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Articles
Mofusan: the Spirit of Taste and Surprise
A guest, who has since become a friend, offered to write a piece about the experience at Mofusan. Enjoy. Mofusan: the spirit of taste and surprise There are restaurants where you go to have dinner. And then there are those where you go to live an experience. At Mofusan, the experience begins…
On the Place of Coffee in a Restaurant
The French are among the world's biggest coffee drinkers. In a restaurant, coffee may look like an optional afterthought, a matter of tradition at the end of a menu, yet it matters a great deal, because it brings the whole meal to a close. Coming as it generally does after a dessert or something…
A Short Culinary Portrait
A culinary portrait It is with undisguised pleasure that I play along with this little questionnaire. Your madeleine de Proust: xiaolongbao (Chinese steamed soup dumplings), and praline. A fruit – rambutan, and durian A bottle – huangjiu ("yellow wine"), made by hand in the old way and served warm…
On Cultivating Small Pleasures
Every one of us has known those small moments of pleasure, moments out of time, when the senses are open and the mind ready to be moved. Small gestures, small things that seem trivial, which each of us makes our own and turns into a kind of emotional refuge. Very often they are pleasures of taste…
The No-Show Plague
The "no-show" — the booking that is never honoured — is a scourge affecting every establishment. It stems from inconsiderate guests who either pay no real attention to the place they have booked (the lesser evil), or never receive a confirmation (do check your spam folder, and if nothing arrives…
On the Place of Tea at Mofusan
Tea has always held a central place in my heart; ever since I discovered Asian cultures as a teenager, I have learned to find my way around this drink, as versatile as it is varied. Through my stays in mainland China and Taiwan, I had the chance to taste exceptional teas, to meet growers and to…
On Tasting Without Preconceptions
Tasting "blind" is a guiding principle at Mofusan. In truth, it is rather a matter of tasting without preconceptions; every sense is preserved, sight included, but guests are left to eat the dish in whatever order and manner suits them. We leave you free to taste as you wish (barring the occasional…
On Creativity in the Kitchen
I'm asked the question very often: "where do you find all these ideas?" Cooking, in its execution, rests on a principle. A principle of creation through the transformation of raw produce, with the aim of elevating it by bringing together complementary flavours. At our disposal we have any number of…
