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FM Bar & Grill
By Courtney Donovan Smith
Translated by Andy Tsao
1, ShiZheng N 1st Rd, 2F (corner of WenXin Rd);
(04) 2251-4500
Hours: 6 pm-2 am,
Fri-Sat 6 pm-3 am
No Service Charge.
Credit cards accepted.
Smoking section available.
Parking available.
Menu: Chinese & English
www.fmtaichung.com.tw
When I heard FM had moved, I was a bit sad. I had so many memories of the early days in the old location. After seeing the new location, however, I knew they had made the right choice.
FM, as manager Maggie put it, 'has grown up and improved'. It has kept many of the features that made the original so compelling, such as chef Fred Harold's excellent touch in the kitchen and some of the cocktails that made FM so unique--like the historic Shanghai Buck (NT$180) and their famed Mohitos (NT$250). Beer is NT$180 and up, shooters are NT$120 across the board and cocktails start from NT$160. Musically, it is also similar to the old spot--with more classic styles of music like jazz and blues during dinner and hip hop or music clients have brought playing in the evening. Parties are still held, though now with more of a mature sense of purpose--often with the aim of raising money for charity or showing people new skills, like dancing styles. The clientele also retains the old mix of locals and foreigners, but is now more skewed toward businesspeople.
The food is now more in keeping with the bar-and-grill theme but no less worth the trip. The new 'must-try' are the hand-cut steaks, which are priced by the gram (Rib Eye, Short Rib and N.Y. Strip-loin NT$2.5, Filet Mignon NT$3). The new location, on the corner of WenXin Rd., Sec. 1 and ShiZheng N. 1st Rd., is in a beautiful complex mixing new design with castle-like elements. The interior of the new FM retains the vaguely Mediterranean arches of the original location, but now with more dark woods and American bar-and-grill style red vinyl couches. The mix sounds odd, but it works surprisingly well. A VIP room can be booked for groups of 15 or more. Outside is a large, attractive courtyard with nice views of all the new skyscrapers rising in the area. You can also peek in the windows of the castle-style turret that houses the kitchen. Overall, it's much classier than the original, without being in any way stuffy.
 
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October 2010 
