It seems almost sacrilegious when the maître d’ politely urges me to take up my Christolfe spoon and studiously stir a portion of winter black truffle, lily bulb and broth jelly into my green bamboo salad—a dish that my eyes tell me truly is art. The magnificent result: an astonishingly balanced yet individual range of aromas and flavours; sweet, salty, bitter, sour. Each element, as I soon discover, is sparked through every dish.
Le Moût’s Grand Chef, Lanshu Chen, wants to tell us stories and share a variety of emotions and cultural memories. Drawing on the Taiwanese street food tradition, her training at Le Cordon Bleu, work with Chef Jean-François 
Piège in Paris and Chef Thomas Keller in California, Chef Chen has developed what she terms ‘cuisine de terroir’, a style of cooking inspired by the
Chinese word “jong”, which means “melting, fusing and harmonizing.”
The restaurant itself is an interesting mélange of rococo French, antique furniture, chandeliers, drapes and white tablecloths in
a modernistic building suffused with natural light. The tables in the second floor dining room are deliberately set well apart for privacy. Combined with discreet, soothing music, the ambiance is perfect for savouring fine food. The attentive, but approachable staff are pleasantly formal and knowledgeable.
A house-branded glass of chilled, crisply elegant 2008 Cuvée Le Moût Restaurant Blanc de Blancs keeps me company as I anticipate the arrival of my 10-dish tasting menu with wine pairings. Each dish that follows is as close to perfection as you can get.
My individual preferences, rather than any objective rankings, include the sumptuously rich and creamy veal sweetbreads with sweet corn, almond and vin jaune which add balance and depth. The wine pairing: a 2012 Les Belles Collines Russian River Chardonnay is buttery, rich and creamy to complement the richness without overpowering.
If anything comes close to a signature dish it’s pigeon, served today Yilan style with cured pork liver, chanterelles and lapsang souchong tea. Its roasted red-brown flesh is tender, moist with the crispy skin adding an umami touch. I hardly need one of the Fontenille-Pataud Gilles® knives that are offered. Although the menu wine pairing indicates a 2006 Barolo, I’m served a 2005 California Cabernet Sauvignon whose aged, dark fruit is an ideal choice.
An outstanding honeyed, floral, but fresh, 2008 Klein Constantia Vin De Constance accompanies the two dessert dishes. The crystal taro ball is another gastronomic piece of art: a fragile, transparent orb sparkling with violet, blueberry, coconut and green tea. By now I have overcome my reticence and smash it open to reveal its magical layers that ooze with flavour and textures.
Chef Lanshu Chen says she shares love and a passion for life: “I hope when guests taste my food they have the true pleasure of tasting and a sense of pure euphoria.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself…Euphoria comes no purer.
