子元 - Japanese

Address: 台北市民生東路三段113巷7弄7號 No.7, Alley 7, Lane 113, Section 3 Minsheng East Rd. Songshan Distract

Telephone: (02)2713-1233

Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30AM-2:00PM, 5:30PM-10:00PM

And I'm back.. in so many ways.  My time in the R.O.C military has come to an glorious end and so has my hiatus from trying to fatten up all the English readers who happen across this hobby of mine.  Pardon me.. but .. DAMN it is good to be alive.. high fives are definitely in order.

My trip to 子元 actually occurred during my last vacation, but as the diligent solider in charge of a nation's safety.. can't really begrudge me on finally catching up on some writing.  Appropriate that I shake off the accumulated rust in the form of Japanese food, and let me tell you.. 子元 is every bit worthy of the praise that I'm about to chuck its way.  Let's not waste time and get to the pictures and words.

Tasteful

This was a random lunch date with the mother and sister wrapped up in the guise of a pre-bday celebration meal for yours truly.  Basically it was everyone's way of telling themselves it was okay to enjoy a nice meal that was going to cost a pretty penny.  I wasn't going to argue.

子元 has a nice modern feel to it with a hint of old Japanese decor thrown in.  With the use of lots of wood and the charming little garden out front.. the ambiance of the establishment falls in line with many of the Japanese restaurants around town.  It is neither spectacular nor disappointing, but just something you take in without really noticing its there.  It's clean and more than suitable for our needs, basically everything anyone could hope for.

Let's get started!

This was my first trip to 子元 and like almost all Japanese restaurants of this nature and quality I highly recommend sitting at the bar.  It is almost nice to get chummy with the chefs and overall I just think service is better this way.  You probably give up a bit of comfort and privacy, but what you gain I think outweighs the negatives.

Omakase options. Some vinegrette dipping sauce.

The family and I decided to order a set meal and let the chef wow us with whatever was fresh that day.  I always enjoy coming to Japanese restaurants with the sister and mother because typically they offer if not differing views from me, they at least give me a slightly different perspective in what it is that makes a meal enjoyable to them.  

Like anything else in life, it's usually a good thing to have people to bounce opinions off of... even if it might make you want to strangle them at some point.

This meal took place nearly 2 and a half months ago, so perhaps there is much I don't remember, but one thing still rings as clear as it did on that day... the food was without question, amazing.  

Halibut wrapped uni.

Scallops

Toro.

Now, what really goes into making sushi amazing? It doesn't seem like the chef would have a lot to do in just simply slicing up pieces of raw fish.  But of course describing it so simply would be doing a huge disservice to these skilled chefs.

More than just acquiring tremendously fresh fish (a must obviously), I feel like a sushi chef has to infuse his own personality into the food that he prepares.  Its a lot about presentation and the little touch ups that brings something we can do ourselves at home with the right budget to something that takes years of experience to master.

子元 was clearly more than capable in all these aspects and the food more than showed that.

The fish that was served just looked like it wanted to be eaten.  Everything was fresh and the old chestnut of it melting in your mouth applied wonderfully to all the nigiri and sashimi that I had the pleasure of eating.  Our meal was left in the hands of our very capable chef and he made sure that our palette followed a path that ended with deliciousness.  A good combination of cooked food and sushi made it way onto our plates and I must say I enjoyed every item that was offered.

Pretty.  Seems a lot of these meals end with their version of a chirashi finisher.

Perhaps I'm a little out of practice here, but I just wanted to be brief with my review and give the basic nuts and bolts and let the pictures do the talking for once.  子元 was wonderful.. and it really is as simple as that. Was it the best I've had in Taiwan? If not.. then it was pretty darn close.  It's been months since my taste buds have had the pleasure of enjoying the food from 子元, but I'm not really exaggerating when I say that my face is lit up in a grin right now at the mere memory of the meal.

I'm glad to be back dear reader.

Overall 子元 receives:

-Til Next Time-

I wanted more... extra ordered Negitoro.

Fresh & Aged Italian Steakhouse

Address: 台北市內湖區民善街128號2F

Telephone: (02)2796-1566

Hours: 11:30-14:30; 17:30-21:30

What is simultaneously as gratifying and simplistic as a piece of perfectly cooked meat?  I've been through this, but it warrants repeating.  Steak somehow manages to go beyond appealing to our basic five senses, but reaches a plain where it causes a more visceral reaction in all of us meat lovers.  Like trained dogs we salivate and begin to ooh and aah as that slab of meat (in all of its medium rare glory) winds its way towards our dining plate.
How many of histories most important conversations have occurred across a dining table? How many of those very same conversations involved steak? I'm willing to bet a rather high percentage.  Of course, I have absolutely no evidence to back this up, but i'm playing with a gut feeling here, and really, it is my gut after all that has gathered us here on this page... so it's something I've learned to trust a long long time ago.

This is all to say that food plays an important role in our lives that goes beyond mere subsistence.  It is something we congregate over, it is something we look forward to, and it brings us (well, most of us) so much joy.  It's been a while since I've ran my fingers over a keyboard to tout the virtues of food... again, I thought it worth repeating.  It's what makes writing this blog so much fun.

With that out of the way, let us get to the point of the review, and that is the steak and accoutrements offered at Fresh & Aged Italian Steakhouse (located in Neihu).  
I'm slightly out of practice in writing reviews, and I'll freely admit to experiencing Fresh & Aged over two months ago now.  I still have a clear idea of what I felt at the time, but I plan on keeping this review to the nuts and bolts and give an attempt to be quick about my overall opinion about this particular establishment.

Fresh & Aged Italian Steakhouse is going to cost you a pretty penny.  But that is always okay as long as that one underlining question is answered... is it worth it?  Well, in this instance, I'll have to be wishy washy and give it a resounding... kind of?

The restaurant is a sight to behold and offers a brand spanking new modern atmosphere for its diners to drink in.  They have private booths (that will cost a little extra) and ample seating in the main dining hall as well.  Fresh & Aged offers a variety of non steak options on its menu (such as fish/pasta/soups.. etc.) in addition to an extensive salad/dessert bar buffet.

Liked the atmosphere, loved the salad bar.

Soups left a lot on the table.  Emphatic thumbs down.

For my money, the best part of the dining experience involved the salad bar/buffet.  For some reason, it always seems like this is the case for me.  These steakhouse/salad bar deals ends up with me eating copious amounts of food from the salad bar (while of course devouring the steak as well).  This maybe has something to do with my love for variety and eating my money's worth, but whatever the case, I found that the salad bar  at Fresh & Aged delivered the goods.

There was a good selection, and it was fresh and colorful.  The desserts were yummy, and I really had no complaints with what was offered in this area.  The best part? The salad bar is included in the dining experience at no additional charge.

As usual, this is the star and the main point of my review.  A steakhouse of course is selling its steaks, and in my opinion.. I've had better.  We ordered a t-bone and rib-eye to share among ourselves, and I thought all the steaks shared the same issue, a bit too chewy, some parts of the steak were burnt and overall, just an underwhelming experience.
But honestly, I'm only judging on what I expected.  If this was offered in a different type of establishment, I would have something different to say, but in this environment for this price tag (roughly 2000NT+ per person).. I found the quality to be lacking.

Some pasta and meat cut off the bone.

A few dessert options.

Fresh & Aged just went through a grand opening (re-opening?), so there is room for tweaks and such.  I have yet to experience the same level of Steak perfection here in Taiwan that I've found in the U.S.  It is true that I spend the bulk of my dining time enjoying the food and delicacies that Taiwan does oh so well, but that doesn't mean this area should be deficient.

There is also a grocery downstairs that is a part of the ownership group of the restaurant.  They offer a host of meat and seafood products for you to peruse at your own leisure.  

So let us sum this up quickly shall we? Did I enjoy my time at Fresh & Aged? Yes, yes I did.  But it also left me feeling like something was missing.  The price tag was handled by my ever loving sister and aunt, so perhaps the disappointment was mitigated someway by this.  But whatever the reason, I am willing to give Fresh & Aged another go if the opportunity arises.  After all, bad or mediocre steak is still steak after all.

Overall Fresh & Aged Italian Steakhouse Receives:

-Til Next Time-

Speaks to life in general.. kinda.  Trying to be philosophical and failing probably.

Looking good.

MEAT! All you can buy and more.