WOK by obond

Had a wonderful evening dining at WOK by OBOND, a Michelin one-star restaurant in Taipei. Both the food and the ambiance were absolutely delightful. This season’s Episode 6 tasting menu truly showcased the chef’s deep appreciation for Taiwanese cuisine — reinterpreting traditional flavors with creativity and precision. From the very first course, a series of cold appetizers inspired by classic banquet dishes, you could feel the progression of flavors — from sweet, sour, bitter to spicy — beautifully telling the story of Taiwan’s culinary heritage. One dish even incorporated betel nut, something rarely seen in fine dining, and it turned out to be surprisingly refreshing and unique! My favorite dishes of the night were the garlic snail soup and the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The broth was incredibly rich, and in the final stage, the chef added rice to the reduced soup — creating a comforting, flavorful porridge that felt like the perfect finale to the savory courses. Even the desserts were full of thought and technique — reimagining traditional Taiwanese pastries such as pineapple cake with modern, refined presentation and balanced sweetness. Overall, I was deeply impressed by WOK by OBOND. It’s not just a meal, but a beautifully curated experience that celebrates Taiwan’s local ingredients and culinary stories. I’ll definitely be back for the next season’s menu — and my foreign friends who joined me this time absolutely loved it too. It’s such a meaningful way to introduce them to Taiwan’s traditional cuisine in a completely new light.

I debated for a while whether to write this review because I know taste is very personal, and dining experiences can be so subjective. But I feel it’s only fair to share my honest thoughts to help others who might be considering a visit. We had really high hopes because getting a reservation wasn’t easy, and we were excited for what was supposed to be one of the highlights of our trip to Taiwan. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to our expectations. There were four of us, and we all agreed that the only thing we truly enjoyed was the tea-infused ice cream that came with one of the desserts. Everything else was either way too salty or just confusing, especially the soup dish. It had so many different flavors going on, but none of them seemed to complement one another, if that makes sense. Equally disappointing was the service. Unlike most fine dining establishments, utensils were not replaced between courses, despite the nature of the dishes clearly warranting it. When we requested fresh utensils, the staff obliged but failed to clear the crumbs from the table, which further detracted from the experience. What surprised us most was how strict they were with all the booking rules and policies, yet the actual food and service didn’t reflect the same level of care. While the concept and creativity behind the menu were commendable, the execution, both in terms of culinary delivery and service, left much to be desired.

The meal started off on a strong note but was derailed with poor pacing from dish to dish. We spent long periods of time waiting between dishes, at some point spent 45 minutes confused with no dishes on the table. Really wish the food could shine as it did feature some unique, innovative techniques with traditional Chinese flavors and ingredients. Some dishes were misses — with some extremely bitter components in the dessert and mains. Overall, the food could have shined. But can’t overlook how poorly the dinner service was executed.

Chinese cuisine is not really my favorite one, but I believed a Michelin restaurant was a good time to change my mind. What can I say, it was the best dinner I had in my life, food and service wise. In this "episode ?", everything from appetizers to desserts was a climax for my mouth. It will be a fixed appointment for the next time I come to Taipei, and I suggest to everyone, from locals to tourists to try to get a spot in this restaurant at least once! For what you get, the price is incredible! A very thank you both to the room service and to the chefs. (The small suggestion to the staff is to lower the volume of the ambient music, in some tracks it was too noisy)

Great dinner, new flavors to discover and lots of creativity for the food and the cocktails which you can pair with the 13-course menu. Having said that, some of the dishes use ingredients I am not so keen on like the beef tongue used for the San-Bei (too much on the chewy side) or the Ginko nuts on the side of the BeefBeefBeef. And dishes come too quickly one after the other. Excellent service, very enthusiastic.

Super fun concept with this delicious and creative meal. Love that they used a sense of familiarity of dishes you would often come across and reinvented them in a new way. Only comment is the restaurant is a bit too dark.

We had a 13-course dinner at this nondescript restaurant in Taipei . While the food was delightful and interesting, what made it most memorable was their excellent service. Seeing that my friend was going to a nearby pharmacy to find an inhaler for my sudden asthma attack, the restaurant staff offered to go instead. We discovered later that the restaurant staff had quietly called over 10 pharmacies to find Ventolin as he felt it was safer for me to use the exact same brand. What was more unexpected was that he even refused to let me pay for it. He explained that it’s something that they wanted to do for us since we had come all the way from overseas to try their food. Now that’s what I call Service With A Heart ❤️. Thank you Tom from Obond for going the extra mile!

We really enjoyed Wok by O'Bond. Food was outstanding, the menu evolved around the concept of braised foods. Our waiter was really knowledgable and explained the dishes pefectly. Every dish incorporated braising in some way and inspiration for each dish came from a specific Chinese or Taiwanese region. A couple of dishes were heavy on the spices (eel and yam bean), maybe a bit too heavy flavors for us. Highligts were the mackerel bite, hokkaido scallop and the quail and goose dishes. Cocktail pairing was fun, but we would have preferred a wine pairing (not possible only sold by the bottle). Take a Co2 cocktail to start your evening, those were delicious. Cool design and atmosphere in the restaurant, music might be a little bit too loud as you must focus when the waiter is explaining everything. But did not bother us when talking to eachother. Waiter let me taste their home made szechuan infused rum and rum/coke on the house at the end, which was a nice gesture. All in all, we had a wonderful evening!