Richie Lin was born in Hong Kong, cooked at Quay in Sydney and Noma in Copenhagen, then opened MUME in Taipei in 2014 to do something nobody else was doing: read Taiwanese ingredients through Nordic technique. The bet paid off. MUME took a Michelin star in 2018 and has held it since, alongside a long run on Asia's 50 Best. The room sits on Siwei Road in Da'an, the tasting runs NT$2,680 to NT$3,880, and the signature MUME salad arrives first.
The Kitchen
MUME takes its name from the plum blossom, Taiwan's national flower and the name of Richie Lin's mother. Lin trained in the kitchens that taught a generation how to cook with place — Peter Gilmore's Quay, Rene Redzepi's Noma — and brought that fermenting, foraging, hyper-local instinct home to an island most fine-dining chefs ignored. He calls the result "new local gastronomy": European method, Taiwanese larder.
The opener is the MUME salad, more than twenty Taiwanese vegetables plated over a fermented black-bean "soil" that does the work of a vinaigrette. From there the kitchen moves through dishes like pickled bonito with perilla plum and a cuttlefish "pasta" with nduja and bell pepper that fakes the texture of noodles from seafood. The tasting runs NT$2,680 for the shorter menu and NT$3,880 for the full eight-to-ten courses, with an early and a late seating each night. The address, No. 28 Siwei Road in Da'an, has held the star since 2018 and a place on Asia's 50 Best for most of the years since.
The Room
MUME reads more like a Scandinavian dining room than a Taipei one: pale wood, exposed brick, low pendant lighting, and an open kitchen that anchors the space without dominating it. The room is intimate, around forty seats, with tables generous enough that a four-top can talk business without the next table listening. Sound sits at an easy hum, never loud. There is no dress code in the jacket sense, but the crowd skews polished — visiting chefs, anniversary tables, clients being courted. Service is precise and bilingual, the kind that explains a dish in two sentences and then leaves you alone.
Best for Impressing Clients
Book MUME to impress a client when you want Taipei to feel like a global capital rather than a stopover. Three reasons it works: the food is genuinely world-ranked, so the table carries weight without you having to explain why; the room is quiet and well-spaced enough for real conversation between courses; and the Taiwanese-through-Nordic concept gives a visiting guest something to talk about that they cannot get at home. Picture the late seating, the MUME salad landing as the opener, and a Taiwanese sparkling pour while the deal stays unspoken until dessert. For more rooms that close business, see our best restaurants to impress clients.
Not for a big rowdy group or a quick bite. MUME is a multi-course tasting with two fixed seatings; arrive late or expecting a la carte and the kitchen cannot flex.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is MUME worth it?
Yes. MUME is one of a small handful of Taipei restaurants with genuine global standing, holding a Michelin star since 2018 and a long run on Asia's 50 Best. Richie Lin's cooking reads Taiwanese produce through technique he learned at Noma and Quay, and the NT$3,880 tasting delivers eight to ten courses you cannot get anywhere else. For a special-occasion dinner, it earns the spend. See our Taipei dining guide for more.
How hard is it to book MUME?
Book well ahead. MUME runs two fixed seatings a night, at roughly 6pm and 8:30pm, and tables open online a set window in advance and go quickly for weekends. The early seating offers the shorter NT$2,680 menu; the late seating offers both. Reserve as soon as the window opens and flag any dietary needs then, because the kitchen sets the menu in advance.
What is the dress code at MUME?
Smart, with no jacket required. The room is a polished, Scandinavian-style space and most diners dress up a little — a collared shirt, a nice dress — without anything formal. You will not be turned away for smart-casual, but this is a destination restaurant where guests tend to mark the occasion in how they dress.
What is the average meal price at MUME?
The tasting menu runs NT$2,680 for the shorter version and NT$3,880 for the full eight-to-ten courses, per person before drinks. Wine pairings add a meaningful amount on top, and the list leans toward interesting low-intervention bottles. Budget NT$5,000 to NT$7,000 a head with a pairing for the full experience.
Is MUME good for impressing clients?
Yes, it is among the best business-dinner rooms in Taipei. The food is world-ranked, so the table speaks for itself; the space is quiet and well-spaced for conversation; and the Taiwanese-through-Nordic concept gives a visiting guest a real story to take home. Take the late seating and the full tasting. See our guide to impressing clients.