You would be pissed if you come to this place thinking it is a French bistro. However, if you would view this experience from a different perspective, and consider it uniquely Taiwanese, then it would be worth a while. Especially if you would take the price tag into the consideration.
在推薦之前,先看看我在雞蛋裡挑到的骨頭:
Before my recommendation, here are me being picky:
First of all, there is no seat at the entrance. Either they have no confidence to have a full house, or they intend to let their guest stand waiting. I waited for around half an hour. No newspaper, no magazine, no refreshment, big failure.
Secondly, their positioning is not clear. Are they trying to be a bistro, or big restaurant? Do they want cosiness or grandeur? Make up the freaking mind!
The table is too narrow to host the giant side dish. If they were trying to be a bistro, then they should use a smaller side dish with a bread basket and a separate butter dish. Oh, BTW, turn off the light and use some freaking candles instead.
The bread is sweet Taiwanese style. You would feel much better if you would ditch the word "French", and remind yourself this is a unique Taiwanese experience.
In addition, bread is served at the end in France. Serving bread this early is North American.
Although the table is narrow, it is freaking long. With this kind of length, I need to date a half giantess if I want to get any footsie. The sheet of paper on the table brings the class down more than a notch.
The holes of the pepper shaker are too tiny to allow black pepper to pass through. They must have used the shaker for white pepper. It would be nice if the wait staffs would bring over a pepper mill.
Enough bitching already. Now is time for praising: Excellent value! This prix-fix is only NT$499, regular price. This is about as expensive as the stuff from street stands. Now please have a retake of what I have just bitched. Those requirements are for top notch restaurants. In the city of Kaohsiung, I can find faults even in five star hotel restaurants. If this set appears on their menus instead, the price tag is for sure going to be tripled. In other words, this restaurant had almost created the illusion as if I were in a five star hotel.
Nice presentation.
Cold Appetizer/冷開胃菜
The cheese is so mild that it falls into the category of plain. Think Taiwanese.
起士淡到會氣死人。不過反正大部分的臺灣人受不了起士的臭味。
我超愛他們的餐具。中看又中用。那曲線拿在手裡,順手、舒服極了。
I love their utensils. Those curves are elegant and handy.
如果不是點了海陸餐,我會想嚐嚐他們的紅酒。海鮮碰上紅酒的味道超惡的。
Would have sampled their red wine had I not ordered Surf and Turf.
Soup是濃湯。清湯是broth。雖然蝦與蛤蜊帶殼比較上相,但是我比較喜歡去殼的。
This is broth, not soup. I would prefer the shirmp and clam shell removed before served, though it does improve the presentation.
The fish bones were not removed. Hence it was meaningless to pile them up, except for the presentation purpose. For the beef, I asked for medium well. I specifically asked them not to over cook the beef. Everything were over cooked to the state of rubbery, including fish steaks. I showed the cut of the beef to the hostess, and asked her "If you call this medium well, how would you define well-done?". The hostess asked the manager. The manager asked the kitchen to take it back. The wait was long, but worth it.
This, is NOT a piece of steak. This, is a piece of heart. It is their passion for service. This kind of dedication redefines the positioning of this restaurant. If they were selling products, it would be enough to replace the original slice of beef. A steak this size with all the trimming and complete presentation, this is dedication. This restaurant no longer sells products, instead, they are selling services. Since it is services they are selling, all my complains toward their products are scrapped. Whatever imperfection of their service deserves a second chance for the sake of this dedication. It is this kind of dedication and service that elevates their value to sky high.
因為被他們之前的“七分熟”嚇到,所以重做時我要求要五分。
For I was not impressed by their "medium well", I asked for medium on the remake. They did not screw it up. In Taiwan, this is medium. It is rarer than North American rare, almost bleu.