Culinary Art

Even the canapés resemble small works of art: filigree cookie rolls filled with pumpkin puree, croustades of sweet corn in the shape of delicate seashells, round doughnuts, garnish of smoked eel. 

Station number 1: Germany 

Paderborn – an easterly drive of around one hour from Dortmund. This is where Thomas Bühner, who was born in 1962, grew up with his twin brother, and sister. His mother was a housewife, his father a clerk. Because he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life after school, Bühner underwent a career assessment at the Federal Employment Agency, which recommended he pursue a career in baking, cooking, or farming. “I want to be a chef – but a good one!” he told his parents. “And when I’m 30, I’m going to drive a Porsche!”

But things didn’t necessarily go as planned to begin with. During his training at a restaurant in Paderborn, his instructor slapped him across the face with a rubber spatula when he failed to get every last bit of snail butter out of the bowl. “Quit,” his parents told him, wanting to protect him. “No,” said Bühner, who wanted to prove himself to his boss instead. He performed so well that he was able to shorten his training period and was hired at a Hilton Hotel in Düsseldorf, which had three restaurants, including one with a Michelin Star. “Crazy,” he thought.

In the years that followed, Bühner worked with some of the best chefs in Germany – and eventually became one himself. He acquired his first Michelin Star in Dortmund in 1996, when he was 34 years old, and bought his first Porsche the year after. “A 911, generation 964, black, both inside and out.” Bühner earned his second Star in 1998. 

Eight years later, he went to “La Vie” in Osnabrück and transformed it into one of the best restaurants in the world, with three Michelin Stars continuously shining brightly above it as of 2011. But they ultimately fizzled out in 2018 when the steel company that financed the gourmet temple restructured its businesses and chose to give up the restaurant. This was the first time that Bühner was confronted with the realities of high-end dining. Star-studded cuisine is usually only profitable with the right sponsor as a partner.

“At first, I didn’t have a plan,” says Bühner. But then he made a decision. Rather than running the next restaurant right away, he decided to travel the world – as a guest chef and adviser for fine-dining projects.

Station number 2: Taiwan 

And that’s how he ended up in Taiwan in 2019. A five-star hotel in the southern part of the island had asked him to create a gourmet restaurant. Bühner, already a fan of Asia, agreed and had the opportunity to get to know Taiwan. He loved how friendly everyone was, the variety of products, and the topography of the island, whose tallest peak towers nearly 4,000 meters high, with more than 60 other mountains over 3,000 meters in height. “Taiwan is unbelievably green,” says Bühner enthusiastically. And there was something else that appealed to him here – a tangible feeling that told him to “just do it.”

It was this spirit in particular that brought him together with his current business partner Ray Wu, founder and CEO of the Suntek Motor Group, one of three Porsche trade partners in Taiwan. Wu and Bühner met at a business meeting and soon realized, “We have the same idea.” They both wanted to bring Taiwan’s best-known restaurant chain to Germany. So they got together and developed a concept.

However, the coronavirus pandemic ended up throwing a wrench in the works. It didn’t seem like the right moment for the restaurant chain to make a big leap. But then something else happened in the meantime. The two men got on like a house on fire. We ask them what they appreciate about each other. “Where others see problems, Ray sees opportunities,” says Bühner. “He’s an entrepreneur through and through, not to mention open-minded and brilliant.” Wu in turn says, “Thomas is more than just an amazing chef. He thinks like an artist.”

The two of them kept in touch – and then Wu sent Bühner an email in 2021. “Hey,” he wrote. “If we can’t bring the restaurant idea from Taiwan to Germany, why don’t we bring your restaurant idea to Taiwan instead?” Bühner gave it some thought and then responded, “Why not? Let’s talk!”

Station number 3: shared passions 

How this adventure together came about is better explained by a trip with the two men to the southern part of the island, where Ray Wu and his Suntek Motor Group not only operate a new Porsche Studio in Tainan, but also a racetrack.

“Even as a kid, I dreamed of working with Porsche,” says Ray Wu, a dynamic, 55-year-old man who loves to laugh. But this wasn’t a path he was born into either, having grown up in one of Taiwan’s poorest neighborhoods. But he had a goal: the automotive industry.

Suntek won the charity bid for this car at auction. It pays homage to the first Porsche sold in Taiwan, a 911 E in the year 1972, which at that time sported a Viper Green paint job, invoking the island’s wooded ridges. Bühner takes the 911 GT3 RS (992) – at home in Germany, he drives a GT3 Touring in Agate Grey Metallic. With the engines roaring, they bolt off and complete lap after lap, before returning with triumphant smiles on their faces. 

Yeung agreed. We ask the friendly, 37-year-old chef with experience at two- and three-Star restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau what inspires him when he’s cooking and developing his seasonal menus. Thinking for just a moment, he mentions wonderful products, vibes like hot summer days, and Taiwan’s night markets.

Station number 4: the night markets 

It’s just about impossible to understand the island unless you’ve visited a night market at least once. 

Station number 5: back to the restaurant

The half-open restaurant kitchen soon begins delivering one dish after another to the table, many of them almost too beautiful to touch. Take the oyster plate, with its island of algae jelly adorned with caviar and sea grapes, floating on a sea of white foam extracted from the Japanese citrus fruit daidai, the oyster tartare concealed directly underneath. Another dish resembles a cheerful flower bed, with golden-yellow mussels, couscous, and curry.

“Next we’ll take a trip to the Basque country,” says Xavier Yeung, serving a plate of kinmedai fish alongside a filled baby octopus, tangy chorizo, and a fine chili emulsion. Everything is a masterpiece, with flavors that linger on the palate. And then Yeung does something daring: He prepares a rabbit dish, which is unusual for the Taiwanese palate.