De nuit (Taipei, TAIWAN) ★★★★☆

I am going back to De nuit for tonight’s dinner and hoping to bump into one of my favorite chefs in Taipei — Hong Kong-born Executive Chef Kei Koo (古俊基), who refined his skills under Chef Maxime Gilbert at Amber and Écriture.

The intimate French fine-dining restaurant was a full house on a Friday night. With Chef Koo’s exquisite French cuisine, I bet there won’t be many empty tables on most nights.

I didn't have to wait very long to see Chef Koo in action. He recognized me immediately and graciously stopped by to share details about tonight's tasting menu.

Dinner started off brightly with the only amuse bouche tonight, a deep-fried potato ball filled with parmesan cheese, topped nicely with French black truffle. Nice, fluffy and packed with flavors.

Oyster, plankton, fennel – The first starter of the night was Normandie Oyster ice-cream with fennel cream and dabs of plankton that mimicked the tastes of seawater and seaweed.

With the dim lights, I mistakenly thought it was a real oyster for a moment but that turned out to be just a scoop of oyster-shaped ice-cream. I loved its temperature and the fresh, clean flavors. I remembered having something similar a few years ago at different French restaurants so it’s nothing new but this was a refreshing déjà vu.

Salmon, passion fruit, gooseberry – Next up, lightly cooked New Zealand king salmon, paired with a vibrant sauce of passion fruit and gooseberry (燈籠果), elegantly topped with salmon roes and edible flowers. An incredibly appetizing (醒胃) starter.

Two types of housemade bread, a sourdough and a flaky danish were served up at this point. 

To match the bread, we have two types of butter too, a traditional French one made in France and a homemade one infused with seaweed.

Crab, Jerusalem artichoke, clam – An elegantly plated dish featured Japanese snow crab (松葉蟹) served in umami-rich dashi, combined with variations of Jerusalem artichoke, including espuma and crispy chips, all finished with Kristal caviar atop. 

This dish offered a wow factor, pleasing both for the eyes and the palate.

As instructed, I scooped up a spoonful of crab meat, dashi, and artichoke variations, ensuring a perfect balance of flavors.

Porcini, foie gras, kombu – Foie gras was served in a fish and kombu consommé, topped with delicate shavings of porcini artfully arranged like a flower. 

I would love the foie gras to stand out a little more but the depth of the broth was truly remarkable.

Pompret, girolles mushroom, mussel – Local pomfret (馬友) superbly pan-fried and paired with mussels and girolles mushrooms. A mysterious greenish sauce (forgot to jot down the actual ingredients) added herbal notes to the dish.

Pithivier, quail, morel, vin jaune – Chef Koo was back in center stage serving up the next dish tableside. It's his signature pithivier. 

Chef Koo told me to first start with the quail leg which was stuffed with morel mushrooms and chopped into small pieces like our Chinese preserved sausages. These came with very nice smoky flavors.

The star, however, was the pithivier itself, perfectly filled with quail breast, parsley, and finely diced morels. The pie was accompanied by three condiments — parsley purée, quail jus, and vin jaune sauce. Just love the minimal seasoning here allowing the ingredients to shine brilliantly.

Lobster, ginger, tarragon – My main course was charcoal-grilled Boston lobster topped with ginger-pickled beetroot and lardo, served in a rich bisque made from lobster coral, lobster oil (Chef Koo's secret recipe), sea urchin, and tarragon oil. 

There were crispy kale and pickled onion served on the side to add contrasting texture and flavor to the lobster which was perfectly mi-cuit.

Like many of Chef Koo's brilliant offerings, there were two dishes within a dish. The second serving of the lobster was a delicious dumpling of lobster and pork meat flavored with lobster oil, crowned with tarragon mayo and a buckwheat wafer.

The lovely smokiness in the dumpling tied everything up beautifully. Very tasty.

While I waited for pre-dessert, Chef Koo surprised me with an extra treat – an elegantly decorated French cream cheese, with fruit chutney and crispy pastry hidden underneath. I don't usually go for the cheese trolley as my dessert but this was a nice pre-dessert before the real pre-dessert. 

Pear, sake lees, ginger lily – Sake lees ice-cream with in-season pear (水梨), sake jelly, and ginger lily oil. A refreshing pre-dessert that served as a perfect palate cleanser.

Fig, cheese, komatsuna – The main dessert was one of my favorite dishes of the night, an artful creation featuring a ball of fig compote, cream cheese and fig cream. 

It was finished off with a sauce made with fig and Hibiscus (洛神花).

Light and airy, it was surprisingly packed with a mix of fresh, fruity notes. I didn't think I've had something like this before in my life. 

On the side, a scoop of komatsuna (小松菜) ice-cream was served with wasabi leaf on top, along with puff rice flavored with matcha. It was inspiration from Chef Koo's summer travels to Japan.

Our mignardises began with a melt-in-the-mouth bite filled with gooseberry juice.

It was followed by a mini persimmon tart with parmesan cheese and chocolate with hojicha. I told Chef Koo he's truly a master of persimmon, a consistent highlight in his offerings.

Once again, I was treated to a magnificent array of dishes, meticulously curated by Chef Koo and his team. Special thanks to him for taking care of me throughout the night. Despite being exceptionally busy and often seen flying around the dining room to ensure that guests were enjoying themselves, he still found time for his brief visits with me. 

I was thoroughly entertained tonight, as always at De nuit, and I truly look forward to my next journey with Chef Koo — hopefully sometime this year.

Food Rating: 7.7/10

Price: $$$

Address: No.175, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Da'an District, Taipei, Taiwan

Closest Metro Station: Xinyi Anhe

Tel: +886 2-2700-1958

Website: www.denuit.com.tw

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Fri - Sat), 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Tue - Sat)