January 03, 2009
紅洋蔥
We've passed by the unassuming little family-style steakhouse dozens of times without giving it a second look. However, the wife was looking to eat more protein to help the baby gain weight. So the big red banner offering two steak dinners for price of one caught our eye. Thankfully we were there relatively early and could snatch a table, as the restaurant was soon packed with bargain-hunting families and young couples.
There were five different combo-meal combinations one could choose from. A small glass of brisk fruit-vinegar worked to cleanse the palate. Didn't expect much more than generic iceberg salad mix for the salad, but we were pleasantly surprised with a whole-leaf Caesar. Loved the presentation, whole romaine leaves covered with dressing on the root end, leaving the green leaf exposed, sitting in the perfectly shaped elongated bowl with croutons, cheese, and bacon bits on top. Although bacon bits aren't suppose to be in Caesar salad, they do use real bacon, and you never go wrong by adding bacon. I was also impressed by my beef consomme soup, clear but beefy in flavor. The wife's onion soup was a bit more pedestrian in comparison, lacking that intense caramelization of well-cooked onions.
For the main course, I had the triplet combo of jumbo prawn, herb chicken, and steak, with mushroom sauce on the side. The steak was a bit tough, the prawn was kinda small, and the crisp-skinned chicken was... chicken. But all in all it was a good amount of food and greater than the sum of the parts. Wife had the Angus steak and had a good time hacking away at it.
A competent creme brulee and panna cotta rounded off the meal and went nicely with the half-decent coffee. There was ice cream available, too, but it was icy, barely scoopable, and not worth the trouble.
Sure, it's no Ruth Chris or Mortons, but there are good reasons why this place has survived for so long even as more fashionable eateries have came and went around it. Sure it's a bit faded and old-fashioned, but I think that actually adds to the atmosphere.
紅洋蔥
台北市光復南路180巷14號
02-2721-7512