【HOSU × Meiri Shurui】Pairing dinner on 22 March 2025
【HOSU × Meiri Shurui co-organized by WAIN99】Pairing Dinner
Date: 22 March 2025, 18:30
Venue: HOSU (No. 17, Alley 20, Lane 300, Sec. 4, Ren'ai Rd., Taipei)
Chef: Ian Lee
Dinner: Qi Jia Yan [13-course menu (water included + pairing with 6 selected Japanese drinks]
Special pairing:
• Ibaraki brewery Meiri Shurui's signature labels
• [Uka] [Fukushogun Ginjo Migaki 60] [Suifu Jiman No. 10] [Aoi Densetsu Shiboritate Genshu] [Yoi Matcha Liqueur]
Price: NT$ 5,753 per person (NT$ 5,230 + 10% service charge), drinks pairing included
Limited to 20 seats
22 March 2025 [HOSU × Meiri Shurui] dinner booking link:
Chef: Ian Lee
HOSU: Taiwanese flavour through sustainable cycles and inventive cooking
Tucked away in a Taipei alley, HOSU is more than a restaurant. It is a food lab working to promote sustainable dining, cut food waste and raise the value of Taiwanese ingredients. Under founder and chef Ian Lee (李易晏) , whose philosophy centres on "circularity", the kitchen uses every part of each ingredient and draws on traditional preserving methods and new techniques to build deep flavour.
A circular cooking philosophy: cutting food waste
HOSU applies the idea of circularity throughout. Beyond cooking with the seasons, it finds new uses for parts that usually go unused. Fish bones, prawn shells and vegetable trimmings are simmered into stock, and fruit and vegetables are dried, fermented or reduced into sauces and seasonings.
Going beyond the plate, in 2025 HOSU launched its "Farm to Table to Farm" project.
"Part of the restaurant's food waste is collected, turned into compostusing worms , and returned to partner farms."
The aim of this circular model is to use more of each ingredient and give waste a second life.
95% Taiwanese ingredients: a taste of what Taiwan can do
HOSU is committed tosourcing over 95% of its ingredients in Taiwan , which cutstransport emissions and supports local farmers, fishers and ranchers. Taiwan's varied landscape produces a wide range of ingredients, and HOSU turns them into refined dishes with careful technique.
For example, fish fromManfeng set-net fishery in Pingtung , caught usingsustainable fishing , are "dry-aged" to bring out their savoury depth, then combined withtraditional Indigenous fermentation methods from Taiwan for extra layers of flavour. The result is a simple but deep-tasting starter.
A menu in chapters: a journey through "Qi Jia Yan"
With its 2024 reopening, HOSU introduced a new "menu in chapters", each with its own theme exploring the range of Taiwanese flavours. Chapter one, "Qi Jia Yan", is a modern take on Taiwan's traditional "bando" banquet culture.
• Crab pancake with Shaoxing vinegar
Drawing on thecrab-fishing culture of Taiwan's coastal villages and paired with a vinegar made from Shaoxing wine, this dish reflects the seafood cooking of Taiwan's mainland-born community.
• Turmeric cracker with eco-shrimp fish sauce
Sustainably farmed shrimp, house-fermented fish sauce and a turmeric cracker give a modern twist to the food of Taiwan's newer immigrant communities.
• Black eel thick soup with red yeast rice
Eel farmed with care for the environment in Tainan is grilled over an open flame for its springy texture and smoky aroma, then seasoned with fermented red yeast rice for depth. It is finished as a thick soup that brings out the sourness typical of Taiwanese cooking.
Each dish blends tradition with new ideas and reflects Taiwan'sterroirand food culture.
Beyond flavour: promoting sustainable food culture
HOSU's goal is not just to serve good food, but to sharesustainability, environmental care and cultural valuethrough cooking. Guests can enjoy their meal while learning the stories behind the ingredients and the people who produce them.
HOSU plans to deepen its circular approach, work more closely with local farms, fisheries and artisans, and share Taiwanese flavours with the world.
Awards
• 2022
• Green Restaurant Guide: One Leaf restaurant
• 500 Plates award
• 2023
• Michelin Green Star
• 2024
• Michelin Green Star
• 500 Plates award (two plates)
At the forefront of sustainable food culture,HOSUis expected to keep widening the possibilities of Taiwanese food with its inventive approach.
The warmth of "home" in the space: time to feel Taiwanese culture
HOSU's interior is built around the idea of "home", creating a warm and comfortable place to eat. A small garden with native Taiwanese five-needle pine, an entrance modelled on a traditional stove, walls finished with oyster-shell plaster and custom tableware all carry the warmth of Taiwanese culture.
Michelin Green Star restaurant HOSU cares about flavour and also works to spread sustainable values. From choosing ingredients and cooking methods to every part of running the business, it takes responsibility for the environment, culture and the future seriously.
The reopening marks a fresh start while carrying forward a long-held devotion to Taiwanese food culture.
📍 HOSU
• Facebook: HOSU official page
• Instagram: @hosu_tw
• Address: No. 17, Alley 20, Lane 300, Sec. 4, Ren'ai Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei
Meiri Shurui Co., Ltd., Ibaraki
Its roots go back toKato Shuzo, founded in the late Edo period, and it was incorporated in 1950.
Today it is afull-range drinks makerproducing whisky, sake, shochu, liqueurs and umeshu, sold across Japan and overseas.
Meiri's pride: "Meiri Ogawa Yeast (No. 10 yeast)" and "M310 yeast"
Good sake needs more than brewing skill.Good rice, water and yeastare essential too.
Meiri Shurui uses its own "M310 yeast" to bring outa fruity ginjo aroma and light acidity.
📍 Meiri Shurui Co., Ltd.
• Address: 338 Motoyoshida-cho, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
HOSU × Meiri Shurui pairing selection
1. Uka, 16% vol.
"A sake made with every ounce of passion"
"Clear flavour, made by time and gravity"
This sake is made with the traditional "shizuku-otoshi (drip) method".
No machine pressing is used.The sake drips out slowly under gravity alone, which keeps out unwanted flavours and gives a clean, rich taste.
In the past, Meiri Shuruimade sake this way only in tiny amounts for special competitions, about 20 to 30 bottles a year.
Wanting more people to taste this traditional method, the brewery developed special filters and filtering vats and increased production.
TodayUka is limited to 1,000 bottles a year.
The clear bottleis hand-blown by craftsmen at Sakai Glass.
Its shape reflects the drip method, and its fine clarity showsthe care Meiri Shurui puts into its brewing.
The wooden box is made from Japanese cedar and finished by hand, one at a time. Because the grain differs on every box,each one is a unique piece.
It is brewed fromTokuto-grade Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyogo, carefully polished.
The yeast is Meiri Shurui's own M310, which draws out a bright ginjo aroma.
The brewing water is groundwater from Mito, known as Japan's "city of water", which gives a soft mouthfeel.
Ukacarries centuries of history and the passion of its brewers in every glass.
As a gift for someone specialora bottle for a special occasion, we hope you enjoy it.
2. Suifu Jiman No. 10 Junmai Daiginjo Genshu, 16% vol. (rice polished to 50%)
This sake makes full use ofMeiri Ogawa Yeast (registered as "No. 10 yeast" by the Brewing Society of Japan).
It has a fresh ginjo aroma and a balance of sweetness and acidity, making it a light, easy-drinking junmai daiginjo.
Its hallmarks area fruity nose and a bright acidity like pink grapefruit,
and it works well with food.
It is so easy to drink thatyou may find yourself pouring another glass, so take care!
3. Fukushogun Ginjo Migaki 60, 16% vol. (rice polished to 60%)
A clean aroma and a crisp, dry, light tasteare its hallmarks.
It won a gold award at the 2014 Fine Wine Glass Sake Award.
It is good chilled or warm, and pairs with both Japanese and Western food.
Polishing the rice to 60%reduces rough flavours, so when warmed the sweetness and aroma come forward
and the texture turns rounder.
4. Aoi Densetsu Shiboritate Genshu, 21% vol.
This isan undiluted sake at 21% alcohol, sometimes called "the limit of sake".
It has a fruity aroma and a rich taste, with higher alcohol than regular sake.
Enjoy it neat, on the rocks or with soda.
A bold sake with a new kind of character!
5. Yoi Matcha Liqueur, 20% vol.
Yoi Matcha Liqueur is aninventive matcha liqueur from Meiri Shurui in Japan.
It presents traditional Japanese matcha in a completely new style.
It is made with "Tenku no Matcha", a premium matcha from Oyaizu Seiichi Shoten, a long-established tea company in Shizuoka.
The tea is shade-grown to block sunlight, which gives itrich umami and a fine balance of sweetness and bitterness.
Mix it with milk or ice cream, or use it as a cocktail base.
It is a new way to enjoy Japan's matcha culture.
22 March 2025 [HOSU × Meiri Shurui] booking details
Price: NT$ 5,753 per person (NT$ 5,230 + 10% service charge), drinks pairing included
Limited to 20 seats
🔗 Booking form:
(If you would like to apply in Japanese, please contact us separately.)
📢 Organizer and drinks supplier: WAIN99 Trading Co., Ltd. Taiwan Branch
WAIN99 Trading Co., Ltd. Taiwan Branch is the Taiwan branch ofWAIN99 Trading LLCin Japan. It handles sake, spirits, liqueurs, whisky and other drinks, as well as products such ascraft cola. Covering the whole supply chain from maker to customer, it is a trading company working acrossimport and export, wholesale, retail, advertising and planning.
Based mainly in the Taiwan market, it promotes Japanese drinks culture and regularly runs events with restaurants and companies.
Recently it has alsolaunched a range of IP products with anime, manga, games, VTubers and influencers, opening a new market that brings Japanese content and drinks culture together.
• Facebook: @wain99tw
• Instagram: @wain99taiwan
• X: @wain99_and_co