It's my second time visiting A Cut, a well-known steakhouse in Taipei after the relocation.
In fact, there are two A Cut steak houses, one in Hsinchu city and one in Taipei city. Both were located inside the Ambassador Hotels. However, the entire hotel in Taipei is currently under the urban redevelopment construction. So instead of letting the restaurant's royal customers waiting in vain, the hotel decided to rent out an entire floor from Fubon Liaoning Building, and planned to keep the new place open till the hotel has been rebuilt.
There're well-equipped gym and bank offices in the same building. In fact, it's also linked to a MRT station. Per my opinion, I think the current location is even more convenient than before. And of course if customers decide to drive there, valet parking is available but also numerous spots to park the car yourself underground.
A side note, the restaurant will help entering the license plate information to the parking system when customers are ready to leave, so there won't be any parking fee involved for self-park customers.
If you've parked underground, simply follow the dark blue rimmed elevator door design to the second floor. You'll find the steak house takes one side, and the Chinese food restaurant holds the other. Yes, besides the steak house, Ambassador Hotel also moved their popular Chinese restaurant to the same location.
You can also go through the front door on the first floor. Take the main escalator to the second floor, where you'll first see a small bakery stand on the right and A Cut on the left hand side.
After passing the spacious open kitchen is A Cut's airy dining area. Various blue-toned decors and furnitures throughout, the same color scheme of the parking lot door.
I took my mom here during my first visit and tried their "A Cut Michelin 1-star set menu." Unlike the standard American steak house, the dishes from A Cut were more refined, and so does the preparation for the steak.
Second time around, I went with Mister for 2023 Christmas dinner. We decided to go with the dinner set menu, but the dishes are not much different compared to the Michelin menu. There were many overlapped dishes that you can choose from, and the final bill is about the same either way.
Other menu offerings -
Islay whisky 21 days dry aged steak, if you order this one, the restaurant will also serve a small glass of complimentary Islay whisky on the side.
There's also a well-bargained business lunch menu. Perhaps I would give it a try the third time around.
I didn't plan to get any wine pairing for myself that night, wasn't really in the mood for alcohol (don't drink and drive). However, if you're a oenophile and price is not much of a concern, A Cut has extensive prestigious wine to offer. They even have quite a few quality bottles that you can order single glass from. On top of fine wine selection, A Cut also carry some interesting choices. I even spotted a Lebanese wine on the menu.
Surprise surprise, who would have known that A Cut has crafted a set of three Christmas themed cocktails for the entire month of December. There's a illustration of these three cocktails on the table, all too festive.
How could I say no to Santa Claus? Especially this one was nicely placed inside a spherical cocktail glass ball.
Christmas sphere, with main components including vodka, peach, mango, grenadine, orange, and blue curacao. The taste is rather sweet than alcoholic, especially towards the end when the ice starts melting. Put the flavor aside, I usually would shy away from something so flamboyant, but since it's Christmas, the colors and the mini lighting become festive and jolly.
Bread basket and butter -
Start from top to bottom are multi-grain bread, maple sugar croissant, and walnut bread. We only tried the basic ones and packed the croissant home for next day snack.
The bread was good, not wowing but rustic and comforting in a way, especially with some warmth and we spread it with lots of butter.
Mister got the wine pairing -
Start with a simple sparkling wine Monmousseau Crémant de Loire, Loire Valley NV. A Cut offers 3-glasses wine pairing set, about 1 or 2 glasses short compared to most fine dining restaurants in Taiwan. However, they did pour a little bit more for each glasses.
Mister picked Hokkaido scallop for first course -
Parsnip, hazelnut, kohlrabi, and chorizo. I only tried one bite, but that one little taste was good. I specifically told Mister to make sure get a small chunk of scallop and few pickled kohlrabi on top for me. The kohlrabi was crunchy yet with a bit spiciness, which I think really helped in creating a stronger character for the usually light and gentle scallop dish.
I got the Royal Oscietra Caviar and sea urchin tart -
There's a small extra charge for this dish, one I'm more than happy to pay for because I've had it before and the experience was wonderful.
What binds the caviar, sea urchin, and the tart shell together was the crème fraîche in between. Sewing the dense savory note with buttery crust underneath. It's like a umami filling gently packed inside a delicate creamy bubble, and everything just burst in your mouth when taking a big bite.
A bit of yuzu was also used, bring out another layer of sourish touch on top of crème fraîche. Just a tiny portion, enough to further enhance the sweetness for the sea urchin.
For the second course, Mister picked the lobster bisque -
And I got the Caesar salad, just because I know it's going to be a meat-filled dinner, and I need some veggies to balance if off -
Hibiscus sorbet before the steak -
While waiting for the steak, my reindeer arrived first. Somehow putting the reindeer shaped cocktail glass next to the sphere with a straw, looks like that Santa Claus inside the sphere is "fishing" for the reindeer -
A bit more alcohol in this one, which consists of gin, merlot, elder flower, rose, and plum vinegar. Mister took a sip and he's really on point this time picking out the rose element in the drink.
Our main courses and side dishes have been brought to our table, but first let's look at Mister's second wine pairing, Bruno Lorenzon "Le Chapitre" Rouge Mercurey, Bourgogne, France 2019 -
Garlic butter mushroom and sweet and sour Brussels sprout are the two sides we picked. Both were good and actually paired well with our steak. It's hard to go wrong with anything garlic butter, and the mushroom stays juicy with some of its earthiness remained.
However, it is the Brussels sprout that brings out the difference. We weren't so sure about the sweet and sour seasonings when ordering, but thought that a bit acidity would be nice when enjoying marbled steak. In the end, we were spot on with our decision. It's not the very Chinese-type of sweet and sour, but perhaps slightly mellowed out with some butter. Just enough kick that not only works with steak, but also nicely balanced with the bitterness from the Brussels sprout itself.
On the left is Japanese Kagoshima filet steak, and on the right is Australian Mayura full blood wagyu ribeye steak -
Served with four types of salt, beef jus, and roasted garlic.
It's perfect that we ordered steaks with two contrasting characteristics. The Kagoshima filet steak was lean but super tender. The meat nearly collapses in my mouth with just a few chews. And during the chewing process, the meaty juice got squeezed out. Once the meat has been swallowed, that condensed beefy aroma still lingered for a while, very enjoyable.
As for stronger taste lovers, the Mayura ribeye steak should deliver to your likeness. If trying out this piece of steak after the filet, one should immediately feel the wagyu fat fully permeating the entire steak. You really get a mouthful of high quality fat that's also silky and delicate from the ribeye. There's more to it, the chef gave the steak a nice charred aroma on the outside, so you've also got a pop of extra-concentrated meaty flavor intertwined within.
Put the smoked salt, bamboo leaf flavored salt, beef jus, etc aside, I love to enjoy the steak with some roasted garlic and simple high quality salt. Less is more especially with such top notch quality beef.
Got chamomile tea ad milk tea for the sweet stuff coming up -
But before the main desserts, we were first presented with pâtes de fruits, madeleines, and palmiers.
Almost forgot that Mister still got his last wine pairing, and I haven't had the third cocktail yet.
Here we have Schloss Lieser Thomas Haag riesling 2021. It's nice to see my favorite type of wine riesling in the end, even though I'm not the one drinking it.
Also my last Christmas cocktail made with vodka, midori, apple, Sprite, and ice cream. Think of it as alcoholic version of cream soda.
Chocolate soufflé, I was pretty excited to see this. What a perfect ending for a steak dinner with warm chocolate soufflé paired with vanilla ice cream -
Dense chocolate too, Guanaja 70% results in better and luscious taste, not mentioning the oozing center. Scoop a small spoonful of ice cream and eat it with warm soufflé, a mix of hot and cold sensation makes this classic dessert extra special.
Snow fungus sweet -
The name doesn't speak much, it was in fact a chiffon cake based dessert with snow fungus, red date, and Japanese soft brown sugar. On top of the usual soft and gooey texture of the snow fungus, they also made it extra crispy and garnished on top. An unexpected crunch was a nice touch there.
First time around me and my mom enjoyed the steak meal. Second time around, me and Mister also had a good time at A Cut Taipei branch. By the way, only the Taipei branch was awarded with Michelin star status in 2023.
The dishes in between were well-designed and the flavors were on par. What I like the most was the Australian Mayura full blood wagyu ribeye steak, which was only available from the dinner set menu, not the Michelin set menu. It's nice to try something new apart from my previous visit.
The Mayura steak was rich, buttery, and even nutty in flavor. Not mentioning the high quality marbling that delivers a mouthful of silky fat and juicy meat. Strategically we ordered the Japanese fillet to compare with, something very lean yet super tender, something showcasing a piece of delicious steak from a different spectrum.
We left the restaurant with a happy belly. Talking about belly, take a closer look while exiting A Cut. On the way to the restroom you'll find a Maitreya statue, the fat laughing Buddha as people says. Chinese people like to touch Maitreya's big fat belly when seeing one, that's why the shiny color after years of rubbing.
Please go ahead and rub the belly too as you exit the second floor. Why? Since we already filled our stomachs with such satisfying meal, why not go one step beyond and touch Maitreya's belly which resembles luck and happiness? The more the merrier. After all, it was a merry merry Christmas dinner. Ho ho ho, belated Merry Christmas to you all.
A Cut currently holds one Michelin star status
A Cut (Taipei Branch)
2F, 177 Liaoning Street, Zhongshan District,
Taipei City, Taiwan
+886 2 2571 0389
Restaurant website: A Cut Taipei
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACUT.com.tw
Opening hours:
Lunch daily 11:30 a.m. ~ 3:00 p.m.
Dinner daily 5:30 p.m. ~ 10:00 p.m.
Extended reading:
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