made with buckwheat, herbs and tomato oil superbly delivered a powerful finish on the mildly flavored fish fillet. I definitely enjoyed this more than my meat course.

Australian wagyu onglet, onion, radicchio – I must admit that hanger steak isn't always my cup of tea and I don't come across them very often. There was definitely that added chewiness one would expect from this cut of meat, and the extra flavors were there. But I thought the savory-sweet (and sour) sauce didn't mesh too well with the wagyu and I didn't really get some of the ingredients there.

I was expecting dessert but my server came up to me with a secret dish not listed on the menu. I was told this is called "Lee's Curry (李氏咖哩)", a Japanese curry and rice pairing that Chef Lee has dedicated to a very good friend of his who had passed away.

Strawberry – The first dessert of the afternoon was fresh strawberries showered with olive oil and topped with strawberry sorbet, pepper and crushed pistachio.

Chocolate – A variety of chocolate textures (cake, ice-cream, tuile and of course, the hot ganache) was served with a hot bath of spiced chocolate ganache. There were some caramelized marshmallow in the mix as well.

Some mignardises and a cup of Taiwanese tea while I ponder my next move following lunch.

This mini cherry chocolate tart is so cute!

I love the idea of having a tasting menu built around Taiwanese ingredients and I thought it was executed close to perfection. On the service front, it was spotless from start to finish. The pacing in particular was carried out in an exemplary manner for a solo diner (which is always tricky). Other than the beef onglet (a slice from the thick middle part would have been a lot nicer) and two desserts, this would have been a near-perfect experience. 

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 1, 8-1 Tai'an Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan

Closest Metro Station: Zhongxiao Xinsheng

Website: www.instagram.com/bixsociete/?hl=en

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm (Thu - Sun), 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Wed - Sun)