gubami social | Lanshu Chen on her new restaurant and delegating time
published in enya Fashion Queen issue #190, find the original interview here
Some say the wavering light on the dining table encapsulates the longing to return home in people’s memories. As you walk into gubami Social, the aroma is filled with familiarity and nostalgia in between each whiff. From the retro window grills, Hakka-style pillows, to the aboriginal totems, everything is a reflection of the borderless world of culinary. “To me, dining is a kind of emotional exchange,” says Asia’s Best Female Chef, Lanshu Chen. Like the blossoming of flowers, the Taiwanese cuisine created by her is enriched with novelty and amazement.
Practice makes Perfect
After graduating from college, Chef Chen followed her passion towards French patisserie and decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu. By surprise, she realized the fast-paced cooking environment was a different kind of challenge, one that she is eager to try out. “Being a chef is very demanding, while making dessert relies heavily on prior planning, which is a slightly different focus.” As she looks back on her twenty years as a chef, Chen laughs and says she did not have a particularly interesting learning experience. Instead, she normalized her daily practices and saw them as a source of energy that would help her grow. When it comes to leading her team, she sees it as a two-step process. First, the younger team needs to establish proper working habits through organizational planning. Second, figure out how to play the role of a mentor in order to lead the senior team. “It’s not hard to come up with creative ideas, but it’s hard to generate ones that are valuable. Trying to find a way to execute these ideas, while finding their value, that is what we are trying to do here.”
Finding the Elegant Balance
Compared to Le Moût, gubami and Le Côté LM, gubami Social is an unprecedented new attempt. Not only does it creatively combine the essences of Taiwan with that of the East and West, but the new restaurant also offers smaller portions to establish a more relaxed and inclusive dining atmosphere, cleverly echoing the word “Social.” Inspired by the side dishes included in the braised beef noodle soup set served at gubami back in 2019, the dishes offered at gubami Social are a blend of different cultures. Although using a wide variety of cooking techniques, Chen was still able to find the most elegant balance of delicious flavors. An entrée rich with symbolism, “Social Oyster Cake” brings together Spanish tortilla and Taiwanese oyster omelet, a rather inventive mixture that actually underwent numerous experiments. “Creating layers is a very important thing in French cuisine.” Aside from the basic layered cooking, building the right combination of flavors is also crucial.
Staying Stimulated and Inspired
Now having her own family and juggling between the multiple roles of being a chef, mother and wife, Chen reveals that her state of mind remains the same. Her golden rule is to delegate her time and priorities properly, while finding solitary moments for self-care amidst her busy schedule. To her, finding culinary inspiration is a continuous process. Whether she’s working or not, she is still stimulated by the constant surprises of everyday life. “Personally, traveling helps me gain different perspectives on how certain ingredients can be cooked and on what I’m feeling when I eat.” As for the future, Chen says she will soon launch another French dining project with “All day fine diet” as the core inspiration, in the hopes of bringing a distinctive, high quality culinary experience to the table for her guests.