Beefy anniversary

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I'm back in Taipei for a few days as we celebrate the Parental Units' anniversary. The last time we were together for a celebratory meal, the mood was pretty different... there was a lot of trepidation about what was to come for our family. Seven weeks have passed, and while the future remains uncertain, we are more optimistic than where we were the last time out.

In a break with the past where I chose restaurants that would appeal to mom, this time around dad was the focus. A recommendation was needed for another restaurant with a sommelier capable of handling an old bottle, and A Cut was what came up. As famous as the restaurant has been over the years, I had simply overlooked this hotel steakhouse when searching for dining options in the past, and never got around to checking it out. Well, it was time to hit this steakhouse with a Michelin star.

My first impression upon entering was one of disappointment. I chose not to return to Tutto Bello tonight because I felt the dining room was too dimly lit, and that wasn't good for mom. Well... this dining room was practically like a dungeon, and we could barely read the menus even with the help of these tiny lamps on the table. I didn't evem bother taking out my 360 camera for the usual group shot. Sigh...

We decided to make it easy on ourselves and chose the set menu rather than trying to order à la carte. I took time to explain all the available options to mom, while making sure dad ordered enough beef for himself.

The bread selection was pretty decent.

Aus. wagyu beef tongues: kale • red wine sauce • piri piri • wasabi - I was pretty surprised by how thick cut the tongue came. Interesting that it came topped with a marinated kale condiment. We've got a nice dose of acidity thanks to pickled radish on the side.

I thought this was well-executed, with a light crust and a texture that was firm yet springy. It wasn't exactly dripping in juice, but still moist enough.

Beef soup : Aus. A Legacy full blood wagyu • aged ham • dried scallop • carrot - the consommé was nice, and they made things interesting by adding some yuzukosho (柚子胡椒) inside the rolls of beef.

Our palate-cleaser was a lychee / roselle sorbet. Both flavors that I love very much.

Aus. A Legacy full blood wagyu dry-aged 30days bone in ribeye steak - Foursheets and I shared a 600g serving, and asked for medium-rare.

The ribeye cap was, as expected, cooked a little more... but I loved the charring.

Thanks to dry-aging, the flavors were much more intense. The fat here tasted almost like bone marrow.

Coriander-lime butter sweet corn - I couldn't resist checking out the corn side dish, and the lime flavor was kinda interesting.

I couldn't understand why the petit four arrived before our dessert, but the madeleines made with Tieguanyin (鐵觀音) tea were nice, and the strawberry pâté de fruit were perfect.

Fig and black tea souffle - it's been some time since mom had decent soufflé, so I ordered one for myself to share her experience. The green fig ice cream was served on the side, of course.

Gotta say that the combination of fig and black tea worked pretty well.

Foursheets was in the mood to drink something before we got to the main event, so I ordered up a bottle of Champagne that was more reasonable and affordable...

Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Vieillissement Prolongé, dégorgée en Octobre 2023 - thanks to spending 87 months on yeast, this was pretty smooth and there was very little mousse. Nose was showing lemon, straw, and a little bit of yeast. Also some nutty notes. With a second pour, the nose was definitely more floral and elegant.

We were very fortunately that Jerry knew what to do with our bottle of old wine, which happened to be the oldest vintage of the wine he has seen. Naturally, I offered him a taste.

1969 Vega Sicilia Unico - initially the nose was showing sweet grass and woodsy notes, already pretty fragrant. About 1 hour in the nose was dominated by stewed prunes. A few minutes later this turned more fragrant with lovely wood. Given another few minutes we had beautiful coconut butter show up, and then a bit more acidity on the palate. Still a lovely wine and drinking pretty well.

We had a very happy evening. Dad took down 400g of ribeye from Mayura Station, and even mom enjoyed her 200g cut of the same chocolate-fed beef. She also liked my choice of wine, which I'm always happy to see. We left with big smiles on our faces, and gratitude that we had yet another opportunity for celebration.