You might not agree with fred’s politics… but the man has taste and you would be a fool to dismiss his recommendation above…
This place deserves its own thread. Fred Smith introduced this place in the Steak thread and he arranged for “Fred Fest” to be held there a while back. HGC, fee, Doug McKenzie, fred and myself enjoyed fantastic food, drinks and service that night.
Tonight I took my wife and we each had an appetizer (she had duck and I had chicken) which came with a great salad. Then she had a seafood soup and I had a creamed celery soup. Then came the beef… outstanding… and then a great desert… don’t ask me what it was… it was on the house! We also had bread with our meal and a bottle of a California Napa Valley Merlot that was absolutely delicious.
The portions were huge and I was surprised to see that my wife finished everything (OK, she only had one glass of wine… I had to finish the rest of the bottle)… The total was NT$ 4,800 (the wine was NT$ 2000).
This place is excellent. The cook and owner (Andrew Lin) pays personal attention to you and is happy to discuss his preparations. He told us that his beef is shipped from the US (Prime) chilled (not frozen) so it never needs to be thawed.
Let me be the first to second Tigerman’s recommendation. As mentioned, a group of us gathered for “Fred fest” a few weeks back.
I have been remiss for not posting something about Muma’s earlier. This is really a find. Thanks to Fred Smith for pointing this place out. The lychee and cucumber (it was cucumber, right?) martinis were worth the trip alone.
I had posted that I believed that Ruth’s had the best steak in Taipei. But the beef at Muma’s puts it to shame.
[quote]
This place is excellent. The cook and owner (Andrew Lin) pays personal attention to you and is happy to discuss his preparations. He told us that his beef is shipped from the US (Prime) chilled (not frozen) so it never needs to be thawed. [/quote]
Andrew Lin is an excellent chef and a cool guy on top of it. When you discuss the food with him, you can tell he takes pride in and has extensive knowledgede about his craft.
Muma’s would probably be a great place for a special evening with a special person or perhaps an intimate Christmas dinner for two, or for a small group.
Been wondering about this myself. I went to Muma on Saturday night and couldn’t get the ribeye… but we had tenderloin that was fabulous. Andrew at Muma is a magician in the kitchen.
After salivating over all the rave postings for this restaurant I decided to try it out this weekend as we had a birthday celebration and wanted to try something new and hopefully special. Unfortunately it turned out to be a disappointment. Was really looking forward to having the ribeye steak but when we got the menu the steak did not appear on it. I was informed they are no longer importing U.S. beef, so no luck Charlie. The rest of the menu didn’t look all that appealing so I opted for the ribs special posted on the chalkboard. My dining partner asked what they recommended and they pointed out a pork dish (I didn’t catch the name).
I then asked about wine and they brought a wine list but since my friend doesn’t drink much, rather than ordering a bottle, I asked if they had house red by the glass. They produced a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chili, one of my favorite regions for cabs. Things were looking up (since they didn’t list the price of the house red on the menu I was taking my chances but when the bill came was happily surprised it was a good value at NT$220 as it was a good cab.)
However when they entrees arrived they asked if I wanted a refill and I said sure, but that bottle was depleted and they produced another bottle of a different variety for inspection, which when I handled it I noticed had been in the refrigerator. This was surprising as they seemed to know about wine and cabs should be served at room temperature. I declined it.
The entrees arrived and while my ribs were pretty good, at four ribs, three broccoli florets and a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, the portions were less than generous. The pork was a better sized cut and well-prepared also as I sampled a bit. Overall though I was disappointed. If the owner was there he did not come out to greet us as others posted he usually does. The positives were: good atmosphere, good dishes and very good service (apart from the chilled cab) but would not have taken a taxi across town for this restaurant had I known. So, if you are reading through this post and want to go to try the Taipei-famous ribeye, then best to call first.
anyone know if they are back up to par? all the initial comments were so positive but the last quite negative. sounds like a great place but if they are like the last post, it seems not worth it. update please (tomorrow is friday).
Go to Muma’s. There’s nothing wrong there. Everything is great, though nothing can compare to the beef (the pork knuckle isn’t too bad).
Don’t worry about the last post. [quote]Wine from Chili[/quote]!!! what’s that?
sure, maybe he won’t come up and talk to you if he doesn’t know you the first time, or maybe he wasn’t there. why don’t you just go up and introduce yourself. tell him you heard about his place from Fred Smith (or preferably, his real name) or this online forum so he’ll know where you’re coming from.
For this kind of food, there is no comparison in Taiwan. period.
[quote=“Jack Burton”]Go to Muma’s. There’s nothing wrong there. Everything is great, though nothing can compare to the beef (the pork knuckle isn’t too bad).
Don’t worry about the last post. [quote]Wine from Chili[/quote]!!! what’s that?[/quote]
I wrote this posting because I went there specifically to try the steak, which was so raved about. My main disappointment was that they did not have it. I also thought the portions were rather small for the entr
well i took the advice and went to muma last night… here is a short review/run down:
i showed up at 6pm right when they opened. one Frenchman (nice guy) was already there and just being seated. the hostess Angel and head chef Andrew met me at the door. very friendly and great initial opinion.
for those of you that haven’t been there, muma has a first floor with an open kitchen (bistro style, hence the name) and a lower floor which i didn’t check out. approximately seating for 18-20 max on the first floor.
anyway, onward. they have quite an extensive menu but i settled on one of the set courses. two things to note. i asked for a martini as per previous posts, but Andrew informed me that although he enjoys a good martini, they weren’t experts at making mixed drinks. i’m guessing some fellow forumosans drank all the gin the night before, right? secondly, still no US beef but they do have NZ tenderloin.
the set i ordered included 1) small greens over apple compote with a light vinaigrette 2) seared rare tuna 3) filet mignon 4) souffl
