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You can’t judge a book by its cover. If you were to peer in the windows at Qube, you’d see tables and chairs in perfect alignment. You might think "strict." You’d see a spare room with bright, almost fluorescent colors. You’d see the words "Asian" and "French" and start worrying about the whole fusion thing and then the cost. We’re here to say, let it go. There’s a whole different world inside those doors than what you might expect.

Photo: Dining room (foreground), wine rack, bar, photo courtesy of Qube

Restaurant owner Fu Shen Chang has a lot of experience. Although this is his first restaurant (with wife Kerry Huang), he has worked in his family’s restaurants since the age of 13 (Nara, a Japanese restaurant in Redmond, then Park Terrace, a Chinese restaurant in Kirkland). When his parents retired, the restaurant was sold.

Fu Shen was general manager of Typhoon! on Western Avenue for close to four years. "I knew I wanted to open my own place," explains Fu Shen. "I didn’t want to be limited to one cuisine and wanted to add a Western touch to things."

Chef Lisa Nakamura never thought about cooking until a career change at 29 had her working at Lisa Dupar Catering. "It was the first job I had where I never looked at the clock," she says. She attended L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, trained in classical French technique, then worked at Gerard’s Place in Washington, D.C. "I learned so much—how flavors work and how to work in a kitchen," Lisa recalls.

Gerard recommended she apply for an opening at the French Laundry in Napa. She started as a prep cook and ended up as sous chef. "It was one of the best but most intense experiences," recalls Lisa. "The expectation was perfection and everyone worked for it, but it’s hard to maintain. After I left, I worked in a café for six months making chicken and pound cake so I didn’t have to think!"

A job at Manresa with Chef David Kinch fell through due to delays, so she took a job in Germany (not speaking the language). She stayed for three years until she could no longer stand the harsh Munich winters. Never having been to Asia, she moved to the Grand Intercontinental in Seoul. "It was great," Lisa laughs. "Everyone looked like me!"

Her next job was in New Orleans. Katrina hit five days after she arrived. The executive chef evacuated, leaving her in charge, people in the hotel and no clean water. "It was a lesson in creativity," she says. After three months, she left. "I was working 16 hours a day, seven days a week. When I did go home, all I saw was destruction. Mentally it was not good and it was physically unsafe."

"I took a job in Pebble Beach and it couldn’t have been more different. I flew out of New Orleans over devastation and flew into Monterey over manicured acres. Even the deer seemed to be posed." After eight months, she saw a job posting for Qube and applied, liking the fact that it was a smaller organization. "The idea of helping to create the structure of something new and being able to change it as needed was appealing." She approached Fu Shen with the idea of food sets, taking a menu item and doing it three ways ("qube-ing" it).

Originally, the restaurant concept was an Asian Grill. "Being a new restaurant, we were looking to do simple, casual food that was fairly easy to execute in the kitchen," recalls Fu Shen. "It was always about six Asian cuisines—Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indian—six sides of the cube. When Lisa came aboard, we were able to evolve into more of a casual fine dining. We’re not overtly Asian or French; we use Asian flavors and fresh ingredients to create dishes using French technique."

"We’re not fusion in the sense people may think. The food has to make sense," says Lisa. "It continuously evolves and will just keep getting better as we push ourselves. Some popular items, like the black cod, won’t come off the menu. Other things we’ll play with. We’ll stick with the sets in various forms." Sets include three courses. Each course has three items. For example, in the vegetarian set the first course might be grilled asparagus with roasted sesame oil, an asparagus potsticker with orange ginger dipping sauce and a Yukon gold asparagus cream soup. Then you’re off to second and third courses.

In addition, there’s a full a la carte menu with small and large plates. Lunch offers grilled items in a more rustic form—pork satay and Bulgogi-style beef brochettes—as well as sets.

Photo: Chef Nakamura, courtesy of Qube

Location-wise, again, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Qube is in a changing area between downtown, the Market and Belltown. ‘1’ Hotel (eco-friendly condo/hotel from the Starwood Capital Group) will open late 2008. "We’re at the forefront of food and location," says Fu Shen. "We chose a location with potential and took a long lease. Restaurants are a long-term investment; it takes time to build your name."

Qube’s sommelier, Angel Aguilar, is also a mixologist; wine, cocktail and sake pairings are offered with the three-course sets. "We say ‘trust us,’ the surprise factor is fun!" says Fu Shen. They’ve recently been recognized by Wine Spectator, a nice honor having just been open six months on June 15, 2007.

Price-wise, you can get a three-course set at lunch for the same price as an upscale cheeseburger elsewhere. Sets at dinner are pricier, so if you’re watching the budget, stick to the a la carte menu.

When the book’s in hand and you’re ready to judge, think about opening that cover and turning a few pages. We think you’ll be pleased to form a whole new opinion.

July 2007

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