After spending 13 years in Vienna there is hardly a French or Italian dish that Hung Chang-wei, known as John Hung, cannot prepare authentically.

By day, John Hung is a college lecturer in restaurant management; by night, he is the chef and owner of Sowieso, a restaurant where he maintains gourmet-standard cuisine featuring Italian dishes.

Upon returning to Taiwan a decade ago, after honing his skills in Austria and Italy, John established one of the few Taipei restaurants offering a diverse range of pastas beyond just spaghetti.

His passion for Italian cuisine ignited when he first tasted spaghetti with peppers and garlic in Vienna. “Before Vienna, like most people in Taiwan at that time, I thought of pasta as merely spaghetti with pork and sauce. But that dish made me understand the essence of good Italian cuisine – the noodles, the olive oil blending perfectly and the garlic infusing the oil with a lingering fragrance,” John recounted.

John noted, “It’s mainly the foreign customers who truly appreciate the restaurant’s authentic cooking style. Their favourite is the osso buco with fettuccine!”

He added, “Besides using quality ingredients, the secret to good cooking often lies in the use of spices and the treatment of ingredients before cooking. Simple ingredients can work magic if prepared right.”

Wines are a highlight at Sowieso, with a regular stock of over 60 varieties from seven countries, predominantly Italy, France, and Spain.

Chaîne career
2002 (October) Joined as a Maître Rôtisseur
2006 (February) Promoted to Chancelier
2024 (May) Promoted to Bailli Délégué

Career as a judge
Commencing in 2011, John has been a regular judge (often leading the panel of jurors) at Sommeliers’ Competitions in Taiwan and Shanghai, China, as well as at Asia Wine Trophy events in Korea and elsewhere. In recent years he has also been a judge at Taiwan’s National Youth Chef Competitions.

Other associations
President, Asia Wine Institute - Taiwan
Founder, Taiwan Sommelier Association
President, Les Toques Blancs - Taiwan