For years, my life has been a blur of high-stakes openings, guest shifts, and airport lounges. I’ve been incredibly lucky to open venues and collaborate on different sides of the ocean, but the best part of this journey has never just been what’s inside the glass. It’s the context around it.
Twice a month, I’m opening up my personal notebook. Here is what you can expect in your inbox:
The Mini-Guides: The exact bars, restaurants, and creative spaces I return to.
The Character Studies: The people quietly redefining hospitality culture.
The Travel & Protocol Notes: Performance, movement, recovery, and operating globally without burning out.
I’m glad to have you here. Let’s look at the world a little differently.
Scouting Report: Taipei (January 2026)
Taipei has quietly become one of my favorite cocktail cities on earth. The level of precision, the hyper-focus on local tea botany, and the culinary crossover happening here right now is insane. If you’re looking for basic highballs, look elsewhere. Taipei is about flavor extraction and flawless execution.
Here is the exact route from my January run that you need to put on your radar, and the people you need to meet.
The Mini-Guide
1. The Featured Space: Mad House
Room by Le Kief closed its doors, but its brilliant creator—and my good friend—Seven Yi has channeled all of that avant-garde energy into his incredible new project: Mad House. This space beautifully regroups Suki Salon and Le Room under one roof. Seven is easily one of the most creative minds in the global bar scene right now. He treats liquid like a multi-course sensory menu, completely tearing down the wall between kitchen science and the backbar.
The Takeaway: Go here to see what happens when total molecular precision meets raw artistic creativity. It’s theater, but backed by flawless technical execution.
2. The Liquid Kitchen: Noon
I don't visit cafes just for caffeine; I go to see how people manipulate flavor. Noon approaches coffee like a high-end cocktail bartender. Their signature '1+1+1' tasting course completely deconstructs a single-origin bean across three sequential serves. It starts with a clean, precise pour-over, transitions into a milk-steeped infusion to showcase texture, and finishes with an inventive signature serve mixing coffee with elements like sake or custom tonics to push its aromatic boundaries.
The Takeaway: This is the ultimate daytime pitstop to stretch your palate. It proves that whether you are manipulating roasted beans or distilled spirits, the rules of flavor balance remain exactly the same.
3. The Vibe: Public House
If Mad House is the laboratory, Public House is where the industry goes to actually drink. It feels like a classic, warm neighborhood pub but possesses the meticulous hospitality standards that only Asia can pull off. The hospitality is effortless, the drinks are incredibly clean, and the energy is magnetic.
The Takeaway: It’s the ultimate blueprint for a high-volume, high-vibe spot that refuses to compromise on drink quality.
The Character Study: Yumi Yoshino (SOIL by FujinTree)
I first met Yumi Yoshino years ago when she was working at Speak Low in Shanghai during my very first guest shift in China. Even back then, her work ethic and technical eye were obvious. Since then, she went on to run the bar program at Tokyo’s acclaimed The Bellwood (bringing it onto the World’s 50 Best list) before relocating to Taipei to launch SOIL by FujinTree.
What makes Yumi so incredible is how she translates her multi-cultural background into liquid. At SOIL, she has stripped away the typical cocktail bar ego. The menu doesn't even list the spirits being used—it only spotlights local flavors, seasonal Taiwanese produce, and complex fermentation techniques (like her Coldbrew Bamboo, which infuses Tieguanyin tea directly into sherry and vermouth).
The Lesson: Yumi is proof that the best hospitality isn't about hiding behind labels or flashy gimmicks. It’s about creating a warm, "neighborhood bar" atmosphere where world-class flavor science feels completely effortless and approachable. Your history with people in this industry is everything—watch where the talent goes.
The Liquid Note: The Art of Tea Clarification
While running around Taipei in January, I noticed almost everyone is playing with different tea varieties as their primary modifier. But instead of just brewing it, they are using culinary clarification techniques to strip away the bitter tannins while preserving the hyper-fragrant, floral top notes of the leaf. If you aren't playing with high-grade oolong or milk-clarified punches using local botanicals, you are missing out on a massive texture game.
The Taipei Speed Dial
For those hitting the ground in Taipei who want to dig deeper into the scene, here are the exact addresses currently sitting in my personal notes from this trip:
SOIL by FujinTree — Yumi Yoshino's spot. Earthy, fermentation-forward, and an absolute masterclass in local terroir.
Under Lab — Experimental, underground cocktail pairing menu.
Wu (Bar Wu) — Sleek space, deeply thoughtful and balanced flavor profiles.
Bar Mood — Flawless classic hospitality, world-class technique.
To Infinity and Beyond — Space-themed, avant-garde clarification work.