The practice of celebrity chefs building their brand names with a variety of culinary establishments is a la mode these days. Justin Quek (郭文秀) has his “Justin” series, and Danny Teng (鄧有癸) has his teppanyaki and steak houses. More recently, William “Abu” Bu (布秋榮) has joined their ranks with Abu Authentic Cuisine (reviewed by the Taipei Times on Oct. 23, 2009) and Abu Brasserie, which opened in October last year and is designed to offer a fine dining experience that does not break the bank.
The brasserie exudes an air of elegance with a palette of nuanced browns including beige wooden flooring, cream-colored ceilings and amber satin napkins. The low lighting and piped French chansons set the mood for a relaxing, romantic meal. Service by the waitstaff — impeccably clad in black-and-white uniforms — fell nicely between smiling amenity and composed politeness, though the water glass sometimes remained empty during a two-and-half-hour dinner on a recent Sunday evening.
To keep menu prices down, the Hong Kong-born chef has replaced the fancy food presentations and lavish ingredients at Abu Authentic Cuisine with a delightful selection of pasta, main courses and appetizers including sauteed mussels with tomatoes and lemon sauce (NT$550) and warm oyster with spinach sauce (NT$520). Customers wishing to sample a bottle of wine can indulge themselves with abundant options that draw on the restaurant’s cellar of various labels from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and the US (most are priced between NT$580 and NT$3,120).
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
In addition to the a la carte section, the restaurant’s set menu offers value for money. My dining companions and I ordered a dinner set that included most of the brasserie’s signature dishes. First to arrive was a loaf of focaccia bread with what tasted like tartar sauce, but was introduced by the waitstaff as made of tofu cream. The bread was perfectly baked, golden brown on the outside, and was a highlight of the meal.
For appetizers, Abu’s quesadilla contains slices of smoked duck breast and a layer of melted cheese with a hint of pumpkin. A bit of coriander added a fresh, aromatic dimension to the dish.
The red prawns with mashed potato comprises fresh shrimp bathed in creamy seafood gravy and smooth potato mash, while the porcini cappuccino soup (cream of tomato with fried bread is the alternative soup choice) is a standard rendition of the frothy ambrosia. The spinach chicken ravioli with spicy tomato sauce, however, didn’t impress as the stuffed pasta did not seem to have anything to do with the arugula leaves and shreds of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
The mains we tried were good, but not mind-blowing. The slowly cooked ox-tail with red wine sauce (NT$1,300) delivered a profusion of rich flavors, and the open-faced seafood ravioli (NT$1,000) comprised a fairly generous serving of shrimp, scallops and fish chunks dipped in creamy seafood gravy.
Other options include lamb shank with white beans vegetable sauce (NT$1,100), cod fish with clam sauce (NT$1,000) and red wine-braised osso buco (NT$1,200).
Diners should end their meal with Abu’s celebrated souffles (NT$320), which have a light, fluffy texture and a lip-smacking vanilla taste. We traded two servings of the dessert from the dinner sets for one souffle (not featured on the set menu), and it was well worth it.
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