Steven C.
Google
I really wanted to enjoy my experience at HOSU, but unfortunately it was a bit of a letdown for me.
I want to start off by saying that HOSU stuck true to its themes and represented Taiwanese cuisine accurately, and the concept (introduced by the chef as inspired by "Taiwanese banquet cuisine") was clear and easily understandable... perhaps too understandable? I think ultimately why I left the meal unsatisfied was because the flavors of the dishes tasted exactly like what you would find in a regular Taiwanese banquet joint. There was creativity in concept, plating, and execution with some of the dishes, but the overall flavor profile just was either too similar to regular Taiwanese dishes or just simply not flattering for me. To be honest, I don't think there was any dish that truly stood out to me :(
In terms of atmosphere, I was seated at a barstool that gave full view of the kitchen, but it wasn't the most comfortable experience in that regard as well. The restaurant also felt slightly claustrophobic with the crowded and maze-like interior. The stool was uncomfortable and made seating for a prolonged period of time unpleasant. It was nice looking at the cooking process, but the mise en place area was way too close to me (The chefs were literally preparing my food closer to me than at a Japanese omakase), and it also made service awkward since waiters had to enter the kitchen to help serve me. As a result, my teacup was often left empty. The pacing of the dishes though were pretty great, and I never felt like I was waiting too long for any dish to be served.
Here is a breakdown of the dishes for tonight:
1. Amuse bouche: This was probably my favorite dish of the night and I love the concept of the diversity of Taiwanese cultures. However, the flavor was just alright.
2. Cold Dish: An aboriginal inspired sashimi dish. The tenas was almost tasteless and the entire dish just lacked flavor for me.
The other cold dish with the octopus was also on the blander side for me, and it just did not taste elevated even though the plating was really pretty.
3. Hot Dish: The eel and sour soup tasted pretty nice, however the eel was really hard to cut with the dull knife provided and the sour soup just tasted like any other sweet and sour soup you could find.
The other hot dish was a chicken wing and an abalone terrine. The chicken wing was on the tougher side and also could not be cut with the dull knife, though the taste was decent.
4. Main Dish 1: The roasted pork tasted quite delicious, but the skin was just a tad bit too chewy for me. This pork also came with a fun rice sampler, but the rice didn't come until I finished my pork, so I was left in an awkward situation where they served me the rice telling me that it's for the pork, but my plate was already finished. I did not like that.
5. Main Dish 2: Literally just a small piece of steamed fish that tasted like those whole fish dishes you would find at any Taiwanese banquet establishment, except on the blander side.
6. Dessert 1: A traditional Taiwanese ice cream dish. It was nice, but it tasted plain.
7. Dessert 2: The peanut butter, cream and granola dessert tasted pretty nice as well.
8. Petit four: The petit four here was pretty unique, but it really left a (literal) bitter note to the end of the meal. The last bite was a grape juice + grape jelly concoction that contained a grilled grape that tasted completely burnt and unpleasant. I really did not like this one.
All in all, I do not think HOSU has elevated Taiwanese cuisine, but provided a watered down version of what already commonly exists. If I wanted regular banquet food, I didn't have to come here to get it. I'm sure the chef has spent a lot of time and effort to come up with this concept, but unfortunately it just did not work for me.
I want to end by highlighting my favorite part of this experience, which was the Sommelier. She was friendly and lovely and was perhaps one of the only people working there that was consistently warm and smiling during service. She also gave me extra wine to try out!
